“Even God can be felt in the heat of the sun or the bliss of the ocean. But what happens to your crypto when the circuits or blockchains are broken? What happens when the power goes out?” Sci-fi books are scarily prophetic. From the modern physics-defying vehicles and gadgets we take for granted, to the… Read More “God’s Ashes” is Sci-Fi with a Call to Action
Summit Books Editor and The Colonial Dept. podcaster Lio Mangubat has written a collection of thirteen essays which were originally broadcast in podcast form during the pandemic. Dalgona coffees and avocado toast lockdown projects are great, but perhaps don’t come close to what Mangubat has done: leave behind a tangible record of esoteric learning that… Read More Local yet Global : A Fun Book on Forgotten Tales from Philippine Colonial History
Words are magic and music by their own, but when you combine words plus the instantaneous visceral impact of a well-drawn comic … the result can be earth-shaking (as anyone who has turned THAT PAGE of the Watchmen graphic novel remembers!). It’s even more impactful when the stories and the artists are our very own!… Read More It’s Philippine International Comics Festival (PICOF) weekend!
Don’t you sometimes worry about what passes for YA nowadays? From toxic relationships to obscene violence (yes I’m glaring at you, ACOTAR, and let’s not even touch the steamy scenes), to books embracing woke-ness and every rage-filled controversy for the sake of being “edgy,” one can understand the controversy when discussing healthy book diets for… Read More For The Win is a rare drop of a YA book both computer gamers and their parents will love
Smart readers like to think we’re not shallow enough to judge books by their covers but admit it, we all do. We can’t help it! It’s the same way we have first impressions about people based on outfit / makeup / facial expressions. My first thought based on Claire Betita De Guzman’s eye-catching cover was… Read More Sudden Superstar is NOT a romance… and that’s a good thing
We all write in our everyday lives. We just write different things. Whether it’s enigmatic Facebook posts set to public but targeting one person in particular, a teacher’s lesson plans, a corporate girlie’s outlines for client pitches, or marketing strategies, there’s something almost magical about the transferring of abstract thought onto a blank page, whether… Read More How to Write: A Workshop by Penguin SEA Pinay Authors
If public libraries are the standard with which to judge the quality of life in a city, then the readers of Baguio are to be envied indeed! While local government units are mandated by law (R.A. 7743) to establish their own public library, not every city has one as nice as Baguio’s. It begins with… Read More Baguio City Library is the public library of our childhood dreams
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
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
Ex Libris Philippines 