I rarely say NO when my kids want books
It was Carol who first told me about Bestsellers, a division of National Bookstore, at Robinson’s Galleria. We didn’t have the opportunity to visit it until two days ago.
We were spending overnight at a hotel (Sam’s request for her birthday since the unpredictable weather made it difficult to risk going out of town) and, after dinner, while waiting for the last full show (The Bourne Ultimatum), we went window-shopping and found Bestsellers. Entering the place, one would have difficulty believing that Bestsellers is a division of National Bookstore. It looks more like Powerbooks and Fully Booked. No school supplies, just books — lots of books.
Book-shopping wasn’t exactly part of the plans for the weekend. We just wanted some time to relax (no computers and internet — I posted future entries hehehe), be together, eat (with no cooking involved), see a movie or two… you know, just a lazy weekend. But one thing about my kids these days, they can’t enter a bookstore and not want to buy anything. I was thinking of getting a few cookbooks but after Sam and Alex had made their choices (shocking prices!), I decided I could buy cookbooks some other time. I didn’t have the heart to deny them especially since they wanted books on the very subjects that they want to build their future careers on.
But there came a surprise.
We already knew there was an ongoing sale. We also knew that NOT all books were on sale. When we found out that the photography book Sam wanted and the computer cartoon kit that Alex couldn’t let go of were at 20% off, I was so relieved. The biggest surprise was that the book I wanted, Nigella Lawson’s Forever Summer, was at 40% off. We were all very happy when we left Bestsellers.
After the movie, we went back to the hotel and opened our newly-bought books. Sam started browsing through Tom Ang’s How to Photograph Absolutely Everything which contained lots of sample photos to illustrate the practical tips. Then, she said, “Mommy, I’ve already taken photos like these…” She flipped through the pages, pointed out photos she had her own versions of and those for which she would need a DSLR (with matching whine that I needed to give her a DSLR).
I borrowed a photo from her blog.
I don’t know how she does the motion trick — keeping the subject sharp while everything in the background appears to be in motion (notice the carousel’s lights). She says she moves the camera as the subject moves — sounds easy but it’s something I haven’t tried. The first experiment she did using this technique was when she took photos of our lawnmower for Speedy’s Lawnmower Man entry. She’s had a lot of practice since with all the sports photography she’s been doing at school (link to some of her football photos). But she hasn’t forgotten her real thing — macro photography. Click here unless you’re really scared of bugs.
Now, if Alex would only post her artwork on her blog, I could show you. But she hardly does. She did make her blog’s header image though and she posts lots of photos too.
How can I deny them those books? Even with the horrendous prices, I’d bend over backwards to buy them their art and photography books.
Comments
25 Responses to “I rarely say NO when my kids want books”We feast everyday!
LOL, Sam is already begging for her own DSLR? Trying to find good photography books can be a pain as a lot of them tend to cover the basic stuff over and over. If Sam really likes taking pics of bugs, I recommend The Complete Guide to Close-up & Macro Photography by Paul Harcourt Davies. I have this book and it was very helpful when I started doing macro shots with a macro lens.
Thanks, Nikita. I’ll try to find that one in local bookstores. The macro photography book she has is by Joseph Meehan. Great as reference but I think she’ll need more.
Woohoo! Glad you had a great time at Bestsellers.
I have a friend, who, whenever I give her a tip and she gets to spend a lot, says, “Di ko alam kung anghel ka o demonyo…” Hehe.
Lemme suggest another stop: Fully Booked in Bonifacio High Street. Four floors (five, including the basement) of booooooooks. Really awesome. We were there for more than three hours last weekend. AND don’t miss the 28th Manila International Bookfair next weekend (August 29 – September 2, 10:00 A.M — 8:00 P.M. ) at the World Trade Center. All bookstores and distributors under one roof. Everything for at least 20% off. My kids live for this. I’m excited already!
Have you looked at the magazine sections at the bookstores there? There are quite a few british magazines devoted to digital photography. I buy them at Barnes & Nobles here but there might be a chance they have them over there. I will warn you, they can be a little pricey but they are worth it. They have lots of good photography tutorials, aside from photoshop ones.
http://www.dcmag.co.uk/
http://www.photographymags.co.uk/
“I don’t know how she does the motion trick…”
Papaano mong malalaman, e takot na takot ka tuwing hawak mo yung camera mo? XP
Carol, I think I’ll echo your friend’s feeling. Tukso ka sa gastos hahahahah Pero spending for books, grabe, worth it! Sobra. So thank you pa rin — anghel ka man o demonyo! hahahahaha
Am noting the titles, Nikita. We have shops here that specialize on back issues. Super slashed down prices. So if the titles are available, we might be able to get the few months’ old issues at bargain prices. Thanks!
Sam, anong takot na takot? You mean, takot ako ipahawak sa iyo.
Hindi kaya. Lagi mo sinasabi, ” Eh baka maganun!” “Ay nako! Ayoko, baka magkaganito!” END. XD
Pag IKAW ang may hawak.
Hindi ah! Hindi ko nga nahahawakan yan eh.
Kids… kids… stop fighting! LOL.
I think what Sam does is called “panning”. She moves the cam approximately with the motion of the subject so that she gets the blurred background. The flash, however, illuminates the subject as it is the nearest object and will absorb most of the light, hence the sharp focus.
It’s a nifty trick if you would only be courages enough to hold the cam “adventurously”. Kelangan ipulupot yung strap nung cam sa forearm mo if you’re too scared doing it.
Anak ng… “courageous” enough, hindi courages enough
Anong hindi nahahawakan, eh, ginamit mo nga sa TriNoMa.
Nice spelling, Jon. hehehehe Seriously, if you look at the lawnmower photo, flash off, I think because it was taken outdoors during the day.
E kasi lang lumabas ka. >:)
Stop complaining already. You’ve been using it all afternoon.
Magaling si sam! Loved her photos,actually better quality than mine.I still dunno if it’s me o yung camera may problema!lol
Thru her site I found out that your hubby is also into blogging!Parang gusto kong i convince yung taas ilong mag blog din sya para ma correct ko rin grammar nya!hahaha
The good thing is you guys get to experiment with digital SLR’s. Immediate results so the learning curve is lower and faster. I have a Minolta Dynax 505si… It’s still a great camera except it still uses film.
Great shot for Sam there. I had one close to it but I played with the zoom and not the movement. hmmm…
I do believe that books are an investment. I myself have a collection of over 2000 books at home. I’ve been an avid collector of books since I was 10. hehehe…
When I bought my daughter her very first book, one she chose herself, she kept the book beside her for months. And she took good care of the book, too.
CheH, sige, convince mo hubby mo. I think men have as much to say about parenting as we do. I started reading daddy blogs when Speedy started blogging. Iba perspective and that makes them more interesting.
The Mentat, I dabbled in film photography too. I still have a Pentax SLR but film photography is just so darn expensive. Scary to make mistakes because there’s no take 2 with films.
Truly… I spend close to 5 rolls of 36 frame films every week when I was learning and when my kids were around. They were my favorite subjects. hehehe… But I saved on developing costs. After developing the film I have it scanned and burned to CD. No prints. hehehe…
I’m thinking of selling my Minolta. You know any buyers?
There’s another low cost bookseller at Waltermart in Makati (near Don Bosco) called Buy the Book. A friend thought it might be the consignment store for National since the books she got there had old National price tags under the sale price. Lots of cookbooks!
Kami din, pag books ang hinihingi, no questions. Buti na lang my kids appreciate books too. And with this “toy scare” mabuti na din.
Re..motion shot. You know what, I was able to take one of those without my knowing it. I took it at the baywalk last June. I didn’t even notice it until I uploaded it na. Syempre I tried to do it again. Wah nah!!
Madam, you’re not answering my email
The Mentat, naku, sorry, Don’t know anyone who still uses film but based on the queues at Kodak, I’m sure you’ll be able to find a buyer.
Thanks for the tip, Mila. Tamang-tama, kalapit na ng bookstore na yan yung Amici sa Don Bosco. hehehe
Kongkong, e-mail? Shucks, sandali ha. The two days we were out of the house, syempre natambak na naman, kasama na dun yung dagat ng Spam. Will find it.
Kongkong, wala ako mahanap na e-mail mo.
thanks for the tip connie – now i know where to make tambay for more books on our next trip to manila. am just curious — is the national bookstore in cubao still that big or sarado na sya?
It’s still there, Raqgold. Very much alive.