JessicaRulestheUniverse.com

We didn’t do much shopping in Paris, not so much as a T-shirt, but we did stock up on reading matter.

The novels of James Salter are widely available in French translation, and are bestsellers in Paris. Of course: beautiful elegiac prose, lots of sex, several chapters and stories set in Paris.

The Search Warrant, a.k.a. Dora Bruder, was the only Modiano we found in English translation, but with his Nobel win we can expect more English translations in a few months.

We’d been looking for the fiction of Leonard Michaels since we heard one of the Nachman stories in the New Yorker podcast. Nachman, the protagonist, is a mathematician, bit of a loser, fascinating.

The Guest Cat had us at the title.

The Calasso is a social/literary history of Paris in Baudelaire’s day.

We want to read everything by the late Laurie Colwin. This one we read in a day: it’s about overthinkers who face the possibility of happiness and don’t know how to deal with it.

Ali Smith we’ve never read and are curious about.

We inspected the shelves at National Bookstore and were pleased at the new selections:

J.G. Ballard is best known for his memoir of his childhood in a Japanese internment camp Empire of the Sun. It is the least typical of his eerie dystopian tales. The Complete Stories of J.G. Ballard, Php1305.

This is column fodder: the story of the Igorots who were exhibited in New York in 1905. The American impresario got the idea from the St Louis Exposition of 1904, which showed 1300 tribespeople from the Philippines. The Lost Tribe of Coney Island, Php1095.

The Bone Clocks, one of our favorite books of the year, Php1199 in hardcover.

A short and elegant novel by Ian McEwan, about a female judge who must rule in the case of a teenage Jehovah’s Witness who refuses a blood transfusion that could save his life. In Saturday, McEwan got into his neurosurgeon protagonist’s head so thoroughly we were convinced he could operate; in The Children Act he explains British family law so cogently he could hear cases. Hardcover, Php999.

Gilt-edged like a Bible, The Book of Strange New Things is the latest from the author of The Crimson Petal and the White, and of the short story that became the film Under the Skin. Hardcover, Php1099.

A new collection of short stories from the author of Self-Help and Like Life. Trade, Php629.

Winner of the Booker Prize in 2010. Friends swear it is funny. Trade, Php375.

Following the success of the first-ever movie and music festival in the country, Crizal Transitions promises an even more spectacular CinemaJam this year. A full line-up of outdoor movie screenings, fun activities (zipline, bungee, wall-climbing), art installations, and performances by today’s most exciting bands await festival-goers on November 29, Saturday, at the Greenfield District Central Park in Mandaluyong City. Gates open at 10am, with the action building to the concert at midnight.

Featured bands include Pedicab, Franco, Bamboo, Imago, Itchyworms, and Urbandub. On the double-bill on the giant LED TV are the romantic drama Letters to Juliet starring Amanda Seyfried and Vanessa Redgrave, and the box-office hit thriller Now You See Me starring Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo, Woody Harrelson, Isla Fisher, Dave Franco, Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman.

CinemaJam will also see the unveiling of Crizal Transitions Signature Green. Essilor, the world’s leading manufacturer of optical lenses, and Transitions Optical have partnered to develop the new Crizal Transitions Signature lenses in graphite green, which provide more natural vision and true color perception in a variety of light conditions. Free eyesight consultations will be offered in the Optical Village booth manned by eyecare experts and showcasing the latest innovations from Crizal Transitions.

Tickets to CinemaJam are now available at Ticketworld. Call 891 9999, or go to www.ticketworld.com.ph. Part of the proceeds will go to World Vision, a humanitarian organization focused on building a better world for children.

This was the scene at the first KAINdustriya convention organized by Puregold last October 14 and 15 at the World Trade Center.

Hotel and restaurant managers, caterers, operators of cafes, canteens, food stalls, karinderya and jolly jeeps found big discounts on food items and kitchen supplies.

Established in 2012, Puregold’s KAINdustriya is for all food resellers. It aims to offer the most affordable prices on basic commodities and ingredients as well as cooking equipment and appliances through the Tindahan ni Aling Puring program.

Tindahan ni Aling Puring is not just for sari-sari store and neighborhood tindahan owners, but for everyone in the food business.

In addition to the big convention, KAINdustriya has been organizing cook- offs, cooking demonstrations and free seminars for its members on topics ranging from safety and sanitation, inventory keeping, and menu planning to pricing and cost management. The idea is for members to increase their knowledge of the business and hone their skills so they can become competitive in the thriving Pinoy food industry.

For more information on Tindahan ni Aling Puring and updates on KAINdustriya events, go to www.facebook.com/puregold.shopping and www.facebook.com/alingpuring.ph, or follow them on Twitter and Instagram.

Canteen operators, hoteliers, karinderya owners, caterers, amateur and professional cooks are invited to the 1st Tindahan ni Aling Puring KAINdustriya Convention on October 14 and 15 at the World Trade Center Tent Area in Pasay City. Admission is free.

Organized by retail giant Puregold, the convention is a national fiesta where food entrepreneurs can shop for food items at discounted prices, and learn how to improve their earning potential.

“These food resellers provide a big boost to the local economy,” says Puregold Merchandising Director Vincent Co. “They source their supplies from their communities, and generate jobs in those same communities. They also provide nourishment to the country’s workforce, from laborers to executives, who do not have the time to prepare their own meals but need good Filipino home cooking to keep them strong.”

The KAINdustriya Convention aims to give small- and medium-scale food entrepreneurs what the annual Puregold Sari-Sari Store Convention has been providing tindahan owners for the last 11 years. During the two-day event, entrepreneurs may attend free seminars and learn business tips from experts, including RJ Ledesma and Anton Diaz of Mercato Centrale. They can attend cooking demonstrations by renowned chefs, check out the trade showcase, and buy food retail products at discounted prices.

This being a fiesta, celebrities will grace the event.

“It will be two days of kita, kain and kabuhayan for our neighborhood chefs,” said Co. “Through this event, we hope to foster a sense of community among our food entrepreneurs and inspire them to bring their business to another level.”

Puregold will also hold pocket KAINdustriya events at its QI Central, Paranaque, Cainta Junction, Valenzuela, Meycauayan and Dau branches. For updates on the latest Puregold events and offerings, visit their Facebook page or follow them on Twitter and Instagram.

Available at National Bookstores.

Not That Kind of Girl by Lena Dunham, Php845. In HBO’s Girls, written and directed by Lena Dunham, Lena Dunham plays a character who is writing a book of personal essays. Here is the actual Lena Dunham’s book of personal essays (the names have been changed). If the characters are half as funny, aggressively imperfect, maddening and surprising as those in Girls, this should be fun.

The Melancholy of Resistance by Laszlo Krasznahorkai, Php899. Translated from the Hungarian by George Szirtes. According to the blurb, a surreal novel about a circus arriving in a small town with the stuffed corpse of the largest whale in the world. It sounds like the plot of a Bela Tarr movie we’d seen at a film festival—turns out it is the source. One of Tarr’s most famous movies, Satantango, is also adapted from a Krasznahorkai novel. And we have a strange fascination with authors whose names are hard to spell (Hungarians and Russians win).

The Garden of Departed Cats by Bilge Karasu, Php895. Translated from the Turkish by Aron Aji. Twelve strange fables. They had us at the title.

For a shot at the Villa del Conte chocolates, the Dove hair and skin care package, AND the three-day stay at Sun Resorts in Boracay:

What is your 10-year plan?

The realistic one that does not involve winning the lottery or marrying into the British royal family.

Post your answers in Comments before 11.59pm.

* * * * *

The winner, chosen by our volunteer publicist and proprietor of Sun Resorts Edd Fuentes iiiiiiissss…

scientist. Congratulations. Email saffron.safin@gmail.com to claim your prizes.