Jill and the Books Talk

A tale from the Beast’s perspective which told about how life was before he was transformed into the hideous beast in the story we all are familiar with - Beauty and the Beast. This book is full of surprises as Valentino creatively spun a weblike relationship between characters that you could never imagine. One must be a Disney fan to fully appreciate and understand the role of some characters who seemed to have magically appeared from other Disney stories. Truly an entertaining story for someone who has watched the movie but might be confusing for someone who has no background on Beauty and the Beast and Valentino’s Fairest of All book.

This is the untold story of Snow White's wicked stepmother before she became a vindictive old hag.  The author spun a great story about how a once kind-hearted girl transformed into a heartless witch as a result of life's cruelty and injustices. Surprisingly left a dull ache in my heart after reading the novel. Truly a must read for fairy tale lovers like me.

The old adage says, don't judge the book by its cover. And I did just that when I saw this hardbound, glossy and intriguing book. I thought that I was in for a treat on the explicit details of a Geisha's colorful yet secretive world. I was wrong. Instead, I found myself quickly flipping through the pages of a coffee table book with amazing photos documenting an ordinary girl's obsession to become a Geisha. I struggled with the minute font narrating the shallow details of Komomo's journey with much left to be revealed. This book left my curiosity unsated.  It is worth buying for the photos but don't expect to get any information beyond what was already written in the novel and portrayed in the film, Memoirs of Geisha. They have more substance than this book.

Sometime in January this year, I saw beautiful flowers as I passed by a flower shop which prompted me to say a silly prayer: "God gusto ko ng flowers. Yung nice. (God I want nice flowers). But it should not come from a guy who has romantic illusions in mind."  Fast forward to a couple of weeks later, I received a dozen luxurious Ecuadorian roses from my female patient with a thank you note. You see, we have been through a lot the past two years and saw how the hand of God works!   That's one silly prayer answered but it didn't end there. On the same day, I said another silly prayer while attending an event at Edsa Shangri-La Hotel. I asked God to give me another surprise. Lo and behold, the hotel's GM called my name and handed me a gift certificate for an overnight stay with spa treatments!  Isn't Jesus romantic? He knows how to make my heart go lub dub. In June of 2010, I was exhausted after coming home from my Ateneo school trip in Vie...

Poignant. Horrifying. This book is all about political upheaval and detailed historical events that led to the murder of the Romanovs. The author ensured that her readers will get to know each of the family members, as well as, their murderers by providing unbiased truths. She wrote in a way that will evoke strong emotions as the reader unconsciously empathizes with the characters. Beware! This book is absorbing, words will come alive as you flip through the pages. Allow your imagination to take you back to that tragic, bitter cold day in Ekaterinburg, Russia.

Interesting facts this book has. Spanning five hundred years of adultery, power, rivalry and revenge. Yet the author failed to captivate me with her writing style. Thoughts were disorganized. She jumped from one mistress to another. I could hardly keep track of who was who. I found myself having to flip pages backwards in order to recall roles, characters and events. If you have great patience to overlook the way this book was written, you will find yourself a wealth of intriguing facts. 

It was a cool day in Barcelona when I visited La Sagrada Familia, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with my friend Marlon. My first impression was: "The basilica was massive. Gothic. Weird looking but amazing at first glance." (Excerpt from my travel journal) Antoni Gaudi, the genius architect behind La Sagrada Familia's creation, was inspired by unusually tall and slim forest trees. He loves to read the book of Mark in the bible. His design is vey Christ-centered. In fact, if you look closely, the basilica has many scenes depicting Jesus' life and ministry on earth.  La Sagrada Familia has 3 facades one of which remains unfinished to this very day. Gaudi believed that his creation should not surpass that of God's. Gaudi built Sagrada in 1883 but did not live long enough to complete his masterpiece. He died 3 days after being hit by a passing tram on his way to church for his daily prayer and confession.  La Sagrada Fa...