Book Review: Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
“I was born twice: first, as a baby girl, on a remarkably smogless Detroit day in January of 1960; and then again, as a teenage boy, in an emergency room near Petoskey, Michigan, in August of 1974.” – Calliope/Cal Stephanides A vast family epic that spans three generations that takes place in the slopes of … Continue reading
Book Lust: From Camarines Sur
Last Wednesday, I attended the Manila International Book Fair and I acquired quite a bit of new books. However, I wasn’t able to return to the MIBF on the other dates especially on the last day when, rumor has it, a lot of the exhibitors give further discounts for their books on sale. The reason … Continue reading
Book Review: The Yiddish Policemen’s Union by Michael Chabon
“I don’t care what is written, I don’t care what supposedly got promised to some sandal-wearing idiot whose claim to fame is that he was ready to cut his own son’s throat for the sake of a hare-brained idea. I don’t care about red heifers and patriarchs and locusts. A bunch of old bones in … Continue reading
Book Lust: The 33rd Manila International Book Fair and Other Stuff
It’s my first time to attend the Manila International Book Fair since I finally overcame the deal breakers (distance, budget, and sheer laziness) that prevented me from attending the MIBF in the past plus I really saved and prepared for this event because, you know, books! There were a lot of books that I wanted … Continue reading
Book Review: The God of Carnage by Yasmina Reza
“You see, Veronique, I believe in the god of carnage. He has ruled, uninterruptedly, since the dawn of time.” – Alain It has been an enduring quality of humanity to be always just one step away from violence and barbarity. As The Joker once said in The Dark Knight, “Madness, as you know, is like gravity. All it takes … Continue reading
Book Review: Inherent Vice by Thomas Pynchon
“Out here, all around them to the last fringes of occupancy, were Toobfreex at play in the video universe, the tropic isle, the Long Branch Saloon, the Starship Enterprise, Hawaiian crime fantasies, cute kids in make-believe living rooms with invisible audiences to laugh at everything they did, baseball highlights, Vietnam footage, helicopter gunships and firefights, … Continue reading
Side-by-side Review: In Cold Blood by Truman Capote/Reportage on Crime by Nick Joaquin
“No. Because once a thing is set to happen, all you can do is hope it won’t” – Perry Smith, In Cold Blood “For all these new suburbs in Makati used to be grassland, riceland, marshland, or pastoral solitudes where few cared to go, until the big city spilled hither, replacing the uprooted reeds with … Continue reading
The Book Hooligan 