Alexander Supertramp's books, Into the Wild, 2007

Sweet indeed

photo from giveahootreadabook.blogspot.com

Bought a 1954 edition of Sweet Thursday by John Steinbeck last night for a measly 80 pesos. Treasure! Will try to buy James Clavell's combo of King Rat, Shogun and Whrilwind, all are in good condition with that patina of yellow worn paper and dog ears. The copy I got came with a free all-metal paper clip. From the looks of it, the last reader used it as a bookmark, permanently leaving a silhouette and its shape on the paper. He/she was stuck on page 116, chapter 27. 

The old copy reminds me so much of how I wanted to live in the earlier days when everything seems to shimmer like gold though they don't look the part. It could have been nice.

The first few pages got me excited enough to make it my current travel read. And it turned out great early this morning since I managed to leave my office keys inside the ticket pocket of my khakis which I wore yesterday.

Let's brush up on reading and avoid losing our souls on the internet.

And, oh, yeah. Obama won.

Pag-iipon

At dahil ako'y nasa trabaho pa rin hanggang bukas, heto ang trip kong gawin habang naghihintay datnan ng antok. Pero sa halip na datnan ng antok ay mukhang pagpipiyestahan muna ako ng mga lamok na umaaligid sa aking make-shift quarters. Kakapatay ko lang sa isang lamok na nagsuicide sa pagtapat sa screen ko ngayon.

Anyhow, matapos ang isa na namang lakad kanina ay napag-alaman kong hindi pa raw ako pwedeng umuwi dahil mayroon pang gagawin bukas. Dios mio lord, one day lang ang pahinga pagkatapos noon ay balik destino na naman uli. Buhay trabaho. Hindi na ako magrereklamo dahil kahit papaano ay naibalik na sa akin ang perang ginastos ko sa sarili ko para sa pagkain at iba pang kailangan sa aking paglagi rito.

Anyhow, ako ay nagpalipas oras noong nakaraang mga araw sa pagpunta sa always friendly Booksale. Maganda ang branch nila rito at hindi makalat, malayo sa madalas na kalagayan ng mga branches nila sa ibang mga lugar. Kaunti lang ang selection nila pero maganda rin naman ang mga dala nilang mga titulo. Hindi katulad ng nasa Baguio kung saan bombarded ako ng mga stimuli mula sa bawat sulok ng lugar (kung saan pinagkasya ang mga tao at mga bentang libro, pero lab ko pa rin ang Booksale.)

Cinco Pesos

When I go out, I go look for books to add to my small collection. I was looking for the usual authors. BestSeller, apparently had a wide selection. It was a nice experience: again, surprisingly disappointing. I found books that are worth spending various afternoons cooped up in some place to get lost in the pages. It was disappointing since I had to work extra hard to get those books but are definitely good finds.

One page was P605. It stings thinking about it, depressing to the point that I'm tempted to go on pirate mode to find an ebook substitute. I wanted to buy it. It was begging me to buy it. It was about a make believe journalist chilling by the beaches of an underground gangster's paradise out in the open. Or at least it was what the plot was, for all I think it was from true accounts; only that the author was neck deep in booze, controlled substance and with his one leg in a grave for nosy people. I'd imagine he had a near cut throat moment during his young writing phase.

P405 was on the label of the other one. I thought "Why not P400 flat?" It was a weird question. It was written by a dead morally charged humanist/humorist. He's dead now. A flight of stairs took his life. His Pall Malls had failed to honor his contract for a "classy suicide." It broke my heart.

It broke my heart further to leave the place. Oh well, so it goes.