Waiting in Wonder Book Launch & iPad mini Giveaway

My friend and former colleague at BreakPoint, Catherine Claire Larsen has a new book, "Waiting in Wonder: Growing in Faith While You're Expecting.” She is also giving away a free iPad mini to celebrate the book's release. "Waiting in Wonder" is a devotional journal inviting women to embrace the spiritual journey that awaits as they prepare for the high and holy calling of motherhood. This is a good spiritual preparedness book ideal for your wife or any female friend or family member who's expecting a child. I hope you get a copy.

I also recommend Catherine's other book As We Forgive, a collection of reconciliation and forgiveness stories from the Rwandan genocide. Click here to get more details on Waiting in Wonder and to enter the iPad mini giveaway.

Free Copy Giveaway, “American Sniper: Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S History” by Chris Kyle

I just finished Chris Kyle’s book, American Sniper: Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S History. It is an excellent read on a great American hero. Unfortunately, we lost Kyle recently when he and a companion were shot and killed last February by a fellow veteran, who Kyle had taken to a gun range in an effort to help him with post-traumatic stress disorder. Despite of his tragic and sudden death, his active service as a Navy Seal sniper and the self-sacrifice he displayed to save American lives will always be remembered. Kyle was straightforward not to take sole credit for his accomplishments but gives credence back to other military service men who also sacrificed their lives for the mission. These men got shot, lost their vision, lost their limbs and ultimately their lives to protect Americans from those who hate the country because of freedom and allegiance to Christianity.

Halloween Reading List

My colleagues at the literary blog WarrenAdler.com and myself came up with a reading book list to celebrate the season of scares, Halloween. Horror and supernatural thrillers are not my thing but it was fun to create a list that are mostly composed of classic literature. Definitely, I'm adding Frankenstein and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde on my "To-Read" list. Check out the list below and if you get a chance, purchase a copy on Amazon.

A Literary Look for Your iPhone

A Literary Look for Your iPhone.

One simple way to introduce your children to classic books (click here to purchase). I'm currently reading F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby in preparation for the movie coming out this December. The novel tells the story of the lavish and mysterious life of Jay Gatsby set in the 1920s, New York. I won't go into details because I'm still half way. But if there one lesson I'm already learning from the book, it is, the way to happiness is not found in material pleasures.

Happy reading!

"Noli Me Tangere" on Penguin Classics on Air

As a follow up on my post on Noli Me Tangere here's a link to Penguin Classic on Air, an online radio show featuring an episode devoted to Rizal's the Noli.(click link below).

Thank you Anonymous commentor and Good News Pilipinas.

Episode 2: The Noli
José Rizal and the Novel That Sparked the Philippine Revolution

Elda Rotor of Penguin Classics interviews Rowena Jiminez about a José Rizal/ Noli Me Tangere community read-a-thon organized through her nonprofit group Bagong Kulturang Pinoy, and speaks with Harold Augenbraum, the translator of the Penguin Classics edition of the classic... And Stephen Morrison, associate publisher and editor in chief of Penguin Books, offers up the opening to José Rizal's Noli Me Tangere in his segment, "First Pages."

Penguin Books publishes Jose Rizal's "Noli Me Tangere"

Rico Hizon of Good News Pilipinas reported that Jose Rizal's Noli Me Tanghere will be publish by Penguin Books for worldwide distribution. Penguin books is the largest publisher of classic books and its selection of Noli puts the beloved novel by our national hero within the ranks of other books by other classic and iconic writers.

The last time I read Noli was in high school, so I need to read it again do give a better opinion on the book. But as product manager of the BreakPoint's Great Books Audio CD Series, I do know that classic works of fiction are often better moral teachers than other inspirational books and other forms of media because classic literary works of fiction have stories, images and symbols that parallels Biblical truths and can help connect or ask questions that help readers search for God. Noli Me Tangere, whose title is based on John 20 is one book that falls in that category.

Related article: Why should Christ-followers read fiction? Click here to find out.

(Image from Good News Pilipinas)

Christian Books by Local Filipino Authors

As a book and product marketer for BreakPoint and Chuck Colson, I get free books in the mail all the time either as a gift or for review. Some are worth reading but most sits on my desk collecting dust mainly because the theme doesn’t interest me – these books will end up in a balikbayan box to be sent to my pastor friend in Manila. The US has so many Christian resources for everyone, books, DVDs, curriculum, etc. and my hope is that Americans will not take these for granted and realize how blessed they are to have tons of choices on church and Christian resources.

One thing I don’t like living overseas is my limited access to books written and published by Filipino authors. Especially now that Christian book publishing by Filipinos has grown a lot since I left the Philippines many years ago. How I wish I can easily drive to a National Bookstore or Power Books and browse new titles from our very own authors. That’s why I am happy to see this list (thanks Kevin!) of the best selling Christian books of 2008 by CSM publishing. This is a good way to support our authors. Aside from purchasing their books we can help by spreading the word about their published work. I haven’t read any of the books on the list, but from the information I got from the website, one or two on the list interest me. Please just check the website for the description of each book I have no time write them all down:

Top 10 Best Sellers by CSM Publishing:
#1 A 2 Z Creative Teaching Methods, by Lizette Knight and Sonia Silbor
#2 Till Debt Do Us Part, by Chinkee Tan
#3 Called To Excel, by Rex Resurreccion
#4 Yes! I’m a Pastor’s Wife 2nd Edition, by Leah Marasigan Darwin
#5 Basta Lovelife, by Kevin Sanders
#6 Asian Adventure, by Various Authors
#7 Young Women on the Journey, by Various Authors
#8 Walking On: The Best of Women on the Journey, by Various Authors
#9 True Love Waits Student’s Workbook, by Various Authors
#10 A New Breed: Call for a New Generation of Pastoral Leaders by Philip Flores


By the way, if you have any book recommendation by local authors (Christian or non-Christian) or if you know other sources of Filipino books or local publishers that I can browse online, please let me know. I'll share my book recommendations next time.

Love Life & Twilight - Part 2

I got a comment from my previous post on Twilight that Christians should stay away from these kinds of movies.

Although the comment made sense to me, I must say I disagree with turning my back away on the book and movie. As Christians we should see and read these popular entertainment influencing the young Filipinos even more. Do you agree? Only this way you and I can discern, rate and guide the young or less experienced generation to question and think critically about the media they see today.

Although it's hard to change and regulate the contents in Philippine and Hollywood media, teaching young people to think critically guided by Biblical principles will equip them to filter the various messages they see everyday and in turn help them make wise and healthy choices.

Just for FYI. Twilight is the third top grossing film in the Philippines in 2008. Click here to view full list.

Click here for a different perspective on Twilight via Christianity Today.

You decide!

(image @ Twilightthemovie.com)

Love Life & Twilight

(Filipino Christian Blogger) I came across an online community of Filipino enthusiast of Stephenie Meyer's book Twilight. The site shows that many Filipino girls (and boys) are captivated by the book. In fact there were rumors that a local adaptation will be produced by ABS-CBN. Avid Pinoy fans of the book negatively responded to project and ABS-CBN later denied such version.

Filipinos are culturally romantics and are quick adaptors of American popular entertainment that's why the growing Filipino followers of the human-vampire love story is not surprising. The book has a pro-abstinence storyline which is a positive message to Filipino teens. However, through a Christian perspective, the book and now a movie has a deeper message the Filipino audience should also ponder if they think Twilight is the ideal image of romance or what Pinoys refer to as "love life."

Here's an interesting commentary on Twilight which is worth thinking and are good talking points when discussing the film to friends and families:

If we had found a book or a movie that really offered a healthy, chaste, chivalrous vision of romance that was attracting teenagers by the millions, well, that would indeed be cause for rejoicing. And I’d be as eager as anyone to climb on the bandwagon and help promote them. But unfortunately, I can’t do that this time. Because underneath the surface, there are some truly disturbing themes and ideas in Twilight. Chief among these is that old, dangerous idea that a “bad boy” can easily be won and tamed by a “good girl”—an idea that has brought heartache to untold millions of good girls. As a Christian, I obviously believe that redemption and change is possible for sinners. But I also know that human beings alone cannot change each other. So when you’re talking to your daughter about Twilight, here are a few points you might touch on. It is not romantic, or safe, when a boy spies on you, follows you, and sneaks into your room without your knowledge (and especially without your parents’ knowledge). It is not romantic, or safe, when someone tells you he’s dangerous and he’s killed people, to give answers like, “It doesn’t matter,” and, “I’m not afraid..." It is not romantic, or safe, to try to see how close you and your boyfriend can get to the edge of danger without going over. And it is not romantic, or safe, to offer yourself up for a boy to do whatever he wants to you—symbolized in the movie by the young heroine asking the vampire to bite her so she can become like him. (Colson, BreakPoint.org, 11/26/08)
(image @ twilightthemovie.com)