NBS Book Signing Events (Mid 2015)

For the past years, National Book Store has been graciously bringing authors to the Philippines for book signing events and blogger forums. They have brought both Ransom Riggs and Tahereh Mafi, Veronica Rossi, Gayle Forman, Jennifer E. Smith, Jenny Han, Mitch Albom, Marie Lu and a lot more authors closer to their Filipino fans. And although it is extremely frustrating that I haven't attended any of these book signing events (not even once), there is still that exciting thought that, for a moment, we are all in the same time zone, stepping on the same land, breathing the same air, and all that cheesy stuff you say to try and convince yourself to get over that crappy feeling of not being there.

This coming June and July, four beloved authors are coming to the Philippines to meet some of their Filipino fans and grant them the privilege of having their books signed. We have National Book Store to thank for that.

So, who are we (we does not include me, probably) going to meet this coming months? Drum roll, please...

SUMMER READS: Mini Reviews

It's officially summer in the Philippines. It has been for almost a month now. And that means no school, no homework, and no annoying exams (happy dance!). And thus, more time to sleep, read and binge watch movies and television series.

I don't know about you guys,but I'm seeing "summer reads" all around, and whenever I hear that or anything similar, the first thing that comes to my mind are the contemporary/realistic young adult books. Yes, the YA Contemporaries in general - not limited to those beach reads. Although I read a wide variety of YAs every summer, I think majority of the books I have read are contemporaries. And right now, all that I have read since the last day of school are books like that.

The three most recent books I have read just a few days ago are:

Things We Know by Heart by Jessi Kirby

Megan Meade's Guide to the McGowan Boys by Kate Brian

Aimee and the Heartthrob by Ophelia London

Three contemporary romances with three very different themes.

The NEW FACE of Jace

If you’ve been following the Shadowhunter/TMI updates for the past couple of months, I’m sure it’s not a surprise to you that Cassandra Clare’s The Mortal Instruments series has been given a second chance - second chance to prove to people how insanely badass the story is and another chance to redeem itself.

As a fan of the series, I can’t tell you how both extremely excited and nervous I was when it was announced years ago that they were going to make a movie out of the books. Finally, the Shadowhunters and friends (especially the famous glittery warlock) will be personified. But as the casting went on, my excitement deflated. I was having a hard time picturing some of the characters playing their respective roles. But I tried to have faith with the people behind the movie. I convinced myself that they know what they were doing.  And the movie came out after a few months. I did not expect much, but I was still a little bummed that it was not as good as I wanted it to be. I guess it was okay. It’s not one of those movies that I would gush about for days and force my friend to watch.

Then, the news broke out that The Mortal Instruments series will be made into a television series. Well, for me, that is definitely good news. There’s a chance that the story will be closer to the books, and the story won’t be rushed because you have an entire season (and more seasons to come, hopefully) to map out the plot. Aside from that, another thing to be excited about is the new cast. Yay!

*ignore the TMI back story and fast forward to the casting news*

DOMINIC SHERWOOD will be the new JACE!!!

I am not really a fan of Dom Sherwood. You might have seen him on Vampire Academy playing Lissa’s love interest, and on Taylor Swift’s Style music video. He’s okay, but not the picture of Jace I had in mind.  There’s actually no vivid picture of Jace in my head. Hahahahaha! Anyway, after I found out about the casting, I searched for pictures and videos of him.  The pictures were “hmmm… no comment” (he’s appearance is similar to Robert Pattinson, and I don’t like Rob), but the videos I’ve seen were pretty good. Maybe it was his charm, or the British accent, or maybe even his different colored eyes. Whatever it is, there was something that told me he might play Jace well. There might be chance that he’s Jace after all.

Right now, I'm sure my Shadowhunter friends are waiting for the next casting news. *fingers crossed*

Random Note: This is my first post this 2015. I miss doing this!!!