Books = Bookstores!

I'm from Manila, Philippines so there are times that books are released here a little bit later than the US publishing dates.  There are also instances wherein the bookstores here only carries the trade paperback editions first, and the hardcover version will be released after a few weeks or so.  I have this penchant for hardcovers... well more like an obsession (as what my friends call it!  LOL!).  I just love the feel of hardcover books - the crispness of the paper, the smell of a newly opened book, the striking, beautiful covers...  these are the things which makes me just want to buy every book in hardcover.

Ok, so I think I kinda drifted to another subject for a moment there.  Anyway, the reason I posted this is to showcase the bookstore that I frequent and/or buy my books.

Powerbooks

All Powerbooks stores have this very good ambiance.  Their stores are spacious.  All books are neatly stacked and they have very good YA section.  Customer service personnel are really nice and accommodating.  They always greet you with a smile and knows which books to recommend.  What makes this store unique is having a reading area for those people just browsing through books.  They have seats and cushions for those who want to feel more comfortable while checking out the books they potentially would want to buy.  They also accept book reservations, especially for those books which are harder to find and those which are bestsellers (which most of the time are already out of stock.)  When you contact them through email, you will expect that they will respond to your inquiry in less than a day's time.   If you are searching for a book and they don't have it available in that particular store, they will coordinate with their other branches and if available there, have the book delivered to your preferred branch.  How cool is that, right?  It is indeed pure convenience.  This is the main reason why this is my first stop whenever I go to the malls.

Fully Booked

Just like Powerbooks, Fully Booked has a great staff and customer service.  These people also know the books they are selling.  Most of their personnel are very approachable and friendly.  Their branches though are not as spacious as I would want them to be (unlike the main branch located at Bonifacio Global City).  They also respond to email inquiries, but unlike Powerbooks, some inquiries took longer than how Powerbooks might have done it.  Anyway, what I also appreciate with Fully Booked is their wide range of books especially in the YA genre.  There are even times that they would be the very first bookstore to carry a title IN HARDCOVER!  Woot!  They also accept book reservations and they can reserve the book for a maximum of 3 days and deliver it to your preferred store.

 These two bookstores I always have to visit once a week.  After a stressful week at the office, I just have to relax myself by going to these places.  Riffling through the pages of the new books just simply gives me a boost of renewed energy...  AND while I'm doing that, I always imagine myself the owner of these bookstores!  That's actually my life-long dream!

Anyhow, I drifted again from the topic.  Can someone stop me from blabbering?  LOL!

Going back to the subject... If I really REALY REALLY want a book in hardcover and couldn't find it at all from these bookstores, then I have to order from Book Depository.  I initially read about this online store when I was blog-stalking Chachic at Chachic's Nook.  She's also from Manila and I read a post telling about the world-wide free shipping of Book Depository.  Upon reading that, my eyes literally went out off their sockets!  THAT IS JUST SO FREAKINGLY GREAT!!!  Then I ordered my first batch of books (just for me to test it).  And I was surprised that in about 10 days time, they arrived... AND in very good conditions.  After that once a month, I order books from Book Depository.

Well that's it.  I just want to share to everyone where I buy my books.  Have a nice day / Good night! (it's daytime here, but I work graveyard shifts so I don't know which greeting I should use! LOL!)

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Young Adult Sub-Genre

I was checking my bookshelf earlier and it suddenly hit me.  I have tons of books coming from the YA genre and as I was browsing, I realized that I am not only into a particular sub-genre of Young Adult, but I got a LOT coming from different kinds... from contemporary to fantasy to paranormal and the list goes on and on.  Anyway, so I looked the different sub-genres of YA and found this very helpful article at... http://www.yafantasyguide.com/for-writers/identifying-your-fantasy-novels-genre.htm which was written by Stacey O'Neale.

High Fantasy :

If your novel takes place on any other planet other than Earth then it is ALWAYS high fantasy. There is no wiggle room here. You could have elements of other subgenres, but the location of the novel always overrules everything else. Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis is a great example because most of the story takes place in a different or parallel world.

Epic Fantasy :

Typically a series of books that revolve around a quest. Think sword fights, medieval weapons, and damsels in distress. Some people have coined Epic fantasy as Sword and Sorcery. The Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini is a very well known epic fantasy series.

Dark Fantasy :

This is usually when monstrous creatures play the heroes and the romantic element is small. Think vampires, werewolves, dragons, etc. Tithe by Holly Black is considered a dark fantasy because her faeries play good and evil roles.

Urban Fantasy :

The setting is an urban city and the story is taking place right now. The city is usually well known like New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Washington DC, London, etc. The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare is considered an urban fantasy because it takes place in New York.

Dystopian :

The story takes place in the future and the society is usually controlled and/or repressed in some way. Great examples of this subgenre include The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and the Uglies series by Scott Westerfeld.

Steampunk :

A popular setting for this subgenre is Victorian London in the late 1800's/early 1900's. The technology is steam or spring powered and made mostly of brass and copper. Think science and futuristic inventions. A great example for this subgenre is Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld.

Paranormal Romance :

This is simply a romance with fantasy elements. They mostly take place in our modern day world and usually involve humans encountering other fantasy species. Think romance with vampires, werewolves, faeries, angels, etc. They also tend to feature human characters with some sort of psychic special ability. Paranormalcy by Kiersten White and The Immortals series by Alyson Noel are two great examples of this sub-genre.

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Date a Girl Who Reads by Rosemarie Urquico

So I was blog hopping, looking for book reviews when I stumbled upon this great article (I found it at Chachic's Book Nook).  I definitely related to this and made me smile and nod and nod and nod again!  Apparently this is written as an answer to another article, "You Should Date An Illiterate Girl."

Read on...

Date a girl who reads. Date a girl who spends her money on books instead of clothes. She has problems with closet space because she has too many books. Date a girl who has a list of books she wants to read, who has had a library card since she was twelve.

Find a girl who reads. You’ll know that she does because she will always have an unread book in her bag. She’s the one lovingly looking over the shelves in the bookstore, the one who quietly cries out when she finds the book she wants. You see the weird chick sniffing the pages of an old book in a second hand book shop? That’s the reader. They can never resist smelling the pages, especially when they are yellow.

She’s the girl reading while waiting in that coffee shop down the street. If you take a peek at her mug, the non-dairy creamer is floating on top because she’s kind of engrossed already. Lost in a world of the author’s making. Sit down. She might give you a glare, as most girls who read do not like to be interrupted.

Ask her if she likes the book.

Buy her another cup of coffee.

Let her know what you really think of Murakami. See if she got through the first chapter of Fellowship. Understand that if she says she understood James Joyce’s Ulysses she’s just saying that to sound intelligent. Ask her if she loves Alice or she would like to be Alice.

It’s easy to date a girl who reads. Give her books for her birthday, for Christmas and for anniversaries. Give her the gift of words, in poetry, in song. Give her Neruda, Pound, Sexton, Cummings. Let her know that you understand that words are love. Understand that she knows the difference between books and reality but by god, she’s going to try to make her life a little like her favorite book. It will never be your fault if she does.

She has to give it a shot somehow.

Lie to her. If she understands syntax, she will understand your need to lie. Behind words are other things: motivation, value, nuance, dialogue. It will not be the end of the world.

Fail her. Because a girl who reads knows that failure always leads up to the climax. Because girls who understand that all things will come to end. That you can always write a sequel. That you can begin again and again and still be the hero. That life is meant to have a villain or two.

Why be frightened of everything that you are not? Girls who read understand that people, like characters, develop. Except in the Twilight series.

If you find a girl who reads, keep her close. When you find her up at 2 AM clutching a book to her chest and weeping, make her a cup of tea and hold her.You may lose her for a couple of hours but she will always come back to you. She’ll talk as if the characters in the book are real, because for a while, they always are.

You will propose on a hot air balloon. Or during a rock concert. Or very casually next time she’s sick. Over Skype.

You will smile so hard you will wonder why your heart hasn’t burst and bled out all over your chest yet. You will write the story of your lives, have kids with strange names and even stranger tastes. She will introduce your children to the Cat in the Hat and Aslan, maybe in the same day. You will walk the winters of your old age together and she will recite Keats under her breath while you shake the snow off your boots.

Date a girl who reads because you deserve it. You deserve a girl who can give you the most colorful life imaginable. If you can only give her monotony, and stale hours and half-baked proposals, then you’re better off alone. If you want the world and the worlds beyond it, date a girl who reads.

Or better yet, date a girl who writes.

Did it make you smile and nod and say to yourself, "Well that's me alright!"  I bet you'll also give a copy of this to your friends who have been always restraining you of buying tons and tons of books!  Well I definitely did and they asked me if commissioned the author of this article to write something about ME!  As if!  LOL!  I know in my heart that a LOT of you can be able to relate to this.  Anyway, 'til next time!  Happy reading!

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