"We travel not to escape life, but for life not to escape us."
-Unknown
Showing posts with label paper. Show all posts
Showing posts with label paper. Show all posts

Wednesday 4 June 2014

Scribbles: Quirks and Novelties Haul + Thoughts


Some time ago I did mention that I will  be introducing a regular feature on stationery over here. I mean, who doesn't have a love for journals and stickers and handwritten letters (almost like calligraphy) and with the amount of kitschy-cute stationery abound these days, one's bound to notice right? 

I spotted this haul online from Cash Cash Pinoy and thought, why yes! I need a dedicated blogging notebook to jot down my posts and ideas and a place where I could keep track of all my report writing and dates due of each. Besides, you wouldn't believe how many My Gel pens I can empty in a month because of my scribbling and the post-it notes I have. I run out of post-it notes and my day is not the same again, ever. 

Back to the haul,  I chose the items carefully and narrowed my choices to the ones that reflect what it is that I really do-and that's writing for a living. After settling my payment, you could just imagine how curious and on top of that-very excited I felt to receive them. The ad did say 3 day shipping nationwide and there I was biting my lip from the excitement (must be due to the urge of instant gratification).

But the exchange of emails between me and the rep later would show that my orders will arrive over a month later from my purchase date-something that can get on my nerves. I can understand if shipping can take 3-5 days because I am in ZC and that's something I am already used to, but did I really have to wait for over a month? 

Another thing to note is to align my expectations with realities.

The site didn't provide measurements for the notebooks and they all came in single sizes so all the while I thought that I got good-sized notebooks, especially since I can scribble away like crazy for ideas and posts and things to do. 

This is what arrived.


It's a hot pink silicon bound blank-page notebook that's pocket-sized. At least I can take it anywhere with me. The blank pages may just be something I can doodle on. Its pages are also generous and makes the whole binding quite thick which kind of makes up for the size.


I like that there is a Keep Calm notebook for writers and I chose the one that came in my favorite color.  You can see that it is lined and has colored dividers, again it's not a big notebook and it sort of feels heavy but I think it's also due to the good quality paper. Its edges are a bit worn, it's something I don't fancy at all.


Finally, there is the attractive gel pen set that has assorted designs in pastel colors. If you look at the color labels closely, there are three varieties of blue and two types of green, yep- no brown. But then it's a set that writes fairly well and makes for good headings when I jot down notes on post-its.

All in all, I think that it's a good haul and I am just not satisfied with the notebook sizes because they are not what I expected, perhaps some measurement sizes would have been helpful. I prefer bigger notebooks though and was wishing that they could be used for the intended purpose.

Tuesday 6 August 2013

Book Review + Paperback Giveaway: Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children

(It is recommended that you scroll down slowly from this point on)






What have you noticed from these pictures? 

Apart from the fact that they could give any child nightmare, what could possibly be their stories? And just what are ymbrynes, wights, hollowgasts and peculiars? 

Jacob Portman knew that there is a big world out there, and that the only adventure he could ever taste is from the stories that Grandpa Portman told him from his stash of old photographs he took with him, all from the home that his grandfather knew. From the island of Cairnholm there stands an orphanage and a headmistress who looks after refugee children during the second world war. In the eyes of young Jacob growing up, Grandpa Abe was a hero. Unlike the rest of his family, it is only Jake and Grandpa Abe who share a bond that nobody else has ever understood.

But Grandpa Abe would not be around forever. On the night of his death, Jacob thinks he sees the horrid creature that murdered his grandfather. His parents believe he is delusional and what he saw could be the effect of years of storytelling-possibly lies- on an innocent boy, as if the characters on the strange photos have come to life, and this convinces the family that seeing a psychiatrist is best for Jake. But Grandpa Abe says something to Jacob on the night he died, "Find the bird in the loop, on the other side of the old man's grave. September third, 1940."

How could he ever make sense with his grandfather's last words and what could Jacob possibly find there? 

Highlights of the Book: Themes, Issues and Characterization
(Warning: May Contain Spoilers) 


The highlights of the book are hands down, the peculiar photographs. It is an eerie experience, and the more the reader digs deeper, flipping pages continuously, the more it becomes a puzzle of who these children were. 
It may have been clear that Miss Peregrine's children were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a deserted island for good reason. And somehow-impossible though it seems- they may still be alive."



Doesn't it just give you the creeps?

Second highlight is the world-building. Contrary to what other reviews on this book have mentioned, I don't see how it is patterned after the Harry Potter books. This is a more mature take, the way I see it, and the only similarity is that there is a home for peculiar children, and that there is the battle of good and evil peculiars in this world. Surely, these children have strange abilities, but the powers come from the children themselves and they are not taught. 

But as the reader continues, the real stories come to the surface, revealing who they are, and how they have come to find their places in Miss Peregrine's Home where they have come to know love and care under the headmistress's watchful eye when their own family have turned them away. 

Some issues raised in this book are the father and son relationship; where Jacob's father could be envious of the deep bond that Grandpa Abe and Jacob had whereas for him, Grandpa Abe was away most of the time when he was growing up.This is one factor why Jacob's own father has difficulty being one with his own son.

Another issue to note is the discrimination that the children encountered when they marched to the village, villagers' eyes following their every move, as if they had a disease which was highly contagious. The excuse made up was that the refugee children come from all over Europe so that they do not converse very well among the English villagers in the island of Cairnholm, Wales. But people are always afraid of other things that they do not understand. 

As for characterization, it comes to life because there is a rich pool of different characters who have individual concerns and methods of thinking. Somehow, I can't help feeling that there are many unexplained incidents as to how a boy anmed Victor with the strength of ten men can easily die without giving a fight. There are some parts that are dragging and slow to pick up on action, although the author tries his best to show the struggle between bravery and passiveness, it does not really strike me.

Who Could Enjoy the Book


I believe that readers and even collectors of vintage photographs could have a unique experience reading this book while the story builds, of strange and sometimes nightmarish photos, to those that are simply sad, and bleak. This is a book for lovers of paranormal stories and also those who have a thing for haunted homes and the history of those who lived in it.

About the Author


Just in case you were wondering, yes, Ransom Riggs has a thing for eerie vintage photos. 

Ransom Riggs grew up in Florida and but now makes his home in the land of peculiar children-Los Angeles. Along the way he earned degrees from Kenyon College and the University of Southern California's School of Cinema and Television. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children debuted #5 on the New York Times Best Seller List. He recently sat down with Quirk Books' creative director Jason Rekulak to discuss its peculiar origins.

He is looking forward to a trip to Belgium where he gets to see creepy abandoned chateaus, something he is really excited about. 



What Other People Are Saying About the Book 


" A tense, moving, and wondrously strange first novel. The photographs and text work brilliantly together to create an unforgettable story."- John Green, New York Times bestselling author of Paper Towns and The Fault In Our Stars

"An enjoyable, eccentric read, distinguished by well-developed characters and some very creepy monsters...dark but empowering."-Publishers Weekly


Now I am giving you a chance to win this copy. If you are into vintage photographs and creepy stories, you can have a paperback copy of your own. If you are like me who prefers paperback, tangible books over ebooks, then grab this! All you have to do is follow the mechanics and wait til a winner is announced! I am making this super easy for you all. 

Open to all Philippine residents only. 
(If winner is from Zamboanga we could meet up in town, how's that sound? Hihihi) 
Good luck!