Get Goosebumps with Revenge of the Witch

Have you ever read a book that sent chills down your spine but you'd still keep on reading even though you're afraid of what might happen next? If you haven't, this book is the right one for you! And if you have, this book will definitely do just that. The Last Apprentice: Revenge of the Witch is a novel you can't miss if you long for that "spooky" read. 

     

• Title: The Last Apprentice: Revenge of the Witch
• Author: Joseph Delaney
• Genre: suspense, fantasy. horror
• Pages: 343 pages
• Series: The Last Apprentice

"For years, Old Gregory has been the Spook for the county, ridding the local villages of evil. Now his time is coming to an end. But who will take over for him? Twenty-nine apprentices have tried—some floundered, some fled, some failed to stay alive.

Only Thomas Ward is left. He's the last hope, the last apprentice."

Catching Fire Movie

Warning before reading this post: SPOILER ALERT!

Read on your own risk!

Hello! 

Now Showing: Catching Fire by SM Aura

For this very LATE post, I've decided to share my thoughts about the Catching Fire film. Okay, who does NOT know about this film? Surely everyone knows about this. Catching Fire is the sequel to the movie The Hunger Games which hit theaters March of 2011. The Hunger Games movie is a film adaptation of the novel of the same name by Suzanne Collins. By the time the movie was released, the books themselves have been mainstream. 

Now, after almost two years, the next movie finally hit theaters last November 22. I've reread the book just in time for the movie (as what I always do with "book movies") because I like to see how well they portray the movie from the book and believe me, I was definitely not disappointed. 

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

First, the movie couldn't have been more similar to the book. From the scenes to the dialogues, some dialogues were even taken from the book itself! The director really knows how to please the book fans. The first movie was accurate enough and this one was even better. The effects were also amazing. The arena was how I pictured it, and the events were also how I read it in the book. I was amazed, though, that they were able to include the "Johanna strips in the elevator" part. xD 

So for the book fans who haven't seen the movie yet, you'll surely enjoy it! I know I did. And for those who have only seen the movie, you'll enjoy it as well, although I really recommend you read the book to fully appreciate it. This movie deserves two thumbs up!

If you have nothing to do this weekend, go to your nearest theaters and see Catching Fire now!

The House of Hades Review

    

      

• Title: The Heroes of Olympus: The House of Hades
• Author: Rick Riordan
• Genre: mythology (Greek and Roman), young adult, fantasy
• Date Released: August 27, 2013
• Pages: 355 pages
• Series: The Heroes of Olympus

"At the conclusion of The Mark of Athena, Annabeth and Percy tumble into a pit leading straight to the Underworld. The other five demigods have to put aside their grief and follow Percy’s instructions to find the mortal side of the Doors of Death. If they can fight their way through the Gaea’s forces, and Percy and Annabeth can survive the House of Hades, then the Seven will be able to seal the Doors both sides and prevent the giants from raising Gaea. But, Leo wonders, if the Doors are sealed, how will Percy and
Annabeth be able to escape?
They have no choice. If the demigods don’t succeed, Gaea’s armies will never die. They have no time. In about a month, the Romans will march on Camp Half-Blood. The stakes are higher than ever in this adventure that dives into the depths of Tartarus."

The Heroes of Olympus is the fourth book of the Heroes of Olympus series. It talks about a group of demigods (half-gods) who are on a quest to fight the goddess Gaea who aims on conquering the world. Fans have been dying to read this one after that very awful cliffhanger from the last book, The Mark of Athena. Seriously, who writes a book with a happy couple being the main characters and having them plunge into Tartarus on the last few pages!? That's how the last book ended and believe me, I was flipping disappointed I wanted to strangle Rick (no offense, Rick). But now, I can say that House of Hades will surely make up for that feeling.

The book itself is less "traumatizing" than the previous book. Many good things happened, but to balance everything, of course, there has to be a sadness factor. So along with the happy happenings came (SPOILER ALERT!) the deaths of a couple of characters although it was not clearly stated and shown so they might still be alive. 

Real UnliCHAT Experience with Globe’s GoUnli30

I come from a "Globe family". That is, a family in which all family members are Globe subscribers. So I could say that I've been a Globe subscriber my whole life. Being a student, I need to always be connected to my family and peers in the most inexpensive way possible. I resorted to using regular load to be used only for important matters. That was my way of communication until I learned about Globe's new GoUnli30.

Globe GoUnli30 is definitely not your ordinary promo. Globe GoUnli30 does not only give subscribers the normal unlitexts and unlicalls experience, but also gives subscribers the real Unli chat experience! 

With GoUNLI30, subscribers get unlimited texts to all networks, unlimited calls to Globe/TM, and unlimited chat with the best messaging apps like Viber, Kakao Talk, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, WeChat, Line and the telco’s very own messaging app GMessage without the need for Wi-Fi or additional data charges. Available for only P30 valid for 1 day, GoUNLI30 gives you no excuse to stay out of the loop and connect with more than 1 billion users around the world regardless of mobile network or location.

How sweet of a deal is that?! Not only can you stay connected via calls and texts, but also by your instant messaging apps as well without the need for Wi-Fi! I've been a user of Viber and Facebook Messenger for quite a while now and having this promo helps me appreciate those apps even more, since I normally just use them in a Wi-Fi zone.

Go all-out unlimited with GoUNLI30 and UNLICHAT25 now. Register by dialing *143# and then choosing GoSAKTO on your Globe mobile phone or texting GOUNLI30 or UNLICHAT25 to 8888.

Staying connected,

Ramen Crave!

Hi!

I've been watching some TV and I noticed that there's one food that's been hitting the spotlight - Ramen. Maybe because of the rainy season or maybe just because Ramen isn't your ordinary type of food that this dish gets so much hype these days.

So what is Ramen? For those who don't know, Ramen is a Japanese soup dish. It is basically wheat noodles served in a carefully simmered meat-based or fish-based broth, usually with soy sauce or miso for added flavor. Common toppings include meat slices, dried seaweed, egg, and green onions. Each kind of ramen has different flavors and toppings. 

I wanted to try one myself so when I passed by a ramen restaurant, I didn't let go of the opportunity. I dined in a ramen restaurant named Ramen Bar. Ramen Bar is located at The Hub, Greenfields District, Ortigas, Mandaluyong City but they have three other branches located on other parts of Metro Manila as well. 

Ramen Bar has a nice ambiance, the old Japanese ramen-ya (ramen bar) meets modern interior design style. 

Now for the ramen itself. I ordered the Shoyu Ramen. Its description on the menu says: "Soy infused Tonkotsu Ramen topped with tamago, naruto, negi and chasyu". I was actually with my mom so we ordered one and had it split. Even though we had it split, we still felt like we ordered solos, since my bowl was still brimming with ramen! The service was good and very quick. We waited for less than 10 minutes! The ramen was piping-hot when it was served.

The Fall of Five Review

      

• Title: The Fall of Five
• Author: Pittacus Lore
• Genre: science fiction, young adult, fantasy
• Release Date: August 27, 2013
• Pages: 355 pages
• Series: Lorien Legacies

"I thought things would change when I found the others. We would stop running. We would fight the Mogadorians. And we would win.

But I was wrong. Even though we have come together, we barely escaped from the Mogadorians with our lives. And now we’re in hiding, trying to figure out our next move.

The six of us are powerful—but we’re not yet strong enough to take on their entire army. We haven’t discovered the full extent of our Legacies. We haven’t learned to work together. And there’s still so much that we don’t know about the Elders or their plan for us. Time is running out, and there’s only one thing we know for certain: We need to find Number Five before they do.

They caught Number One in Malaysia.
Number Two in England.
And Number Three in Kenya.
I am Number Four. I was supposed to be next.
But I’m still alive.

This battle is far from over."

The Lorien Legacies is basically a sci-fi series about a race of aliens called the "Loric" who were wiped out by another alien race called the "Mogadorians". The only members left of their race called the "Garde" were sent to Earth, each having numbers for names and a guard which they call their "Cepan". They all take different paths while under a protection of a charm in which as long as they remain apart, they can only be killed in order of their numbers. Each Garde possesses different powers called "Legacies". With these Legacies, they aim to stop the Mogadorians from conquering our planet and to restore their own planet, Lorien. But until then, they remain in hiding while they develop their Legacies and find each other.

The House of Hades is Here!

I stink at blogging. Mainly because I rarely get to post on my blog. For instance, my last blog post was one month ago. Maybe that explains my one and only follower and less than 500 views since I started this blog. Poor me. xD

But enough chit-chat! I'll proceed to what I'm really writing about. Yes. This is it. The moment we've all been waiting for (well, the PJO fans anyway). THE HOUSE OF HADES HAS BEEN OFFICIALLY RELEASED! After a WHOLE YEAR of waiting, PJO fans all over the world can now get the next book of the Heroes of Olympus series by Rick Riordan. 

The House of Hades is the fourth book of the series, succeeding the previous book, The Mark of Athena. The fans of the book were left hungry for more after the very, should I say, controversial (XD) cliffhanger of the Mark of Athena. We've been waiting our butts off since the last book. Old Uncle Rick just had to come up with that stupid (but great) cliffhanger. 

The Fall of Five and a Lot More!

It has been a looooooooong time since my last post (due to tons of school-related activities) so I'll compensate by creating this triple-treat blog. This has been my book exploits for the month of August and I hope you find this interesting.

First is the I Am Number Four: The Lost Files: The Secret Histories. This book from the I Am Number Four series was released on July 23, 2013. It is composed of three novellas ( The Search for Sam, The Last Days of Lorien, and The Forgotten Ones) which were released earlier as e-books. This certainly is a treat for fans like me who do not have the capacity to buy e-books and for those who are collecting the print volumes of the series. Plus, it contains the story behind their search for Sam! All the fans have been FRUSTRATED by that cliffhanger, including me! 

I Am Number Four: The Lost Files: The Secret Histories

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Sea of Monsters Movie

Warning before reading this post: SPOILER ALERT!

Read on your own risk!

Finally! After more than two years of waiting, the next installment of the Percy Jackson movie series was finally released last August 7! I got the chance to watch Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Sea of Monsters on the big screen with my friends last August 9, and it sure was a good movie MOVIEWISE. Why moviewise? The effects were great, the plot was great, the screenplay was great. What I'm trying to point out is that the book fans like me are not going to absolutely love it. 

The movie team's efforts were great in keeping some of the book facts intact including the Big House, the Oracle, the Hippocampus, and my personal favorite, George and Martha ( the snakes of Hermes's caduceus). Plus, they included Mr. D and the Thalia story. Those details made the Sea of Monsters more accurate than the Lightning Thief. Although, some important parts were gone like the goddess Circe, Percy turning into a guinea pig, and the sea of monsters was not actually full of monsters! Still, in the end, I was not satisfied. A lot of the original story was cut and replaced with far-off details, like the Kronos part. I wont spill the beans so as not to spoil those who haven't seen the movie yet. 

Even though it was still a bit inaccurate, you can see the efforts of the movie team to impress the book fans. I recommend it to movie lovers, and to the book fans as well, but a little tip to book fans: don't expect too much. You might end up disappointed. 

If you have nothing to do this weekend, go to your nearest theaters and see The Sea of Monsters now! :))

Eat and Go: Deliciously Okay

I consider myself as a foodie, being chubby is an accurate proof. I love to try different foods and restaurants whenever I get the chance. Last Sunday, my mom and I ate at SM Megamall's Eat and Go. 

Seafood Salad, Fish Scallopini, and Chicken Saltimbocca

We were attracted by their promo for two persons. For only P399, you get two P195 priced main entrees, a salad of your choice, and two drinks. If you order all without the promo, you'll end up with a more than P500 bill. So that was surely a great promo. 

Harry Potter 15th Anniversary Edition: Boxed Set!

Hello! 

Earlier this July, Scholastic has revealed the second to the last book cover for the Harry Potter 15th Anniversary Edition series. The featured cover was that of the Half-Blood Prince. For me it was not one of the best covers from the series, but it sure is better than the original. 

 © kernelscorner.com

And just yesterday, on the author's and main character's birthday itself was released the last book cover of the series. The Hungarian Horntail makes a comeback in the Deathly Hallows, the final book of the series. I was actually expecting a more dramatic cover, because this cover does not look that ominous or myterious, unlike the normal ones usually do. But what the heck, I still like it.

 © teen.com

The boxed set of these books will be available this August! Featuring all covers made by Kazu Kibuishi, this boxed set will be available in all bookstores this August. 

 © kernelscorner.com

 © National Bookstore Facebook Page

It sure is nice to have these books, although I don't have any money. ACCIO MONEY! Haha. I can't save money for the original ones, what more for this special edition set?! XD For those who are hardcore Harry Potter fans like me (but with money), this sure is something you cannot miss. 

May dementors not cross your path,

New Products from Regent!

New products from Regent include Hokaido Fish Crackers, Pineapple Pie, and Mochi

My mom had nothing to do these past few days so she tried to send an email to Regent. She told them that we have patronized their products for a long time (since I was at preschool) and thanked them for the delicious products they have made these past few years (how touching). XD

Regent was very thoughtful to have replied to her. They asked for our address and asked us if we wanted to try their new products. My mom quickly replied to Regent and after a few days, voila! We had our hands on some very nice products. 

New Reads!

Hey!

I should have posted this article a week ago but since I was too busy to post it, I consider this one as a 'Late Post'. XD

Fully Booked celebrated its 6th Anniversary last July 12 and they had a sale to celebrate it. Of course, I wouldn't miss it for anything so I quickly planned to go there right away while the sale was still on!

Fully Booked BFH's Anniversary Sale Ad
©Fully Booked Facebook Page

After an hour of deciding, I ended up with these selections; The Last Apprentice: Revenge of the Witch by Joseph Delaney and Paper Towns by John Green. I got both books at 20% off so instead of buying them for a total amount of P700, I got them both for only P560. What a bargain! :bd

I actually have read Revenge of the Witch before but that was like, more than two years ago? I decided it was time to read it again and start collecting the series since I found it very entertaining. When I mean 'entertaining', I mean the 'Philippine Ghost Stories' type of entertaining. Although not that scary. But the illustrations in the book can sometimes send some chills down your spine. This book is great for you if you love a good thriller before going to sleep or whatnot.

The Last Apprentice: Revenge of the Witch

Paper Towns was not really a book that caught my attention, but a friend of mine, Kristine Suarez, recommended John Green books to me. (Hi Kristine! :D) She told me his books were very nice and appealing so I got curious. Every time I go to bookstores I see his books too on the young adult bestsellers corner. I hope that I can relate to this book since I rarely read non-fantasy novels very much. I always read books with magic and stuff and I've never strayed to the 'real life' books, except maybe the Perks of Being a Wallflower.

Paper Towns

So that's it for this 'Late Post'! I hope you can try reading these selections, too! I'm sure you'll enjoy them as much as I will.

May every page be filled with excitement,

P.S. I'm more than halfway through The Lightning Thief right now! :))

Harry Potter 15th Anniversary Edition!

Hey! :D

I was just browsing my Facebook news feed and I saw the Harry Potter 15th Anniversary Edition covers! These covers will appear on the paperback edition of the series this September. The covers are simply amazing! The covers were made by Kazu Kibuishi, illustrator of the graphic novel series Amulet. He made those covers to commemorate the15th Anniversary of the US publication of the first book, The Sorcerer's Stone. 

© the-digital-reader.com

The first cover was already released last February and they have been releasing the next covers one-by-one. Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone's cover depicts Harry and Hagrid at Diagon Alley. Well, not much of a spoiler, since its the first book. The original Scholastic cover showed Harry riding his broom.

© robot6.comicbookresources.com

The second one, though, can give the readers of only the first book a bit of a spoiler. The original Scholastic cover of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets shows Harry finding the message on the wall written in blood. If you think this is cool, check out the third cover.

© slate.com

This, by far, is the coolest cover I've ever seen from the series! Not only does it intrigue you on what's going to happen, it also depicts one of the greatest mysteries of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. I won't tell for those who haven't read the book yet. ;) The original was the one with Harry and Hermione riding Buckbeak.

© snitchseeker.com

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire's cover is amazing as well! Although it shows the same scene as the cover of the Bloomsbury edition. Its still awesome! The Hungarian Horntail was depicted well.

© mediabistro.com

The fifth and latest cover to be released is the Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix's cover. It is, for me, the second best cover of the series. Although, I'd have preferred it a little bit darker. Everybody's a critic, including me. XD I think its much better than the original though.

Well, that's it for the covers. They haven't released the remaining two book covers yet, but I have a feeling it would be more awesome than these ones. Especially the Deathly Hallows cover.

Oh yeah, Scholastic has also announced that it will release the first boxed set of the complete Hogwarts Library on November!!! Woohoo! Finally! I've waited long enough for that. :D 

May dementors not cross your path, 

The Sea of Monsters Trailer!

Hey guys!

My parents went to see Man of Steel last Friday. Of course, before the movie starts the cinema shows different trailers of 'Coming Soon' movies. And guess what. They saw the Sea of Monsters trailer! (Too bad I wasn't with them x( ) They weren't showing it yet when we watched Now You See Me last month so I was surprised to hear this. 

So... only 33 more days til the Sea of Monsters movie comes out in cinemas!!! :D

The trailer was out since April but I wanted to show you guys again so here it is :)

Oh yeah, my PJO reading progress is... well, let's just say that there are a LOT of things keeping me busy these days and its very rare to find reading time. 

So that's all for now!

May the gods not smite thee,

Jude

'The Lightning Thief' Start-Up

Hello!
For my very first 'Books' post, I would like to start with something I love. Yep, you guessed it. One of my favorite book series of all time is the Percy Jackson and The Olympians Series. I started getting hooked to it since August 2011 and I have been following the series ever since.

My very own PJO series

Percy Jackson (commonly abbreviated to 'PJO') is basically about Greek gods and goddesses. The only twist is that they exist in the Modern World. There are times that they 'hook-up' with humans and have a baby. Their baby is called a demigod. Demigods can have extraordinary powers depending on who their god/goddess parent is. In this case, the main character is Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon. The book focuses on Percy and his friends; Grover, a satyr (half human, half goat) and Annabeth, daughter of Athena.

The Lightning Thief

You may be wondering, 'Why would you read that book again if you have already read it?'. I wanted to read it because first of all, I wanted to blog about it, and second is so that I can read the next book, The Sea of Monsters, in time for its movie on August 7! Woohoo!! :)) 

© filmofilia.com

I have read PJO just by borrowing my classmates' books but since the end of March, I have earned the money to buy the whole set at Fully Booked Boni High. So now I can read PJO without having to borrow xD Thanks, by the way, to Khristine Banquil and Japheth Avelino for introducing me to books and to this amazing series XD :bd

The Percy Jackson boxed set

I treasure every book in my collection. REALLY. I mean, if you just crumple or fold one page of my books, you won't ever see the rising sun again. Haha xD  I mean it. Haha just kidding. I just like to take care of my books and I try my best to maintain them in their mint condition.

Okay, so I'll start The Lightning Thief now. I'll probably post again on my blog when I'm already halfway through or if something really cool happens to the story.

So,

The Lightning Thief

Time Started: 8:16 PM June 24, 2013

Time Ended: ---

                                                                                           May the gods not smite thee,

                                                                                                               Jude

PS: You can now follow me on Instagram AND Twitter :))
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A New Leaf

Hello and welcome to my blog!

I am Arjude Gerona, but I prefer to be called Jude. Why 'Seen Through The Glasses' ? I guess you already figured it out. I'm just an average high school student with a passion for writing articles.

Well, this isn't an official post since I'm not writing about anything in particular but I just want to welcome everyone for visiting this blog.

Now let me tell you what it's all about and what you would probably see on this blog:

• Books - Well, that's what I guess you'll mostly see here. I've been a bookworm for a long time now and i think it's time that I share that personality with the world. From book releases to book reviews, I am sure to post some on my blog.

Some of my books

• Food - That's the second thing you'll mostly see here. I am a devoted foodie (you could tell by looking at my body) and I've wanted to blog about food my whole life. Restaurants, fast food, recipes, and even local street food carts will surely be a topic on my blog. 

• Movies - I'm not that much of a movie freak, but I enjoy them as much as the next guy, so I guess I'll be blogging about it as well. I would mostly blog about movie adaptations of books.
• Travel - Home may be my most favorite place (apart from bookstores) but I sure do love to travel. Although I rarely travel, I enjoy every place I have ever visited. 

• Updates - Nowadays, there are many things to update about. I'll try my best to update on everything that's going on. 
• Cool Stuff - There are some times when I just discover something cool, and I always want to tell other people about my discoveries. xD Sharing much.
• Just Me -  Here you can see the real me; my life, school, and everything  else about me.

So that's it for now. Maybe I could add other topics later. I hope you like my blog! I'll be posting my first official Post real soon!

~Jude

PS:
 You could follow me on Instagram for blog updates :)