1Q84

1Q84, Haruki Murakami

Rating: ★★★★☆

1Q84 is my first Murakami book.  I saw it first in the stands of National Bookstore and it generated quite a buzz on Twitter.  Some people even asked me if I have read the book, I said no.  It was three weeks ago when I started to review for the IELTS that I muster myself to get back into reading.  I already have a digital copy of 1Q84 since last year but I never moved a chapter, always staring into chapter one and procrastinated ever since.  Then Readmill came and I finished the book in three weeks.  Again it's my first Murakami book and also my very first reading in a very long time.

Readmill

Readmill

Rating: ★★★★☆

Do we really need another book reader with all the various apps like iBooks, Stanza, Kindle and Nook available in the iOS platform?  Apparently yes.  Readmill is probably the best designed ebook reader app to date.  The app uses proper typography with no clutter whatsoever.  It's so clean you just want to gobble up those text one page at a time.

Paradise

The province of Bohol is one of the most visited places in our country. Foreign and local tourists alike flock to this "God's Little Paradise" to see it's nature, beauty, beaches and culture. I have a dedicated Bohol blog at Bohol Interactive to showcase the province through the community. Last January I featured Massimo Casal, a photographer now based on Indonesia but has his fair share of Bohol, his travel article and book project. Just last week, I got another heads up that he is currently on a new project, a "Photo Book on Bohol". I get to see the amazing sights of Bohol both popular and the unexplored in his 39-page preview.

Dive Bohol

Massimo studied as an engineer. His work has given him the opportunity to travel around the world and particularly around Southeast Asia. Through his travels he has cultivated his love for photography. He also has great sets from Hanoi, Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia, Thailand, Taiwan, Europe and the Philippines as well.  You can visit his website and portfolio at Casal Photography and you should also follow him on Twitter here.

Looking at these photos make me miss home.  Yes, dear reader, this blogger is a Boholano and a Boholano I am.  What photos you say?  Well, you can also see the 39-page preview right here after the jump.

Fruitcake

Forever, Erma: Best-Loved Writing from America's Favorite Humorist

I never like to make generalities about people, but let's face it: People who love fruitcakes are "different."

I have never met a fruitcake baker in my life who didn't want to convert me to all that baked fruit. I can be standing in the baker's kitchen and announce without a trace of humor, "I do not like fruitcake. I have never liked fruitcake. I have sampled more than 10,000 species of fruitcake in my time, and it is my dream that I never have to sample it again," only to have someone put a slice in front of me and say, "Try it. This one is different."

Traditional Fruitcake - Photo by Wikipedia

Fruitcakes are not different. They all tend to be the same, each having an assortment of incompatible fruits and the distinction of weighing more than the stove they were cooked in. They defy all the culinary rules in the book. No one ever says, "This fruitcake is so light you don't know you're eating it." That is because the heavier the fruitcake, the better.

Another thing I hate about fruitcake lovers is they smile when their cake is rejected. I don't like people who do that. It's unnatural. I'd be more comfortable if they would just say, "Who asked you to eat this cake? It cost me forty-five bucks to make, and if it were up to me, I'd drop it on your ungrateful foot!" You can have respect for a person like that. But no, fruitcake lovers will stand by and watch you spit out the sample in your hand and say, "But isn't it moist?"