My First Free Book

“When fact and fiction are combined in novels, it’s not always clear to the reader which is which.”

Nelson DeMille said this in his Wild Fire's Author’s Note. It is very well true and that's what attracted me to grab and choose this free book distributed by our library.


Mixing fact and fiction makes a story really exciting. So, thumbs up to Mr. DeMille. However, if you really are interested in determining which are fact and which are fiction, you need to do only one thing - research. Nonetheless, let the books entertain me at times and teach me at another.

The only conflict I encountered was that I found this other book. It was written by James Patterson entitled The Jester. I also liked the book because in his note, he wrote this (not the exact line but the same thought), "Every author has a favorite among the novels he wrote and this is my favorite among the books I wrote."

That very thought intrigued me about the reason why it's James Patterson's favorite book. I have to find out.

I had to choose among the two and I chose the first. I just asked this to be reserved to me because the library didn't allow a student to take home two. One may return and get another... but only when done with the first book. Better get on with Wild Fire because I can't wait to get my hands on The Jester. Hahahahaha! XD

So, that's it?

[Rec] and Quarantine are the same films. There are differences in some scenes but basically, [Rec] is in Spanish and Quarantine is in English. [Rec] is only an hour and fifteen minute film while Quarantine is appriximately one and a half hour. Quarantine is inspired by [Rec]. Of course, some names and characters differ but the main character is still Angela Vidal (and the dog is still named Max). Both movie has the same plot of story. So, yes, I have wasted my time.

[Rec] and Quarantine revolves around a reporter covering an assignment of filming the life of firemen, everything they do in front and behind the camera. That's it.

Being a reporter takes a lot of responsibility. I like the scene when either of the Angela Vidal actresses fight for their right to take video to let people know what is/was happening. Sad to say, the tragedy won't let their efforts do their job to reach the public. Instead of her and her cameraman reporting the event, it was them that was reported.

Being a reporter isn't easy. In your pursuit of the truth, it might also harm you. In the movie, although it is fictitious, a simple cover of firemen life killed the reporter and her cameraman. "People think we [firemen] run around putting out fires but around 70% of the calls we get are for other types of services. For example, broken water mains or stopping a water leak, or helping someone out of their apartment, or pet rescue, too." At that particular moment that Angela was with the firemen, they responded not to a fire alarm but of a neighbor disturbance. Yet, everybody died inside of the building where they went. Their timing was bad because the building was sealed when they have entered. If only they came late, they won't get in the middle of the situation. But in real life, you cannot say when and where. Remember what happened in the Maguindanao Massacre? A lot of journalists were killed. They were just accompanying someone who will pass her certificate of candidacy and all of them was ambushed.

Being part of the media takes a lot of courage to face everyday trials and issues. You also have to keep in mind that danger might be following you wherever you go, but not always.

Going back to the films, I like to compare and contrast them. I like the child of [Rec] better than of Quarantine. The sound she made is very interesting. Ahaha! Sorry for the word, but I like horror, creepy, suspense, thriller stories. I am also sorry to inform you that when I watched the two films (different day and time), I was eating. Take note, for both movie. It was not intentional, but I got hungry. Well, while eating delicious food, I was staring at blood squirting scenarios.

One thing I noticed is that the film is just around the people who were and went inside the building. The movie ended with Angela being pulled away from the camera view. So, that's it? Yes. Because it didn't continue to what those people outside did and because the whole movie was from the  first eye point of view, the view of those who are involved directly like in other movies such as Blairwtich Project, Cloverfield, and Paranormal Activity.