Spot on: 34th Manila International Book Fair (Day 1 & 3)

After 3 years of wanting to go to the MIBF I was finally able to go on its 34th year. I can't find the right words to explain how freakin' awesome and ecstatic I feel right now! 

Some say that there are fewer exhibitors this year but what the heck, I was still able to hoard a whole bunch of stuff so I'm quite satisfied already. I dropped by during the opening day which was on the 11th of September then I visited again on the 13th, and during those two days I can say that I got most of the stuff that I really really wanted. But I find myself wanting more books. OMG!  I'm thankful that I was able to save loads on my allowance because I really made some serious damage on my wallet. 

Only got a couple of photos since I was too busy snooping around the shelves. I was literally going nuts! 

Hoarded a bunch of stuff from Heartshapers booth (left side of the photo). They have DVD's for 200 each and VCD's which are mostly 75 php. I'm not sure if all the VCD's are worth 75 but majority of my purchases is worth that much for a piece. The videos are more on Religious/Educational stuff which is awesome for kids as well.

Tahanan (right side) is by far one of my most favorite booths. And they sell a ton of awesome stuff as well. Since I am a notepad/notebook addict I ended up digging through the bins they had for discounted pads. They sell the smaller ones for 20 each.

A booksigning booth for PSICOM. I passed by the booth on the first day while I was on my way to make my purchases on their newly launched books but I forgot to have my copy signed. BLEH! Typically, I don't read Tagalog novels/books but since it's quite popular nowadays I feel rather intrigued. So I ended up buying the books just to see if these books are my cup of tea.

I also purchased some Comics from the Philippine Bible Society. I had the comics they are selling when I was still a kid so I really wanted to buy them again because the old ones I've had got too old, wrinkly and unreadable. 

There weren't that much people yet considering that it's still work and office day. I'm expecting more attendees during the weekend. Happy that I already got most of the stuff I want before people start to flood in.

Hungry for some Hunger Games

This is the first book I have EVER read that's written in first person. I try to veer off from such writing ever since the epic fail I have unfortunately come across before. I know its quite shallow of me to have done this in the first place. Not giving other books a chance just because of the way it was written. I am glad that I gave "The Hunger Games" a try. I have to admit, I have been very very curious about this story before. I came across copies upon copies of the trilogy whenever I drop by the bookstore but I paid them no thorough attention. Just a passing glance and then I'd move on. I was rather skeptical when it comes to books that are being too hyped upon. I think most have become over rated than what its really worth.

But "The Hunger Games Trilogy" has proven to be quite a good read, with the promise of a more action packed and substance heavy follow up after each installment.

I rarely read books that has female protagonists as the focus of the story. But Katniss is a character that you'd actually grow to admire. Collins's portrayal of Katniss was made in a way that is relatable and believable. Her reactions, her emotions aren't as far fetched and questionable.

I do think that it being written based on Katniss's own perspective is were the strength of this story lies all in all. The emotions running through her mind and her heart is something that seemed almost tangible as you read through the lines detailing her thoughts and her feelings. It gives you that connection that is somewhat hard to convey when you write in the 2nd or 3rd person. It would've been  rather painful to read through with dozens of ' she ran, she kissed, she thought. . .' and all that blah jammed in there. 

The concept isn't the most original. But amongst all the books you'd see on shelves nowadays, what is? The attack given by the authors is what differs for each story. That's what distinguishes it against others. 

As for Gale and Peeta. . . I'm all for the Peeta X Katniss team up but personality wise I do believe that Gale has given me a much stronger impression. By how he was described in the book, he is more like a male version of Katniss. Fierce. While Peeta, although a loveable character by how he fought to protect Katniss, is a character who could've had a much bigger boost in the personality department. He did come off as a wimp some of the time.

The only negative, was how the game has ended with the appearance of those muttations on book 1? It didn't really make that much sense to me. It was all about the survival isn't it? Then it would've been better if they just hacked each other off and one or two ending up as victors? It felt rather anti climactic because of that. . .

In my opinion,  the first book has made a rather solid ground for the installments that would follow this one. My most favorite most definitely is 'Catching Fire'.

Sidenote: Is it just my copy or did it slip past their notice that the 'S' in Collins name in Mockingjay is missing?