Holy Week Reading

I received the book Max On Life from BookSneeze maybe over two years ago but I just couldn’t go through the book. I tried, but I couldn’t get past the first chapter. Since I haven’t finished reading the book, I did not feel qualified to review it. Hence, no requests for BookSneeze in a long time. No surprise there when I tried logging in to my account today to find it deactivated.

I had a sudden thought today that perhaps now is the time to read it. Maybe this time I am ready to receive its message. Some books are like that. When I first attempt to conquer it, I don’t feel like continuing. But I pick it up a second, or third time, and its so easy to breeze through. Maybe it’s that kind of a book.

But I don’t really think I’d get any reading done this week. Back pain’s back, with a vengeance. I have a theory on why it’s bad again, but I’m not inclined to share it right now. Haha. Back pain’s just secondary to why I don’t think any reading’s going to happen this weekend. Not even the fact that I have no vacation can keep me from a good book. This here, is the reason:

He’s here for the long weekend and I’m pretty sure he’ll keep all of us occupied.

Anyway… I’m also checking out Blog Lovin’ as my Google Reader replacement. So far, so good.

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Nuffnang’s giving me tickets to see Oz!

Thank you Nuffnang PH for sending me (+1) to a special screening of Oz The Great and Powerful!

My post about the Nokia Lumia 920 served as the key to scoring two free tickets to this Nuffnang, Nokia and Abenson event.

We saw the movie trailer when we went to see Jack the other night and I knew then that I would see this film, free tickets or none. But a free pass is always welcome, no?

I really like re-tellings of fairy tales and other stories from the past. Pinoys have done a lot of that in the past and Hollywood is just now catching up, hehe. I look forward to the animation, the more exciting story line, and the soundtrack. Great movie soundtracks (or musical scoring) have a way of getting me groovy.

Now all I have to figure out is getting permission to come in to work late. Movie starts at 9PM and my shift is supposed to start at 11. So… adjust adjust I must!

Jack The Giant Slayer

For our Movie MonDate last night, we went to the Gateway Cineplex to see Jack The Giant Slayer.

Legend has it that centuries ago, the Monks of Cloister tried to find a way to find God. But their magic seeds only brought them to the land between heaven and earth, where giants ruled. These giants, by the monks’ unexpected visit, learned about the land below them, and acquired a taste for human flesh and bones. They sought to takeover that land.

But the monks found a way to keep the giants at bay. A great crown was forged from the heart of one of the giants’ own. Whoever wore the crown, became King of the Giants, and they had no choice but to obey. The monks gave Eric the Great, king of Cloister, this crown. He ordered all the giants back to their own land, and all the beanstalks cut down. And the people of Cloister lived in peace.

Everyone thought it was all just the stuff of legends. No one could prove though that it didn’t happen in reality. Until one day a farmboy gets a bag of beans from a monk, and one of them grows into a giant beanstalk right under his floorboards.

The farmboy becomes a legend himself.

(Link for image source)

It would have been nice to watch it on 3D but it wasn’t available in Gateway so we chose 2D theater instead. The picture was quite clear and crisp. Breathtaking for a lot of scenes.

The animation in this film was good enough for us, Alfred could not get over how well made the giants were. He absolutely loved them.

As expected, the film is an adaptation of a well-loved children’s story – Jack and the Beanstalk.

The princess was my favorite character, I wish there was more time to develop her. I love that she had a thirst for adventure, and she looked forward to doing a lot of good for a lot of people when she becomes queen. Unlike some politicos running for office this election season, she didn’t just feel that power was her birthright, she actually wanted to experience life and be fit to be queen. She actually wanted to be with her people instead of staying within the confines of the high palace walls.

If Merida of the movie Brave was ever made into a live-action movie, the actress Eleanor Tomlinson who played Isabelle would be a good lead (not that I’ve seen Brave).

My next favorite character would have to be this dude:

(Link for image source)

Ewan McGregor as Elmont, leader of the Royal Guards. His duty is to protect the princess, and he does it very well. He is brave and courageous, and witty. He definitely is one of the heroes.

Of course Jack was charming. Dorky, at first, but then he showed everyone that he was noble and had a heart full of courage. The King was also not to be discounted. He was right there in the frontlines when the castle had to be defended. He also made the tough decision to cut the beanstalk down lest the giants find their way down before the princess does.

So do the giants really exist? What if they come back again? If they do, then the crown that rules them is just hidden I plain sight.

Have you seen this movie? Did you like it?

Kindle Daily Deal: Wizard’s First Rule

You must have guessed it, here I am again with another Kindle Deal I  didn’t buy this one though because I recently bought another printed edition (the first copy we got all those years ago was lent to somebody and couldn’t be located anymore). I’m referring to the first book in the Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind – Wizard’s First Rule.

The Kindle edition is currently available for only $1.99. Grab this chance to find out if this epic fantasy series is for you.

Now is the best time to start on this epic because the entire series is already finished. You won’t have to wait a year or two for the next installment, like we did, hehe. The last book, Confessor, was published in 2007. I’ve had a copy for years, but haven’t read it.

If you’d like a peek at what the story line is, you can check out my Legend of the Seeker post from a few years back. 

Inbetween (Kissed by Death) by Tara Fuller

I am really not familiar with the author, but this book is currently on Amazon’s Kindle Daily Deal so it’s the perfect opportunity to get to know a new author.

Inbetween is available for only $0.99 for a limited time.

Should be interesting. Has anyone read this yet?

I’ve been paying more attention to these Kindle Deals lately and I’ve purchased three books so far. It’s a good way to add books to my personal collection, without necessarily having them take up more space. If I travel, I can pack an Osprey Exos 34 with all the clothes and toiletries I need and my books won’t take up more than what would fit in my iPad mini. Hehe But don’t get me wrong, I’m still a printed book kind of girl.

Snooze Fest

Tonight I go back to work for another week. You see, my work week is Tuesdays to Saturdays. Only this week will be short because I’ll be on leave on Saturday. I will be attending a colleague’s wedding.

I wanted to get a few blog posts out of the way before heading back to the office. I’ve got movies and books in my head juggling for attention – really. I’ve watched them and read them over the past several weeks and the stories are just dying to be told. Feels like I need to tell them so I can concentrate on work.

Alas! The weekend is over and not much writing has been done. I don’t even have a memory foam mattress yet, and my bed has been that much inviting. Of course I didn’t just sleep the weekend away. My parents and I took my nephew to Paradizoo in Mendez, Cavite (we were there five years ago, with a different nephew).

Anyway, going there without sleeping first definitely messed up my sleeping patterns. I did sleep on the drive home, and though I thought I’d be up all night Sunday, I went to bed at midnight. Monday was snooze fest again until Alfred came home from his Boracay trip. Then there’s was an attempt at date night. Hehe.

Sooooo….. I still have so much stories lodged in my head, but I feel like I can’t rush them out. Each story deserves a carefully thought out blog post. I guess it means that it will get a bit crowded in my mind tonight, with work thoughts coming to the fore. So wish me luck!

Award Winning Books Reading Challenge 2013

Hello! About time I posted again, no?

Before 2012 ended, the 2013 Award Winning Books Reading Challenge was announced over at Gathering Books. I knew right then that I wanted to enter for the second year. My personal challenge is to top my 4 entries from 2012.

I don’t have time to fact-check myself to find out exactly how many times I’ve said this, but I’m pretty sure I’ve said it more than once: I’ve got a LOT of books all over the house waiting to be read. And some of them are award winning. I hope there’s at least five. If not, then, I can always get more books. ::grin::

If you haven’t read much in the past year, and would love a challenge that will help encourage you to pick up at least one book this year, then why not join us? At the very least, you’d get to read book recommendations from other AWB readers. It’s like having a free preview of X amount of books every month this year