Posts in category Books

the “Blade Runner” on Time

Mar03
2013 Leave a Comment Written by clarizze
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Been reading and watching a lot about the story of Oscar Pistorius a.k.a “Blade Runner” on TV and in the Internet. Pistorius is a popular athlete. Earning him quite a few awards for his feat. That, despite his disabilities, he soared to become a very great athlete. His is a compelling yet inspiring story.

But, now, more than his sports career, he is into the limelight once more. That is, to defend himself for “accidentally” killing his beautiful girlfriend. According to Pistorius himself, he mistook his girlfriend as an intruder, so he fired multiple shots at the locked bathroom only to find he had shot his girl.

Hearing on his bail case last week, I was shocked finding that the judge hearing the case allowed him to set bail. What the…

I got more interested on the case as the media played on his stories and the culture surrounding South Africa.

Read on to know more about the “Blade Runner”. Will his girlfriend’s family finds justice?

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2137420-6,00.html

 

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thrilled by literary classic

Jan28
2013 Leave a Comment Written by clarizze
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I wished I could find the time and the patience to read more books this year. And, yes, I promised myself to put a stop to purchasing current bestsellers. The last book I purchased (trilogy) was shelved. Got to finished the first book only. I lost the enthusiasm to flipped the pages of the other two. I dunno. Somehow, I got disappointed. The reason why, I promised this time, I wouldn’t ride the hype when purchasing a book.

And,  as planned, I am including in my reading list books that were  as old as my great grandfather. Been fascinated about histories, or social classes, and people’s cultures and manners in the olden years.

For this reason, first thing in my list would be Jane Austen’s  ”Pride and Prejudice”. The movie adaptation starring the lovely Keira Knightly is a cool and romantic movie, but I am pretty sure, there has much to be filmed. There has got to be more than seeing the movie or other screen adaptation. Let us say, I’d like to know more about the Bennets, their life in that era of the 19th century England. The people’s social manners and graces, the teens/kids upbringing in that era and how they view marriage and life itself. There’s more to read.

The fact that “Pride and Prejudice” is known as a literary classic and up to this time, more than 20 million copies have been sold worldwide and has been translated into many different languages. It continues to be popular among modern readers.

I’m thrilled. Will want to have a copy…Soon.  I wonder how much in our local bookstore?

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On Romantic Authors and Poets

Dec10
2012 Leave a Comment Written by clarizze
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Seeing on who’s in the Google Doodles today, it renewed my interest on Lord Byron and the rest of the great authors and poets of the Romantic Era.

Lord Byron, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Mary Shelly, John Keats, and William Wordsworth. I got very much interested in Romanticism after I burn few nights researching how it evolve in the literary world and writing a term paper in high school. The paper also needs to include short biography of the authors and poets around that era and of their notable works.

There’s too many authors on that era but I shortlisted them all to include only my favorites :) In particular is William Wordsworth’s

I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud

I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o’er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
and twinkle on the Milky Way,
They stretched in never-ending line
along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
in such a jocund company:
I gazed—and gazed—but little thought
what wealth the show to me had brought.

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

A lyric poem which I came to love. Because I had to memorize it in a day and should form part of a presentation in my speech class. Oh! Please do check out Wordsworth “Lucy Gray” poem, too. He is such my favored Romantic poet.

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book to read: Mark Twain’s

Dec10
2012 Leave a Comment Written by clarizze
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I had this book when I was still in high school (Geez! That was some 29 years ago.) My cousin’s wife made me choose the books I wanted to keep then sold all her other old collections of paperbacks and glossy fashion magazines.

I just don’t know what happened to the other books I have kept. Some were still in our storage room, some are lost, some are borrowed and never finds its way back to me :)

I remember reading this book in high school. Poor me, I never understood what it is all about, then. Yes, that must be the reason why I have had to keep old books. So that I could reread them at later times. And yes, that time took me 29 years. Poor poor me. I am such a lazy bum!

Honestly, I never fully understood the works of Mark Twain except of course the popular “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” and “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”. Which I must say, I only get to appreciate after seeing both in movie adaptations.

So, the above book, I was glad I had reread it a time when I can fully understood Twain’s work. Besides, I get very interested in finishing the book after understanding that its story-line touches on King Arthur. I am one Arthurian fanatic. It was awesome how Twain made Merlin as the villain.

It is sorcery versus science. Awesome read. Classic. It’s Mark Twain’s magic.

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Top 5 Sites to Get Free Books Online

Oct08
2012 Leave a Comment Written by clarizze
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Digital technology has changed people’s reading experience.  And that is made possible by today’s trend which is the e-books. These are electronic copies of books which can be downloadable from the Internet. Using reading gadgets such as the Kindle and iPod, readers can now take copies of the book wherever they go, and they can even get multiple copies of different books just in one storage!

While it can be true that sifting through digital copies of books can be harmful to one’s eyesight, reading e-books can be very practical only when done in regulation. But if you choose to still read the tangible copies of books, then that is your own prerogative.

Nevertheless, if you want to try the wonders of ebooks, here are the top 5 sites from which you can get free book online.

  1. Free-ebooks.net

This site offers a wide collection of ebooks, from classics to the novelties. Aside from ebooks, this site also offers magazines and you can also submit your own ebook in the site. The site, however, can only be accessed by the site members. The good thing is anybody can be a member since the registration is free.

  1. Manybooks.net

With a collection totaling to 21,282 ebooks, this site also one of the best site to get free ebooks online. The site also guides its visitors as to what books they can get by providing information  on the most popular titles, recommendations and reviews.

  1. Getfreeebooks.com

This site also offers a wide range of books which are all free to download. The site also has a clean interface that allows viewers to easily locate their desired ebooks.

  1. Scribd.com

This site supports file which are in Word, Excel, Powerpoint, and PDF formats. It is very convenient especially when you need these specific formats for your ebook.

  1. Project Gutenberg

This is one of the most popular ebook sites. It boasts itself with a staggering collection of classic literatures from authors such as Plato, Jane Austen, Lewis Caroll, among others.

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one inspiring book

Jul11
2012 Leave a Comment Written by clarizze
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“…if you’re trying to show off for people at the top, forget it. They will look down on you anyhow. And if you’re trying to show off for people at the bottom, forget it. They will only envy you. Status will get you nowhere. Only an open heart will allow you to float equally between everyone.”

One of my favorite quote from the universally acclaimed book of Mitch Albom, TUESDAY’S WITH MORRIE. A touching story of a mentor teaching his pupil about amazing life lessons.

Have read and reread this book quite often. Not actually reading the whole book in one seating. But, it’s definitely a good read when one is feeling a bit emotionally drained. Each chapter has its own storie to tell. Very inspiring. Quite an interesting read…over and over.

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mythology retold

May04
2012 6 Comments Written by clarizze
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3rd day of May. Perhaps the ebb day it was. Yet, days before today is what I can call the hottest summer days of all. The heat was becoming too unbearable. Was it global warming?

We don’t wanna get out of the airconditioned room once it was turned on. Then, unfortunate things can happen in the midst of the afternoon heat. The power supply went off. Blaring news from my brother that electricity wouldn’t be restored in an hour or more because there was on ongoing repairs at the power plant station near to us.

Off we went outside afraid that we might be “toasted” inside the house. The heat has been giving me quite a headache everyday. And skin allergies, too. We decide to just stay the rest of the afternoon in the nipa hut. At least, we can get fresh air around. Armed with few pillows and a native “abaniko” I settled to get the most comfortable spot in the nipa hut and set out the iPod and this old book…

Thanks be to the brain around Hollywood where my kids can associate stories of the gods and goddesses. Though, in the lingo that is Hollywood, the movies made out from the stories of those famous myths were far more cinematic and interesting than this book. I should be happy to share a good read of few more personalities that bewitched me since I was in my teen years when I have bought this book at National Bookstore.

In as much as I would want to download an e-book of that paperback into the iPod, I did not. I would want to let my kids know the value of reading. Be it an old book. It doesn’t matter. It’s the content and the stories that matter. This book had fired up my interest in reading. Too many great stories about the life of the great gods. There were excerpt of prose and poetry on every pages, too. The book is an interesting read for your teens who might need a break from cool gadgets. The iPod may keep you entertained. But nothing beats the wisdom you can earn through reading books.

Then, while flipping through Perseus and his battle to find the Gorgons and how he cut the head of Medusa, this home made vanilla loaf I painstakingly baked earlier added to a delightful afternoon…hmmm, the aroma of the vanilla and butter wafted throughout the nipa hut….

Twas, an idyllic afternoon sans electricity…only to be spoilt by the fury of the summerstorm…

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Whois Paolo Coelho

Jun13
2011 7 Comments Written by clarizze
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Got this Paulo Coelho book from National Bookstore last week. Me and the little daughter were thinking what to give daddy for Father’s Day. Since I am not fond of reading his detective novels, got this thoughts and reflections book, instead, so I can share the paperbacks when he’s done reading^_^

He’s done reading Paulo Coelho’s bestselling novel, “The Alchemist” years ago. I opted for this book than any other Coelho’s equally famous novels. Yeah, we all love fiction books, okay. Living in this somehow modern and sometimes chaotic realm, one needed inspiration and be inspired.

A paragraph on the book reads…

It is important to accept one’s passions, and not to lose one’s enthusiasm for conquests. They are part of life,and bring joy to all who participate in them. The warrior of light never loses sight of what endures, nor of  bonds forged over time. He knows how to distinguish between the transient and the enduring. There comes a moment,however, when his passions suddenly disappear. Despite all his knowledge, he allows himself to be overwhelmed by despair: from one moment to the next, his faith is not what it was, things do not happen as he dreamed they would,tragedies occur in unfair and unexpected ways…”

SHARING THIS BOOK @

Smiling Sally

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