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.

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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 some 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 asker did not leave any contact information, I decided to answer this question here. And hopefully, this will help others, too, 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 the 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 whom previously approved my requests for other books. Some were also sequels to books I have reviewed for them before. So, for whatever reason, valid or not, the approval is within the publisist or the publisher's prerogative

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. And because of consistency and good content, they send printed copies as well, which is very generous from my viewpoint.

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 their's because mine was another recommendation they just missed out. 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 us will not just submit feedback for the egalleys, we will actually buy a printed copy if we liked it, put them on display, take pictures of them, and 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.


Finally, my advice to my fellow NetGalley users is to keep visiting the site, keep requesting for books that appeal to you, and keep recommending. Because you are there not just for the Feedback Ratio, nor 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 the Bookish post.

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

Q & A #1 | ADVANCE READER COPIES AND HOW TO GET THEM
Q & A #2 | I DECLINE BOOK REVIEW REQUESTS

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Why Read Translated Works?

This was a question sent to me a few months ago, and I never got the chance to answer it earlier—mostly because I felt I didn’t have anything especially substantial to say. I’m no expert on the subject, and everything here comes simply from my experience as a reader who loves good books. So if you’re looking for scholarly insight, you may be on the wrong page. But if you’d like to stay, take everything here with a grain of salt.

I learn.

Did I buy them because they were translations? No. So far, I’ve read a fair number of translated works, but I never picked them up simply because they were translations. In fact, with many of them, I only realized that detail after I’d already finished reading. That probably tells you everything you need to know about my level of expertise here. Still, it took me a while to understand what exactly I loved about them.

For me, translation in literature does more than bridge a language barrier. It opens a door to other cultures—their clothing, spirituality, political views, family values, and relationship with food. Through translated works, I’ve found myself laughing at certain differences, feeling startled by others, and marveling at the similarities that cut across distance and language.

Lost in translation.

Carrying cultural nuance through literature is no easy task. Culture is made up of layered, everyday experiences, and I’m often fascinated by a translator’s ability to capture those details and make them meaningful to readers outside the original context. Of course, some things will always be lost in translation—but honestly, that has never stopped me from being grateful for what still comes through.

“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 also feels like a way of travelling to places I may never reach in person. Years later, I still carry a version of Stockholm in my mind as translated by Reg Keeland for Stieg Larsson. I remember the melancholy in José Saramago’s memories of Azinhaga and Lisbon as rendered by Margaret Jull Costa. And I know I’ll always miss the lights of Barcelona as Lucia Graves brought them to life for Carlos Ruiz Zafón.

Keeping the windows open.

Lastly, while I still read books originally written in English more often, I also read translated works because it feels both limiting and unnatural to shut myself off from the rest of the remarkable literature the world has produced.

“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

If you’re looking for recommendations, Goodreads Listopia has plenty of lists for best translated novels and favorite translated literature, and The Millions also shared the winners of the Best Translated Book for 2016.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this, too. Why do you read translated works—or why don’t you?

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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.

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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!

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2013 Reading Goals, Plans and Resolutions

Welcome! Opening this new blog with this theme feels so significant. 2013 is just beginning, and the air hums with expectation. A new year brings a new life, new possibilities, and in my case, a brand-new blog.

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Reading Goals

Let’s start with my reading goals for 2013. Last year wasn't too bad, even though I didn't get to read as much as I wanted. Still, 72 books and 20,062 pages felt like a decent achievement!

This year, I am pushing myself to finish 75 books. Every month will feature a halo-halo (mix) of selections:

• an F2F Book of the Month,
• one or two titles from a series I’m following,
• a literary award winner,
• a Filipino-authored book,
• and a random pick (which I'm very fond of!).

To keep myself accountable, I’ll be posting a required reading list for every month—fingers crossed!

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Plans

This new blog is central to moving on to my plans. I realize I’ll be leaning on this space heavily over the coming months—and perhaps years. Beyond being a mom, a teacher, and an avid reader, I need something of my own to focus on. My husband is heading abroad for God-knows-how-long, so I’ll be clinging to this blog like a leech to vent my feelings, rants, and raves since he won't be here to listen to them all. I hope you'll bear with me! I’ll also be setting up a dedicated "My Bottle" page to host those personal reflections.

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Resolutions

While I was conceptualizing this blog, Neil Gaiman shared his New Year’s wish on Goodreads and his journal: Bravery and Joy. For someone who is usually afraid of scattering herself across the web, stepping fully into blogging is my first act of bravery. Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers so I can find true joy in blogging regularly rather than moping around and missing my husband.

My second step into bravery is leading our church ministry on my own. Well, not entirely alone—I’m just so used to serving alongside my husband as a team. We will still be serving together in spirit: me on this side of the planet, and him on the other, with a fervent prayer that everything works out.

Wish me luck and Godspeed!

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