I do have new books, but one -- Not A Tame Lion, by, um, I forgot -- bored me to sleep. (It's an okay book, actually, but the frequent references to Aslan as the Lion of Judah kind of annoys me. Lewis already said that Aslan is not strictly Jesus reverse-personified and that Narnia wasn't meant to be an allegory, as allegory is scholarly defined. Any Lewis scholar ought to know that and respect that and not use the book for their own purposes.) The other -- a compilation of C. S Lewis' letters -- is too heavy to carry around.
So. I brought The Fellowship of the Ring to work.
Tolkien's foreword always makes me laugh. He wrote, "Some who have read the book, or at any rate have reviewed it, have found it boring, absurd, or contemptible, and I have no cause to complain, since I have similar opinions of their works..."
People do have different tastes. If I had my way, I would make everyone see why I love Lord of the Rings and The Chronicles of Narnia so much until they start loving them too. But then I would have to explain and explain and end up writing something like Not A Tame Lion. And even then, I'm quite certain that I still wouldn't accomplish my goal.
People's likes and dislikes are governed to a great extent by the experiences they have been through, by the type of intellect they have (let me stress, "type," not level), and by the stage of life that they are in. C. S. Lewis once dedicated a Narnia book -- I think LWW -- to a girl named Lucy, for when she would be old enough to appreciate fairy tales again. (That must mean I am either very young or very old!)
Liking a particular author would depend, too, on whether one appreciates the range of the author's imagination and style. For example, I used to really like John Grisham's books, but I eventually felt that his cynical, world-weary storytelling was getting old. Dan Brown's books are truly exciting, but once you've read a couple, you don't need to be Nancy Drew to figure out that the least likely character to be a villain is the villain. On the flip side of the coin, Dick Francis' understated, very British manner of writing, of which I approve, would surely be found boring by many.
To each his own literary preference, then, and may the world never run out of our kind of storytellers.
Here are some of the shots I took onboard:
The ship is also a good place for enjoying the breeze in your face and looking out to the sea.
From the deck, you can also observe port life as it happens below.
I've had some great Doulos buys (Christian fiction for young adults, Narnia picture books and science booklets for kids) over the years, but my latest acquisition practically jumped off the shelves at me. 
Doulos has an international crew, including a few Filipinos, who man the information booth, the cash registers and the snack bar. And run the ship, of course. All of them are volunteers, including the captain. And speaking of the snack bar, they sell enormous, tasty cookies at P18 each (a real bargain, considering those paper-thin cookies at coffee shops that cost P40 or more), a cup of ice cream is also P18, and you can have a raspberry or lemon juice at P12 per cup.
...and nonstop street dancing in the most shockingly colorful costumes.
But the dancers also get tired...
...and hungry.
Speaking of hunger, those brown foam crabs look meaty...
...but the boys who carry them...
...are practically skin and bones.
A dancer gets a retouch to stay pretty...
...but the everyday faces of these rugby boys aren't that much cleaner than they are now.
There...I've bummed everyone out. :-)
But with friends like these...not for long!
Shops along the route set up altars to the Sto. Nino -- the child Jesus.
Most of the people who had gathered in crowds in P. del Rosario St. were eagerly awaiting the procession coming from the Basilica del Sto. Nino.
Some weren't.
We looked for the perfect spot to wait for the procession.
And we learned a few random lessons along the way.
We finally found a good vantage point at the corner between the University of San Carlos and the Sto. Rosario Parish Church.
We people-watched while waiting.
There were a lot of people to watch.
Aivan even found himself a few friends.
Finally, the appearance of acolytes and knights heralded the coming of the procession.
By the way, is it just me?
Or do they somehow remind you of Antarctica? Probably just me.
Although it was a cloudy and windy day, people made sure they protected themselves from the heat. Umbrellas, fans, hats...
Fans-slash-hats...
But some heads, you know... It would just be a shame if they were covered up.
People carried their kids during the procession.
Some carried Ninos.
In fact, there were so many kids and Ninos, some of them inevitably had identity crises.
The diversity of people present...
...was almost on the same level as the diversity of Nino costumes.
A multitude of people passed us by, and I mean a multitude. Crowds this thick paraded on for more than an hour.
However, the people on our part of the route -- including the professional photographers with all their intimidating gear -- were waiting for only one thing.
And finally it came.
The Sto. Nino relic was flanked by priests, police and Army...and devotees, of course.
It was time to join the procession. Devotees sang "Bato Balani sa Gugma" while walking and waved their arms during the chorus.
Tired?
But there's still the Sinulog Mardi Gras tomorrow! :-) Pit Senor everyone!