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Welcome to The Bookish Pinoy - my book blog where I post my rants, raves and musings in my daily book reading life. Don't be shy and make yourself heard in the comments. Thanks for visiting! ^_^
~ Patrick

The Philippine Bookstores Search Engine

I’m not sure if anyone already made this but I’m here to share my own creation anyway.

If you meet most of the following criteria, you might just find this nifty tool useful:

  1. You buy books at Philippine bookstores.
  2. You often google each of the 3 big Philippines bookstores to see if they have a book you want.
  3. You’ve done #2 more times than you’d like to count.
  4. You just want a quick way of searching through the three Philippine bookstore websites.

Introducing… the Philippine Bookstores Search Engine (powered by Google).

philippine bookstores search engine google

philippine bookstores search engine google - sample result

It will search the websites of Fully Booked, Power Books and National Bookstore.

Granted that they don’t have their entire catalog of books up online, I still find it useful to check prices especially of the more popular books. If only they could get their websites complete and up-to-date all the time, then we’d all be happy book hoarders. :P

Adding “Philippine Bookstores Search Engine” to your web browser

Mozilla Firefox – Click here to Install

Google Chrome - Click here to Install

Assign a keyword to it like “pb” so you can use it in the address bar.

Opera – Add the following address to your Search Preferences

http://www.google.com/cse?cx=008235587757044987687%3Adittphxoxiw&ie=UTF-8&q=%s

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11 Reasons You Should Get an Ebook Reader Too

After giving my first impressions on the Amazon Kindle 3, here’s a list of reasons why you should consider getting it too or any ebook reader like it (Nook/Sony Reader) for that matter.

amazon-kindle-nook-color-sony-touch-ereader-ebook-reader

I would highly recommend you get an ebook reader if you meet most (if not all) of the following requirements:

  1. You are a voracious reader of both print and/or web. You love reading. Not a week would go by without you reading at least one book or a few long-form articles on the web. If you don’t meet this criteria, you’d be sorely disappointed by the Kindle/Nook/Sony Reader which is first and foremost, a dedicated reading device.

  2. You need to be able to adjust the text size for easier reading. This point alone could be enough reason for older people with poor eyesight to forego paper books.

  3. You need the convenience of being able to lookup a word instantly in a dictionary.

  4. You want to be able to quickly search through a book like in a computer.

  5. Shelf space is limited or you’re not too concerned of not having physical copies of the books you buy.

  6. You want the convenience of having your books anywhere you go. This is especially important for books you use professionally or for study.

  7. You want to be able to read in bright daylight without the glare inherent in LCD screens.

  8. You can no longer wait for a colored E-ink screen and you don’t mind reading in black and white since most text is meant to be read in that mode anyway.

  9. The slow refresh rate (what is this?) of the current E-ink technology is not much of an issue to you considering the other benefits you would get.

  10. You really just want an ebook reader that does what it should do best. You don’t mind not having all the bells and whistles of an all-in-one multimedia device if it’s at the cost of not having the optimum reading experience.

  11. You are faced with an LCD screen most of the day and you want to read more but not on that eye-strain-inducing screen. In short, you care for your eyes.

This is part 2 of my Amazon Kindle 3 articles series. You can read my first impressions here.

Next in this series, I will write about my favorite features and (some unexpected) uses of the Amazon Kindle 3.

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2011 TBR *Lite* Challenge!

As part of the ongoing saga of taking my reading habit even more seriously this year, I’m joining my first ever reading challenge!

2011_tbrlite_1

I was initially gunning for the regular TBR challenge but thought better of it. Let’s be realistic here folks, okay? :D

Challenge Rules and Mechanics:

CHALLENGE STARTS: January 1st, of the current year
CHALLENGE ENDS: December 31st, of the current year

For those who love the Original TBR Challenge, but need a little less “pressure” on their reading, the TBR Challenge *LITE* offers you that option!

You have your choice of ONE of the 3 options:

OPTION A: read 6 books in 12 months ~ your list of books CANNOT be changed, but you are allowed to have an “Alternates” list to choose from (like in the Original TBR Challenge). <— MY CHOICE!

OPTION B: read 6 books in 12 months ~ you CAN change your reading list throughout the year

OPTION C: make up a list of however many books you think you could get read in 12 months, as long as they are from your TBR stack/list, and then read them between January 1st and December 31st. You must have at least 3 books on your list.

Some Other General Guidelines:
- You are allowed to overlap with other challenges
- Audiobooks are allowed
- e-Books are allowed, but must still be books that you’ve wanted to read for at least 3, or more, months
- You should still have a list of books posted somewhere for others to see
- You don’t have to read your books in the order you put them on your list

More details on how to join the challenge…

My 2011 TBR *Lite* Challenge List:

My 2011 TBR Lite Challenge List

  1. Leepike Ridge
  2. Leaving Microsoft to Change the World
  3. The Problem of Pain
  4. The Five People You Meet in Heaven
  5. Lord of the Flies
  6. The Graveyard Book

The “Alternates” List:

My 2011 TBR Lite Alternates List

  1. Heroes of the Valley
  2. The Call of the Wild
  3. Stargirl
  4. The Book Thief
  5. Contact
  6. Holes

My picks are mostly popular ones so I could have more room for new releases and obscure books throughout the year. Best of luck to all our reading challenges this year!

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Late 2010/Early 2011 – Book Acquisitions Update

It is a sad thing when a book blog only churns out posts such as this but it’s the best I can do under the current circumstances. I knew the Christmas season was gonna be a busy one but I surely didn’t expect I wouldn’t even be able to blog (even tweet!) at all. Nonetheless, I wouldn’t have spent the holidays any other way. :)

And what better way to kick start a new year of book blogging than to show off my latest book acquisitions!

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First up are the Catholic books which of course I’ll get yearly from now on.
I know there are a lot of Scriptural diaries out there but I think Sabbath and 365 Days are the best since they’re not too long or short and they’re such easy reads. I particularly love Sabbath.
I gave a few of these as gifts too last Christmas. Hope it inspires them. :)

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I got “Only by Your Grace” by Francie Kare-Go at Christ The King two days after my birthday. :D
While the Compendium is something I’ve been meaning to buy ever since.

Continue reading “Late 2010/Early 2011 – Book Acquisitions Update”

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Amazon Kindle 3 – First Impressions

I know this is a bit late considering I’ve had the Kindle for about 3 weeks now. But something kinda bad happened to my Kindle which delayed the publishing of this. Gonna elaborate on that on another article but for now, this is still a “first impressions” review of the Amazon Kindle 3 (from here on will be referred to simply as “Kindle”).

amazon kindle 3

The Kindle is my first e-book reader so there will be no comparisons here to other similar devices like the Barnes & Noble Nook and Sony Reader. I got the Kindle 3 (Graphite) Wi-Fi only edition. This review will focus on the physical aspects of the device.

Continue reading “Amazon Kindle 3 – First Impressions”

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