Here's To New Beginnings

   

Happy 2018, dear readers!

Last year was really busy for me. The move from the Philippines was extra challenging -been to places, made some new friends, and tackled some pretty weighty obstacles. I labored to realign some priorities and that helped me grow these past months since I came here in Canada. I took a couple of online courses from the University of Toronto and earned my certifications last November 2017. I had an odd job to gain a Canadian experience, which was not all that bad since I gained some good friends and connections through it.

   I managed to squeeze in a few readings, here and there. And here's what Goodreads has to say about it... (click photo)

I'm not a mathematical genius, but I'm pretty sure I counted only 37 books in there. Anyways, here are my best books for 2017 (in no particular order):

1. The Awakening by Amanda Stevens -I love how this series ended. It showed how Amelia evolved immensely and exacted due retribution in the process.
2. A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman - Ove’s an unlikely hero with an exceptional story.
3. Rise and Shine, Benedict Stone by Phaedra Patrick - It tackles family and communal issues, childlessness, and one's sense of self-efficacy with a good sense of honesty and depth.
4. The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy by Rachel Joyce - I still cannot talk about this book. It was so painfully keen, and yet, I can't recommend it highly enough.
5. Where the Dead Lie by C.S. Harris - A favorite historical fiction series. There's no book in this series that I don't like. Every single one of them went through thorough research.
6. Salvation of a Saint by Keigo Higashino - This is my 2nd Higashino, it doesn't disappoint at all. If you want a good mystery, you have one here.
7. The Music Shop by Rachel Joyce - Another RJ book, yes. The reader has to listen to this book intently, don't just read it.
8. A Murderous Procession by Ariana Franklin - the ending of this installment got me in knots for some time. I wish there was a way to finish this series.
9. Being Perfect by Anna Quindlen - A short read, but dense in many ways.
10. And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer by Fredrik Backman - My second FB book. I cried without tears with this one, I don't know how else to express how heartbreaking it was.

The notable ones are:

1. I Murdered My Library by Linda Grant
2. See You in the Cosmos by Jack Cheng
3. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
4. Nutshell by Ian McEwan
5. Young Jane Young by Gabrielle Zevin 
6. Autumn by Ali Smith
7. Tell the Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt
8. The Way Through Doors by Jesse Ball

Wow, that's half of what I read last year. But that's exactly what I promised myself, that I'll aspire reading really satisfying books. Hopefully, 2018 will be filled with them, as well.


Let us be optimistic that my blogging will improve, too. I'll still be posting ARC reviews, some pre-Blogger reviews, Wednesday Spotlights, and maybe some Author Interviews. We'll see. Stay in touch.


Oh, by the way, it's The Page Walker's 5th Bloggy Birthday. Thank you for staying with me.

Read more →

THIS IS NEW

Hello. It’s been a while since my last entry and that got me thinking if any of you are still out there. 😅*crossing fingers The last few weeks had been very busy and, as you may know, moving into another country (another continent, really) is never easy. As of now, it’s acquainting with the new house, the new bed, the climate, and a timeline for me. The most challenging, right now, is getting acquainted with the new church. Will I ever be acquainted? That is. I’ve always believed in the fact that to belong to a church I need to have a purpose. So, let’s see if I can identify my purpose here.

Did I say I was busy? Well, I’ve been busy touring around Alberta, Canada. Believe me, it’s not a posh endeavor. Don’t get me wrong, the places we’ve been are absolutely interesting and wonderful, but the drive was long and, well, long. Good thing we have Cindy Lauper to accompany us most of the time. 🎵 I drove all night to get to you.🎶

My hubby, being adorable as he’d always been, drove me to browse around CrossIron Mills Outlets Mall. I unashamedly bought boots, clothes, and food. Go ahead, judge me for being a girl.😜 But, even though, there’s an Indigo outlet, I didn’t get any book. I was busy looking at what book people picked up, instead.

There was this one morning when we drove to see the beautiful frozen Lake Louise, which is absolutely pristine, but freakishly cold too. Hubby said that we should go back in the summer, and we really should. We also went to see the Banff Park Museum, which was very educational and startling. Although, it’s a place I’m sure my daughter would never enter by choice, because of the huge taxidermy collection. She’s an animal person, you see. They have some really interesting shops in that town. Plenty of people, too. The line at Starbucks was ridiculous, I tell you, but it gave me enough time to observe people. I’ve been spending a lot of time observing people lately, hmmm.

We spent one Sunday afternoon walking around downtown Calgary –taking pictures and internalizing how to be tourists. This is followed by an even more interesting Monday, driving around looking into Calgary’s independent bookstores and chatting with their accommodating store clerks. I’m going to write a piece about that on a different post.

On our way to Saskatchewan, we drove first into Drumheller. Dinosaurs walk that town. We went to see the Tyrell Museum, Homestead Museum, and the Hoodoos. The whole trip was wonderful. I literally want to take pictures of every hump and rock formations. It’s a warm place, where the sun sets a couple of hours before midnight. And it was funny and cool walking around wearing sunglasses in the middle of the night.😎

Here’s the thing, moving continent, I also need to move my files and whatnot. So I’m doing my best to move my book reviews into one place, where there’s actually a working chronological order. Be forewarned that I’ll be posting pre-Blogger book reviews I wrote in Shelfari, Goodreads, and Tumblr. Hopefully, they will not bore you.  You let me know, okay?

Before I forgot, I’ve been to concerts and had drinks, of course. Thank you to all the wonderful people who provided our tickets. So, yeah, I just want you guys to know that I still have a nightlife, despite the cold, here in the new continent.

Sorry for not writing sooner. I’ll sit again to write something actually book related, promise.

Read more →

ON HOW I HANDLE REJECTION

by Legami

Every now and then, I get book-related questions, through email or through the blog’s contact form, from different sorts of visitors – authors, fellow reader, students with paperwork, surveyor, and trolls. I’m not sure how many of them are actually my blog followers, but I do appreciate their effort in bothering to contact me (trolls included). I admit to having varied ways of neglecting them; oftentimes, it took me weeks before I can sort the interesting from the insignificant. Most interesting at times, it’s the trolls who have more significant questions, if you can believe that.

I was asked a few months back if I was ever declined by a publisher in Netgalley. I assumed that the question came from a fellow site user, who is pretty new at it, and have been recently declined. However, since my querier did not leave any contact information, I decided to answer this question here. And hopefully, this will help others, out there, who experienced the same.

The truth.

The answer is a resounding YES, I have. I was declined 56 times, the last one, in fact, was last January 14 of this year. Now, that was almost as many times I was approved. The general reason I got for being declined was that the publisher already hit their galley limit.  It probably meant that I sent my request too close to the publishing date, or a number of requests already came through before mine. However, there were three incidents wherein publishers declined me because they were dissatisfied with my profile information. They cited several reasons as to why. Some of these rejections even came from publishers who approved my previous requests. Some were even sequels to books I have reviewed for them before.

Keep at it.

Was I disappointed? Yes. Was I discouraged? No.  I just keep on requesting for other books I like. I continue updating my profile, because, of course, changes happen. And I keep reading and blogging.  And, then I get pre-approval from publishers. Not just for one particular book, but for all their new releases. To show them my appreciation, I request and review books from their racks every month. I can be a grateful bitch if I want to. 

There were times, too, when the author or a publicist will directly email their galley, or send download links, which is generous, of course. 

I am not trying to boast here. I am simply telling you, guys, good things also happen to hardworking and honest reviewers/bloggers.

Not just a reader.

Every time I get declined, I’d tell myself that it was not my loss; it was theirs because mine was another recommendation they will never have. What some publishers failed to see was that not all reviewers from Netgalley are just professional readers. Most of us are “book lovers”, we are born to read books. Readers like me will not just submit feedback for the galley, we will actually buy a printed copy if we liked it, take pictures of them, and put them on display or post them on social media. 

There are two motives for reading a book;
one, that you enjoy it;
the other,that you can boast about it.
~Bertrand Russell

Crazy as this may sound, but I even buy the audiobook when it becomes available. I became a completist of authors, because of some great galley proofs I’ve read.

My advice to my fellow NetGalley users, keep going to the site, keep requesting for books that appeal to you, and keep recommending; because you are there not for the rating, not for the pride of badges, but FOR THE LOVE OF BOOKS. For a bit of more cohesive advice on how to improve your approval rate, though, you may want to read Savy's post.

P.S.

And this last bit is for the publicists who use “Review Opportunity” on their email heading:  Whose opportunity are you referring? May I suggest Barb Drozdowich’s Book Blogger Survey for references before emailing book reviewers?

Good day, everyone. Thanks for keeping with my ramblings.

Read more →

THE 3-DAY LATE YEAR-END POST

Happy 2017, Everyone!

This is our annual welcome post, where I get to show you my year of reading, my top list for the previous year, and my wishes and perspective for this glorious year ahead of us. On top of that, The Page Walker’s 4th birthday is just around the corner. So, I bid you greet me a Happy Bloggy Birthday. Go ahead, don’t be shy.

Goodreads was good enough (pun not intended), to compile our yearly reading for us. So, simply click on the photo above and you’ll be electronically transported to that beautiful cover collage.  According to Goodreads, I read 62 books last 2016 (rereads not included). Pretty good job for a lazy sloth like me, I guess. The thing is I don’t regret reading any of these books. In fact, I’ve had some very satisfying reads. Most of them were real tearjerkers, some were bloody murder, and some were as scary as hell.

Last July 2016, I’ve already posted half of my best list, so, I’ll just add the rest here.

1. Stormy Weather by Dermot Davis – This is a philosophical challenge. I chose it for my TFG Bingo card because it posed a very intriguing storyline. I had a huge take from this story because it tells the story of a therapist struggling with his own priorities.
2. Leave Me by Gayle Forman – I connected with this book. The main character voiced every exhausted mother’s plea and call for validation.
3. The Sinner by Amanda Stevens – This is the 5^th installment of the Graveyard Queen. And I admit to loving this series too much because it scared me out of my pants (and out of my bed, too).
4. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer, Annie Barrows – Another book for the TFG Bingo. This is a sweetheart. I dearly love all the exchanges.
5. All In  (The Naturals #3) by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
6. Bad Blood (The Naturals #4) by Jennifer Lynn Barnes – The Naturals is one freakin’ psyched series. I love it.
7. Stay Where You Are And Then Leave by John Boyne – The same guy who wrote The Boy In the Striped Pyjamas wrote this book, so, I don’t need to tell you to grab a huge roll of tissue when you read this.
8. The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino – This book is deceptive, I tell you. It lulled me into believing that it’d be the perfect murder. Then, the ending happened, and I totally lost it. Bloody murder and a tearjerker, rolled into one. What a punch!
9. A List of Cages by Robin Roe – This debut novel crushed my heart most assuredly. It made me cry, it made me angry – I felt absolutely helpless. The roll of tissue failed to rescue me from this one. I highly recommend this.

I’m proud of my TFG Bingo Challenge, even though I’m 4 books shy of completing a blackout. I finished 21 books, with 5 patterns.  I had great times exploring books to fit into each category and enjoyed most of my choices. Kudos to the mind who sacrificed both time and effort in creating such challenges. You can click on the pattern below to embiggen.

2016 turned me into a very lousy blogger, averaging to 2 entries a month. There is no excuse, really. Simply, lazy and uninspired. As I said earlier, The Page Walker is turning 4 this January. So, it’s time to seriously put the -ING into ADULTING. I’ll do my best to post something significant every week.

As to my reading, I still aspire to read satisfying books -those books that wounds, scars, and mends; those that will scare the wits out me; and those that will keep me at the edge of my seat (or perch, or wherever). I may even read a lesser number this year, but I want to make sure that all of them are those I've really wanted to read. Like the literary awardees I've been keeping an eye on; those series I've been missing; and those short story collections that have been gathering dust on my shelves. I'd be random and eclectic as always.

Again, thank you for putting up with me all through these times. I appreciate all the emails, the shy people who prefer not leaving a comment, and those who share my links. Sorry for not replying promptly to your emails, or for ignoring most of them. I am an awful, awful blogger, sorry. Yet again, to all the publicists and authors, kindly read my policy thoroughly before sending me an email. And if you could maybe get my name right sometimes, that would be awesome.  😉 Goodspeed!

Read more →

Why Read Translated Works?

This was a question sent to me a few months back. I never had the chance to answer this earlier, mainly because I feel I have no substantial answer, to begin with. You see, I’m no expert on the subject, and anything I’ll say here is purely based on my opinion as a reader or a person who delights in reading good books. If it’s an expert’s opinion you’re after, then you’re on the wrong page. If you want to stick around, you have to take everything with a grain of salt.

I learn.

Did I buy them because they were translations? No.

So far I have read a number of translated works, none of them I bought for that reason. The truth is, only after reading most of them did I realize that they were translations. (Just to show you how deep my expertise on this subject.) And it took a while before I did realize what I like about them. 

Translation in literature, for me, is more than breaking the language barrier. It helps us learn about other cultures, their fashion, their spirituality, and their political views, how they really feel about family values and their passion for food. Most of the answers to these made me laugh, shocked at the huge difference with mine, and marveled at the similarities.

Lost in translation.

Transmitting cultural aspects through literature is a difficult mission. It is a multifaceted collection of experiences in daily life. And I am often fascinated with the translator’s ability to capture and project them, and to be understood by readers outside the original cultural condition. Sure, some readers are vexed because some sense does get lost in translation, but heck, it's not about to cause World War III, right?

Without translation, I would be limited to the borders of my own country.

The translator is my most important ally.

He introduces me to the world. -Italo Calvino

Oh, the places you'll go!

Translation is also akin to traveling to places we have not reached yet.  It’s been years, but the image of Stockholm is stockpiled in my memory on how Reg Keeland translated it for Stieg Larsson. I felt the melancholic voice of José Saramago when Margaret Jull Costa translated his memories of Azinhaga and Lisbon. I will always miss the lights of Barcelona as Lucia Graves translated it for Carlos Ruiz Zafón.

Keeping the windows open.

Lastly, whilst I read English-written works more often, I also read translations because I think it’s abnormal and restrictive to lock myself from the rest of the remarkable literature mankind have written.

It is better to have read a great work of another culture in translation

than never to have read it at all. -Henry Gratton Doyle

While we’re at it, here are the Best Translated Novels and Favorite Translated Literature from Goodreads Listopia. And THE MILLIONS announced the Winners for the Best Translated Book for 2016.

I'm also interested in your opinion on this matter. Please, do share.

Read more →

I Am Three and Have Plenty of Excuses

I did not forget that The Page Walker turned three this month. I intentionally did not rush off to write a post, because I’ve been thinking of the changes I need to make and how best to do them.

Read more →

What's Next For This Bookish Person

What does a bookish person want for the New Year? Now that is really difficult to articulate since a bookish person like me would tell you that I want to read all of those books on my TBR pile and review them all as soon as I am done. It’s more like a fantabulous wish, really. Most of us bookish people live in fiction if you know what I mean.

Taking a good look at 2015 will probably make a good sense of what I do want for 2016, then. Goodreads made a beautiful illustration of each member’s Year 2015 in Books, and here is mine (click on the photo below).

 Last July 2015, I posted the best books I’ve read for the first half of the year. And to that I am adding these beauties:

• To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee – This will always be beautiful, maybe, no matter how many times I reread it. I will always love Atticus, I guess.
• The Universe Versus Alex Woods by Gavin Extence – I’m so enamored with the kind of friendship Alex showed here. It is a story not easily forgotten.
• Slade House by David Mitchell – This one is short but an unrelenting thrill. Just brilliant!
• Night Study by Maria V. Snyder – I am ridiculously biased toward this series. I love every detail, every character, and the development of the story. It just keeps getting better every time. Release date on January 26, 2016.
• The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper by Phaedra Patrick – Arthur Pepper is one hell of a guy to root for. He is curiously charming –all heart and nothing less. He’s coming out this May 2016.

For special mentions:

• All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven
• Family Life by Akhil Sharma

The Goodreads’ illustration and this list will tell you that I almost read anything, although I still prefer seeking the books I want to read for authentic enjoyment. So, what does this bookish person want for the New Year? I want satisfying reads. It doesn’t necessarily have to make me happy. It may leave me in a pile of tears and snot, for all I care, as long as I’m fully satisfied. Satisfied in that sense where I am able to hold on to something substantial and not easily forgotten.

On that note, I may have to forego my yearly challenge. I’ll read how many books I can read. Sure, 75 was a good number. I was not really pressured, or anything, to reach that number. But having an actual number out there seems restricting as it is. So, no more numbers.

I’d like to add more buddy-reading this year. Last year limited me to Perdido Street Station and When We Were Orphans; and that’s so sad. I miss the ‘Wenches of TFG’ very very much!

The TFG Dare To Read Challenge could have been better. Yeah, sure, I’ve accomplished them, but I’m hoping that this year’s challenges will be better.

I may also have to make some changes on the book requests. I’ll make a separate post for that one, including my plans for this blog.

For now, I’m happy to be up and about and blogging once again. Thank you for staying with The Page Walker all through 2015, and hope that you keep on visiting. 

Read more →

My Year 2014 in Blogging

2nd Bloggy Birthday

Was it not just yesterday that The Page Walker celebrated its 1st birthday? I believe this calls for some looking back...

In 2014, we interviewed six (6) authors via Author's Friday. We had first dibs on six (6) cover reveals through the First Glimpse. And, Wednesday Spotlight highlighted twelve (12) books from independent authors. While Say It With A Book featured six (6) awesome guest book reviewers with a book of their choice.

I didn't manage to write some book thoughts from last year's reading list. I will do my best to jot them down even though January is going to be very busy for me since I am moderating this month's TFG book.

Last year, I tried to cross-link my blog posts to Facebook, Google+, and Twitter.  It was sort of experimental trying out Twitter. I realized that I can't advise people to use or not to use twitter if I haven't tried it myself. I rarely go there and even rarely post or leave a comment. I believe it works for most people, but I guess I am not up to that sort of social networking, in spite of all the interesting people there. So after a year, I will close my Twitter account. Thank you to those who indulged and added me on their list of friends there.

I'm thinking of changing the blog layout, and I don't have any changes in mind other than that. 

BTW, I am giving away a Kindle copy of Station Eleven: A novel by Emily St. John Mandel. I've viewed a summary of my blog visitors, so raffle will be available for the top 5 followers: Ukraine, US, Canada, Philippines, and Germany. Winners will receive the gift via email.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Congratulations, Meliza!

Read more →

Louize has completed the 2013 Reading Challenge

Welcome, 2014!

Wow, what a year 2013 had been for me!  There is so much to tell, but, of course, I don’t want to bore you with the details. Let us take a look back at what I've read for the last 12 months instead, shall we?

At the beginning of 2013, I've challenged myself to read 75 books.  I am very happy to share with you that I've read 81 books.  It was a mix collection; I've read from children's books, novellas, to some chunks novels.  In total, I've read 21,960 pages, compared to last year’s 20,062. I've joined 6 buddy reads, and they were the most interesting by far.   Also, I've read all the TFG F2F voted books for 2013.  

There is a case-full of unread books that I need to tackle, and it would be very regrettable not to read them before we fully migrate to the other side of the world.  So for 2014, I believe I'll challenge myself into reading 70 full-length novels only, meaning no novellas or children's picture books. I am considering to read a collection (or author) per month.  This will be a trial and error process, so let’s see which will work best.  But definitely, I intend to finish all those printed copies I have in that bookcase.

Another year of reading challenges, I am excited to read your plans too.  Cheers!

Read more →

TFG Christmas Party | December 2012

You may consider this as a late submission. It is, really. Twenty (20) days, thirteen (13) hours, and seven (7) minutes late. But, you see I have to wait until I descend from euphoria and shake off some of the clinginess before I can properly write this.

   

December 15, 2012, is TFG’s last F2F for the said year, and the book chosen was Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl.  It was also our book club’s Christmas Party.  The event was really thematic; we have loot bags, party hats, and masks waiting on our tables, plus chocolates and candies everywhere.  No one can deny that the electricity of excitement was shooting in every direction, and we felt nothing but love for each other.

   

The discussion was not hurried, but yes, it was short to give way to the much-awaited party to commence.  Instead of the traditional stockings, we hanged eco-bags to hold all the goodies we’re about to receive.  And, I have to say, I am really happy, grateful, and blessed for the gifts I received.

   The party was a huge success.  Applaud and gratitude must go to the people who sweated and stressed themselves to make the party beyond possible.  Our heartfelt appreciation to all, who took time and attended the party.  Thank you to all the newbies, who braved their first F2F, I hope to see more of them on the next ones.  Everybody’s presence was the essence of fun.  It is needless to say that I love these people dearly.  They have added spice into my life, and my 2012 would not have been complete without their variant flavors into it.

I wish each and every one the love, peace, and success 2013 can profoundly offer.  And, to our dear and humble book club, I pray for God’s peace and speed ahead.  May the love and hope we share among us keep us banded together through all the trials ahead and always.

Read more →

2013 Reading Goals, Plans and Resolutions

Welcome! I thought it was very significant to open this new blog with this theme. 2013 is barely starting and the air hums with expectations. New Year, new life, new possibilities, and I guess in my case -a new blog.

Let’s start with the reading goals for 2013. Last year wasn't so bad, although I didn't get to read as much as I want. I think 72 books, 20,062 pages were decent enough. So this year, I am considering finishing 75 books. Every month will be halo-halo (mix) of F2F Book of the Month, one or two from a series I am following, a literary winner, a Filipino-authored book, and/or from out of random (in which, I am very fond of). For this, I am going to provide a required reading list for every month *crossing fingers*.

Moving on to Plans. Well, this new blog is one of them. I realized that I’d be depending on this for the coming months, and maybe years. I’ll need something to really focus on other than being a mom, a teacher and a reader from now on. My husband is going abroad, for God-only-knows how long. So, I’ll be clinging to this blog like a-leech-on-a-foot to vent all my “would be” feelings, rants, and raves, since my hubby will not be here to accommodate all of that. I hope you’ll bear with me, please. I’ll be setting up the “My Bottle” page for this.

Lastly, My Resolutions. During the conception of this blog, Neil Gaiman posted his New Year’s Wish on Goodreads and on his journal. Bravery and Joy was his solemn wish for everyone. For someone afraid of scattering herself across the web, this all-out blogging will be my first step into bravery. So, pray for my sake and those who will follow me that I will find joy in blogging regularly instead of mopping around and missing my husband. My second step into bravery is to face our church ministry on my own. Well, not really alone. I’m just used to doing these things with my husband as partners. So, it seems, we will serve together still –me, here on this side of the planet; and him, on the other side –with a fervent prayer that it will work out.

Wish me luck and Godspeed!

Read more →