It’s always a thrill when an author signs a copy of her book, leaving an imprint of ink that will outlive her. It’s never just a signature; it’s a magical piece of an immortal soul. When Mookie Katigbak-Lacuesta signed my copy, she wrote: “Hope you enjoy this glimpse into our history.” When seen against the… Read More When A Poet Writes Prose: A review of ASSEMBLING ALICE
Last seen in Cebu at the beginning of the month, Malaysian mobile book fair Big Bad Wolf (fondly called BBW for short) is now in Manila, in a new location! Parqal is a new shopping mall in Aseana City, Tambo, Parañaque. On the 3rd floor, more than 2 million books from BBW can be found… Read More The Big Bad Wolf is here and we’re all literary and willing Red Riding Hoods
One never forgets one’s first. Especially when one is eighteen and one meets the fair maiden, already engaged to another. Thus began the story of the first love of our national hero, Jose Rizal, and his doomed yet serious affair of the heart with Segunda Katigbak. She later married Manuel Luz, and died in 1943.… Read More Where First Love Lived : Casa de Segunda and Rizal
Mark your calendars, because this Saturday is Komiket Manila in Ayala Malls Manila Bay, plus Free Comic Book Day in Fully Booked branches in Luzon and Metro Manila! Originally launched in 2002 on the first Saturday of May, Free Comic Book Day (FCBD) is a global event embraced by Fully Booked. It has been an… Read More May 18: A Big Day for Local Graphic Novel/Comic Book Lovers
In a nation rich with artists and artistry (the pantheon of National Artists that students study number eighty-six as of today), we have lost one of our best. There are many of us who claimed, within his lifetime, that Floy Quintos (director, playwright, and above all, a wonderful human being) is/ was well deserving of… Read More An Artist for the Nation : Floy Quintos
In Filipino folklore, there are creatures that are reviled as often as they are revered. Among them, you have some big baddies like the manananggal (a winged shapeshifter that can detach its upper torso from its lower body and feeds on unborn babies), the mangkukulam (a witch for hire should you need to place a… Read More Get Cozy with the Supernatural: FLY BY NIGHT AND OTHER STORIES
“Why is it that we all share a single vision, but no one knows how to get there?”“How can we know? We do not even have an idea who we are.” Vin dela Serna Lopez’s historical novel 1762 seems bowed down by the weight of its author’s baroque prose. Throughout the entire novel, this reader… Read More 1762 by Vin dela Serna Lopez : When the Philippines Almost Became British
The annual World Book Day event organized by Instituto Cervantes de Manila is back! After 2023’s venue at Intramuros, this year it returns to the more familiar Ayala Triangle Gardens. From 9:30 AM to 11:00 PM, local publishers will be selling books with a special discount price of 20%. If you buy a book, you… Read More Día del Libro 2024
More than a hundred events will take place between April 25 (Thursday) and 28 (Sunday), 2024, at the World Trade Center in Pasay City! From cosplays to book signings by local authors, to storytelling and arts and crafts workshops, there’s fun to be had by all members of the family, regardless of age. It’s a… Read More Bookish Happenings at the 2nd Philippine Book Festival
Now that THE PREYING BIRDS (Mga Ibong Mandaragit) by Amado V. Hernandez has been translated into English by Danton Remoto for Penguin Random House SEA in 2022, this reader finally got the chance to read a book I’ve been hearing about for so long, by an author recognized as a National Artist for Literature. What… Read More The Preying Birds (Mga Ibong Mandaragit) is a Prayer Across Generations
Ex Libris Philippines 