I am very pleased with today’s book sale finds. I got all of them for about Php50.00 each (roughly a dollar and a few cents… too lazy to run through a currency converter today.)
You know, I don’t have much exposure to local literature primarily because they are either unavailable or too expensive. Unless you count those romance novelitas with photographs of couples getting hot and steamy photoshopped to look like paintings on the cover page. I mean, nothing against them, but I wouldn’t want to be caught dead reading those (which pretty much sums up what I feel about Twilight as well…)
But yes, the irony is that Shakespeare, Austen and the whole lot of them western authors are more accessible than Filipino authors are even when you’re in the Philippines.
That is, until a couple of Arlene J. Chai’s books went on sale. I’ve always wanted to read her books! They were all so costly* and, I thought, very unlikely to go on sale. But they did! So despite promising myself that I wouldn’t spend on anything but index cards, Japanese paper and coffee, I took these straight to the counter. And I threw in Into a Beautiful North by Luis Alberto Urrea (who is not Filipino) as well.
These look good, and I hope they are! It’s been over a year since I’ve read any good fiction that I actually enjoyed. (I promised a review of The Other Boleyn Girl, which I also got on sale, some time ago. Unfortunately, I was generally unimpressed by it and writing a review meant that I’d have to read it again just to verify some things. And ugh. Just cannot do that again right now.)
*There are some books which I am willing to spend hundreds, or even thousands of pesos on. But I like my literature dirt cheap.
I have long desired this book, precisely because I: a.) love historical fiction; b.) have a thing for the Tudors. But I didn’t want to spend a lot for a novel. Yesterday, a copy landed in Book Sale for a steal and I finally got it. I am yet to read it. :)
Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. Not exactly a “Book Sale Find”, more of a “Book Store Find” as I bought it for full price at National Book Store, but I’m tagging it as one because all my favorite books are here.
This is one of my favorite books (Look how worn it is!) I bought it after hearing Liz Gilbert’s inspiring speech on TED. It’s funny and entertaining. A lot of people bash it for being “narcissistic.” I took it for what it is - a memoir. Gilbert did say that it was about exploring parts of herself in the background of three different places, and that’s exactly what she did. It was fascinating to see different places and people with her point of view.
It’s not super deep, but it’s a fun and light read. It’s like having an endearing, witty friend who lets you see life’s problems with fondness and humor.
Cooks Illustrated is one of my favorite cooking magazines. Mostly because it narrates the cooking process much like one would describe a journey to enlightenment. I have more of these on the shelf.
Lots of good food + Entertaining read.
Romanticism, one of Barron’s Art Handbooks (Php45.00, approx USD0.58 at Book Sale.)
Again, I cannot resist books full of art that I adore. This one not only has full-color images, but it also describes the romantic art movement, as well as many romantic artists throughout the years.
It’s no secret that I’ve been wanting to go vegetarian for a long time. And the trouble with vegetarian books/web sites is that they were written with Americans/Europeans in mind. While substitution is easy in most cases, it takes a bit of research. And it often gets depressing when I don’t have nutritional yeast, or tahini, or something-or-the-other on hand. So I have been long looking for a book that caters to locally grown ingredients. This book doesn’t exactly fit the bill, seeing as I don’t live in Thailand. However, it does come close (we’re geographically proximal, with similar weather conditions and similar crops.) A lot of the ingredients are familiar and easily accessible, except maybe for some of the spices I need for the curry pastes. (Not a problem. I can easily buy ready made curry paste or powder.)
The Art Book from the editors of Phaidon Press (Php145, approx USD3.35 from Book Sale)
This was a huge find, as books like these cost an entire paycheck where I come from. It’s a straightforward reference to thousands of artists. I’ve discovered many new artists just by randomly browsing its pages. Occasionally, just for practice, I’ll flick it open and make a small copy of the first work I see. It’s nice to work out of my comfort zone.
It’s not going to be much good if you want a detailed artist’s biography or an analysis of their technique. All it is is the artist’s name, a painting which is considered to be typical of their style, and a short description of the painting. But then, all those things can be easily found on Wikipedia.
This was a really good find for me. Personally, I feel that despite the fact that I graduated from one of the best nursing schools in the country, my training on health assessment was somewhat inadequate. It is my opinion that assessment is the most important part of the nursing process, because it is the foundation for all subsequent care.
I love that this book describes in depth assessments and has some useful illustrations, diagrams and pictures to give me an idea of what I’m looking for when I’m doing my assessment.
We’ll see how useful it truly is once I get back to work. :)
