The Underbelly
by: Mike Angeles
It’s like a black market; the only difference is the books….
It has been well documented that the Chinese are the best fabricators in the world; the tag Made in China has been incorporated in at least everything from bottles to shoes, to even food, if it’s Chinese it’s definitely cheap. And as Filipino’s who definitely loooooooooooooooooove cheap stuff, we cater to these things, not saying that everyone who indulge themselves in Chinese products are cheap, but sometimes it’s a plus to just stay practical, specially today when most of us are definitely clawing our way everyday trying to make ends meet.
They say that the life of a student is hard, tuition, expenses, working on the long wee hours in class, working on the streets around the college trying to find a cheap canteen to grab lunch, being a math whiz in order to save some of a week’s allowance for that outing with the barkada. Well it’s definitely hard honestly, and we here at HYPE understand the “need” for some extra money. So we scoured the corners of manila to give you The Underbelly!!! (Suspense music)
The Underbelly is a new column for HYPE (if the editor see’s it successful we will see) to introduce some of Manila’s featured spots which probably could help every student save some extra money. I will cover this as long as my editor allows me to, so here’s what I got this week……… Books!
Along Claro M. Recto Avenue it’s the spot EVERY college student needs to know, it’s just along the corner of FEU and you won’t miss it. No you don’t need clues, all you need is guts. If you see some old tranny, or a big huge guy sitting along the street with a ton of books beside him, that’s the spot, all you need to do is breath in deep and approach the guy/girl – these stores are scattered all around Recto and are manned by different people- and ask them “may noli me tangere po ba kayo?” and voila, that’s it.
The Plus: These books come in cheap and the typical 250 php book could cost a measly 180-120 bucks depending on your negotiating skills, some books here could cost up to 800 pesos and up specially those imported books on nursing and stuff.
The Downside: Better expect that some of the books you’ll find here are old, they may have tears and the pages have been dog-eared, some books may have been the property of dead students mugged and hacked to death, or raped even. Some of these books are “factory defects” wrong spellings, wrong info, it’s like having a version 1.1a when the usual version is a 1.1d, but hey, this is Manila.
You will curse when: You see one of your “bestselling” novels out on the stack which probably costs half the price. I saw a pocketbook copy of Chuck Palahniuk’s Pygmy which was still in good shape, and cost 150 bucks, it’s like a 50% slash off. Good thing I haven’t bought the book, it would be a drag if you took the book from the ordinary price of 300+ and see a good conditioned (almost the same) one at 150, it’s just that feeling in the world when you just want to get a knife and slash your wrist.
by: Mike Angeles
It’s like a black market; the only difference is the books….
It has been well documented that the Chinese are the best fabricators in the world; the tag Made in China has been incorporated in at least everything from bottles to shoes, to even food, if it’s Chinese it’s definitely cheap. And as Filipino’s who definitely loooooooooooooooooove cheap stuff, we cater to these things, not saying that everyone who indulge themselves in Chinese products are cheap, but sometimes it’s a plus to just stay practical, specially today when most of us are definitely clawing our way everyday trying to make ends meet.
They say that the life of a student is hard, tuition, expenses, working on the long wee hours in class, working on the streets around the college trying to find a cheap canteen to grab lunch, being a math whiz in order to save some of a week’s allowance for that outing with the barkada. Well it’s definitely hard honestly, and we here at HYPE understand the “need” for some extra money. So we scoured the corners of manila to give you The Underbelly!!! (Suspense music)
The Underbelly is a new column for HYPE (if the editor see’s it successful we will see) to introduce some of Manila’s featured spots which probably could help every student save some extra money. I will cover this as long as my editor allows me to, so here’s what I got this week……… Books!
Along Claro M. Recto Avenue it’s the spot EVERY college student needs to know, it’s just along the corner of FEU and you won’t miss it. No you don’t need clues, all you need is guts. If you see some old tranny, or a big huge guy sitting along the street with a ton of books beside him, that’s the spot, all you need to do is breath in deep and approach the guy/girl – these stores are scattered all around Recto and are manned by different people- and ask them “may noli me tangere po ba kayo?” and voila, that’s it.
The Plus: These books come in cheap and the typical 250 php book could cost a measly 180-120 bucks depending on your negotiating skills, some books here could cost up to 800 pesos and up specially those imported books on nursing and stuff.
The Downside: Better expect that some of the books you’ll find here are old, they may have tears and the pages have been dog-eared, some books may have been the property of dead students mugged and hacked to death, or raped even. Some of these books are “factory defects” wrong spellings, wrong info, it’s like having a version 1.1a when the usual version is a 1.1d, but hey, this is Manila.
You will curse when: You see one of your “bestselling” novels out on the stack which probably costs half the price. I saw a pocketbook copy of Chuck Palahniuk’s Pygmy which was still in good shape, and cost 150 bucks, it’s like a 50% slash off. Good thing I haven’t bought the book, it would be a drag if you took the book from the ordinary price of 300+ and see a good conditioned (almost the same) one at 150, it’s just that feeling in the world when you just want to get a knife and slash your wrist.
The DEATH and LIFE of Charlie St. Cloud
by Michael Angelo Angeles
Tells the haunting story of a young man who narrowly survives a terrible car wreck that kills his little brother. Years later, the brother’s bond remains so strong that it transcends the normal boundaries separating life and death.
Charlie St. Cloud lives in a snug New England fishing village. By day he tends the lawns and monuments of the ancient cemetery where his younger brother, Sam is buried. Graced with an extraordinary gift after surviving the accident, he can still see, talk and even play catch with Sam’s spirit. But townsfolk whisper that Charlie has never recovered from his loss.
Into his carefully ordered life comes Tess Carroll, a captivating, adventuresome woman training for a solo sailing trip around the globe. Fate steers her boat into a treacherous storm that blows her back to harbor, to a charged encountered with Charlie, and to a surprise more overwhelming than the violent sea itself.
Charlie and Tess discover a beautiful and uncommon connection that holds to a race against time and a desperate choice between death and life, between the past and the future, between holding and letting go.
Luminous, soulful and filled with unforgettable characters, The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud is one of those rare, wise books that reveal the mysteries of the unseen world around us, gently transforming the worst pain of loss into hope, healing and even laughter. Suspenseful and deeply moving, its startling climax reminds us that sometimes tragedies can bring about miracles if we simply open our hearts.
Why buy it: The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud is a page turner. Im not being like the typical review’s you see when you flip open books, you could picture it in your head big bold letters shouting out “This is a page turner” stuff like that. I for one am not a hardcore reader and I easily get bored when reading, but so far this book hits the spot. Every page is entertaining and the story is unique and different in its own way.
The Pros: The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud is different from any other books, it’s story is extraordinary, heartwarming and unique. Written by one of the most well known authors today. It’s definitely worth every penny. And to top all that novel will be made into a movie starring Zack Efron, so it would be a cool thing to grab and hold of this baby before it hits the stream.
The Cons: most of the parts regarding Charlie could prove to be disturbing specially on the parts when he can see and talk to his brother Sam. To most readers that don’t find this interesting, this book is not for you.
No comments:
Post a Comment