Z for Zombie

When the book "World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War" was suggested, I thought of saying "Nah...I'll pass" (since I hated zombies!) but decided otherwise after Arvy gave me snippets of the book.

Good decision.

It was an interesting read indeed. The writer, Max Brooks, did an excellent job on intrinsically describing every detail that it was almost likened to an actual movie experience! The best thing was --- it was not only about blood, guts and rotting corpses (because the plot actually made sense). It was a socio-political satire which was horrific not just entirely because of the zombies, but also because of the narrated responses of the community to the supposed 'Great Panic.' The responses were just too plausible; knowing that it was close to reality made me put the book down once in a while because I felt like kicking someone.

However, I felt the book lacked more narratives about animals and their positive contributions. I can only remember two stories, one --- about the dogs as partners in luring the zombies (heroic but sad) and two --- about the whales as food for stranded survivors and zombies at sea (practical but sick).

Anyway, you guys should read it.

Finally

I am FINALLY reading Gabriel Garcia Marquez's 'Love in the Time of Cholera'. I FINALLY bought my own copy. I FINALLY ended my silly hope of finding its first edition in book sales (I did not want the Color Purple incident to happen again and this was why I prolonged my agony in buying my own copy. For those who did not know the Color Purple incident, here is a little light to your dark tunnel. I bought my own copy of Alice Walker's 'The Color Purple' years back but while browsing through the treasures at a book store that sold second-hand books, I discovered a FIRST EDITION copy of the same book, original cover in paper back. Imagine my frustration. I decided to keep the copy that I originaly had, which cost me more, and sincerely hoped that the one I found at the bookstore will fall into good hands. Sigh.) Anyway, I put an end to my misery by walking into Powerbooks and grabbing my own copy of Gabriel Garcia Marquez's book and paid Php245.00 with closed eyes. I know, I can be quite a cheapskate sometimes. Well, I will go back to reading the book now. Mwah!

Off The Bandwagon

When I was informed by a good friend that there was a new Vampire book that teenagers were going 'gaga' about, I thought to myself that I'll pass this off since I obviously believed that I have graduated from those types of books (Note to self: YOU never graduate from anything, you just lose interest in it for the time being --- like clothes). But when they created a movie which I watched with hundreds of high school students (a very bad decision since having to endure almost two hours of torture with high school kids can hardly be categorized as a pleasant experience) I decided to give the book a whack. I wanted to git rid of the disappointment I felt after watching the movie. (Bella Swan should have not been played by Kristen Stewart, the actors who played Rosalie and Victoria should have swapped, the faces were too white and if the director really wanted them to appear that white, shouln't the make-up be evenly distributed??? etc) I thought to myself then --- "I am quite sure that it was not written that way" and of course, there is that constant critique that movies don't often give the book justice. So the next weekend after that, I decided to buy the book. I decided not to buy all 4 Vampire books of the authour to avoid future disappointments since there was still that huge possibility that I may not like the book.

True that I bought the next book after reading the first but not because I loved the way Stephanie Meyer wrote it but because of the concept she introduced (which was rumored that she stole from someone else...I wonder how true this rumor was). And how can you possibly not read the next books when she applied the marketing plot that is being used by commercialized authors --- giving a 'hanging' excerpt of what will happen on the next books. Reading the Vampire series of Stephanie Meyer was like watching an awful 'telenovela', you watch it not because the script was beautifully written nor was the acting good but simply because you want to know what will happen next. Period.

Did I get my money's worth after buying all 4 books? Probably a portion of it. I think that her work was over-rated and hardly deserved the price that bookstores are unfairly tagging them with. A little lower would have been more appropriate.

No offense to the fans but this is my blog and I am entitled to my own opinion.

Must Read

And Kat said during our rehearsal for the He-Me-She-It in the Virgin Labfest show, "Oi basahin niyo toh---favorite ko toh. It will be a good read and you can finish it in 5 minutes!" Back then, I honestly didn't know who the author was and (I daresay now) didn't take Kat seriously after she quoted 5 minutes. Who can finish the book in 5 minutes? Just staring at it (At that time I still have not opened the bok yet)made me dizzy since we were already given multiple scripts to memorize and I didn't think that I can load more thoughts in my already cramped brain. But because, she insisted and all other scholars in the theater seemed to know what the book was already (secret: out of fear of being left out), I decided to have a whack at it and to my surprise, Kat was right. It was a good read. And I am proud to say that I now have my own copy which I was able to buy for 120 pesos at the Book Sale Shop. FYI, Kat bought hers for 600+ pesos. Good read, great buy. Thank you, Kat.


After reading "The Missing Piece", you should proceed to reading its sequel. I still do not have a copy but I am constantly hoping that I will get lucky (again!) like the first time. I have made it a habit to always drop by all Book Sale Shops or second hand stores to check if I can get my hands on the sequel. Unfortunately, I have not been too lucky. The brand new book costs around 600+ pesos...so sue me if I am such a cheapskate.