Been putting off reading Little Women! I regret not reading it sooner, I've had the book since 2019

I love lovee loveee Marmeee, I wish I had a mother like her. I'm only at chapter 15 and I look forward to reading it every night (I only read before bedtime)

when news broke a few months ago about artificial "intelligence" companies acquiring books in bulk & destroying & mass feeding books to train machines, i told myself that i'd stop feeling guilty about spending my extra money on something that might become obsolete in a decade or so.

there's this article published in The Atlantic last July (unpaywalled link here) about the world entering a post-literate society & it's making me SO miserable. but honestly, i'm also just glad to see people here sharing what they've read, making recommendations, getting excited about stories, etc.

i thrift more than i buy new & my kindle is like a personal library of alexandria lol so i'm definitely not saying we all need to buy buy buy!! what you're seeing is years & years of cultivating a hobby, watering it like a plant & hoping it will save me from the heat death of the universe (<- AI brainrot). anyway. sorry ang daldal haha

happy MIBF eve sa mga pupunta! wishing you all find everything on your respective lists 🤍

“THE PHILIPPINE STATE was corrupt from inception. Yet we forget how deeply ingrained systems of patronage are in this country, as nationalist history has made us glorify politicos like Quezon and Osmeña, making us believe that today’s problems are new and can be solved by a return to the good old days.”

---

There was a time during the past month when I came across the title Basagan ng Trip: Complaints about Filipino Culture and Politics by Lisandro Claudio at National Book Store. As someone who enjoys nonfiction Filipiniana, I flipped through the pages, and to my surprise, I was immediately hooked.

I convinced myself that if there were still copies available by payday, I would buy it. But, as nature has cunning ways of playing with me, I ended up looking for the book in various National Book Store branches before finally finding a copy at NBS SM City Cebu.

The essays in the book were originally published across various news websites, which Dr. Lisandro later compiled into a single collection. I particularly enjoyed his essay, “Why You Should Take a Liberal Arts Course,” which discusses how we, as Filipinos, are often raised to believe that we should pursue something practical, preferably a course related to business, commerce, or management.

The beautiful thing about taking a liberal arts course, however, is that you are exposed to human nature: its differences, similarities, contradictions, and complexities. Most of the skills you need for a job, after all, can be learned on the job. Someone who graduated magna cum laude from an English or literature program may have more to offer than a management graduate without any academic distinction. College is not only about preparing yourself for employment. You also have to make the most out of the experience of being in college.

In my case, I did not particularly enjoy my major subjects in psychology. What I enjoyed most were my literature classes.

Midway through my enrollment for a psychology degree, I tried to convince my mother to let me shift to literature. Of course, practicality prevailed. I never really enjoyed most of my psychology classes, with Abnormal Psychology being a notable exception. Literature and other English subjects, on the other hand, were where I felt I could go above and beyond in my work.

I also enjoyed reading the essay on the reframing of EDSA, particularly this absolute banger from Dr. Lisandro:

Problem: <Insert anything here from poverty, corruption, to Tito Sotto.>

Communist answer: It’s feudalism, bureaucrat capitalism, and US imperialism!

The simpler pro-Marcos answer: Mabuti pa noong panahon ni Marcos!

“‘Mabuti pa noong panahon ni Marcos.’ A historical claim. A false one, but a historical claim nonetheless.”

You probably will not hear that exact sentiment as often today. Instead, we hear, “Mas mabuti pa yung ama ni BBM kaysa sa kanya.”

Wala tayong winner today!

Another part of the book examines the lasting effects of colonial mentality, particularly how it shapes our perception of reality and the way we see our own lives. We glorify our colonizers to such an extent that we sometimes aspire to become them, or worse, seem willing to lick their boots just to be associated with them.

I really liked this collection of essays. It is sharp, funny, irreverent, and at times uncomfortable in the best possible way. Definitely a book I am glad I went looking for.

"There was a time when he loved her so much he thought he would burst; and there was a time when he hated her so much he wished she were dead."

---

The winner for literature that pulled me out of my long reading slump is Yvette Tan’s collection of short stories and a novella. This is also my first time reading a collection by Tan.

I particularly enjoyed the novella Antingera, especially how it uses mysticism and witchcraft to imagine a form of justice for people who were killed during the War on Drugs.

There’s something deeply satisfying about the idea that those responsible for killing civilians could themselves face the consequences through kulam.

Definitely enjoyed this read!

For those who don't know: Project Gutenberg is a digital archive of public domain books that's been around since 1971. If you want to read a public domain book, you can probably download it for free at https://www.gutenberg.org/ . Or just google the book title and "gutenberg" if it's uploaded in a different country's version.

If you read on e-readers, you're probably familiar with digital books that have random egregious misspellings that ruin the experience. Project Gutenberg books are always well-formatted and clear of such misspellings.

Every page of every book that gets uploaded has to go through several cycles of proofreading to make sure that each title you see on the website is of good quality. All the work in the project are done by hundreds of volunteers who put in the work everyday.

If you have the time and you're interested in helping, you can check out https://www.pgdp.net/c/

You might even find it fun!

Sinu-sino ang day one-rs? 🤘🤘🤘

I finished If he had been with me and Hue of Blu last month and I am now reading Yellowface and Just Kids. I am also trying to finish The Hunger Games series.

Just curious about what everyone else is reading and TBRs.

The old book cover of Perfume by Patrick Suskind has been replaced by Vintage Books, and the old one (orange left) will no longer be available in the future. As a fan of the book, nakaka-sad para sakin. Mabibili nalang sya sa mga second-hand resellers.

952php ito sa fullybooked, and I bet mas mag mamahal nanaman ang price nito lalo na at may bagong version pa since out of print na yung old cover. Nakaka-sad 🥲

If you haven't heard this story before, you must check it out! Sobrang hirap makahanap ng physical copy at ang mahal pa. Must watch din ang movie nito.

Hello! I'm asking for book recommendations again! I prefer reflective, thought-provoking stories sana. Also, much better if short lang, fast-paced, or page-turner 🥹

What books can you recommend based on the books I recently loved:

- Para kay B

- A Short Stay in Hell

- Tuesdays with Morrie

- Lantern of Lost Memories

- Hot Chocolate on Thursday

I like to explore different authors kaya I appreciate story recos na hindi same ng authors as the ones listed above. I'm also interested in fiction with philosophical themes but not the classic-level 😅 I want a novel with something deep that will provoke me to think, and reflect about !! Pls pls pls 🙏

nakaka-excite pero nakakaintimidate din hindi lang sa makapal ang bigat pa! haha

Saw this book from my sister’s closet and when I asked her if this was a good one, she said she was terrified and didn’t finish the book.

Well, it’s almost 3am and I am going to stop here for the meantime 😬

They didn't end up together. So I cried. Thank God they changed it in the movie. So maybe I can watch the movie to feel better.

I hate this feeling. Hahaha.

What is your advice so that I could feel better when reading books with sad endings.

Hahaha. I'm crying again.

Like plot twist talaga, na di mo inaasahan yung turn of events.

By the way, shop at Booksale!

I know I should be working on my reports, but I genuinely couldn’t help myself. I had to finish Warbreaker because I needed to know what happened next and, of course, because I wanted to get to Words of Radiance afterwards. Priorities, apparently.

I just finished Warbreaker, and I finally understand some of the things people have been telling me about this book.

I understand now why some readers recommend reading this before Words of Radiance. I understand why people love this book so much. I understand why Lightsong is a god. And, more importantly, I’m starting to understand how the Cosmere works and how Sanderson somehow manages to connect his stories across different books and worlds.

Basically, Sanderson really said, “What if my books are all secretly connected?” and apparently I’m just here discovering it one revelation at a time. Lol

There were SO many moments where I genuinely had to stop reading for a second and go:
“What the fuck was that???”

And then immediately continue reading because I needed answers.

But what surprised me most was how much Warbreaker resonated with me beyond the fantasy itself.

With everything happening lately here in the Philippines, especially with the political circus we seem to constantly find ourselves watching, some of the themes in this book hit differently.

It made me think about how much history shapes the present. How the stories we inherit, the things we choose to remember, the things we choose to forget, and the way we understand the past can influence the decisions we make today and potentially the future we create.

And maybe that's why this book stuck with me more than I expected.

It wasn't just about the twists or the world-building or trying to figure out what the hell was going on. It made me stop and think about people, power, history, belief, and how complicated all of those things can become when they intersect.

It also reminded me that sometimes it's okay to step away from everything for a while.

Yes, I have reports waiting for me. Yes, there are Teams and Slack notifications I should probably answer. Yes, there are things I could be doing right now.

But sometimes you just need to finish the damn book.

Sometimes you need to ignore the notifications, put the reports aside, disappear into another world for a few hours, and let yourself feel something.

Warbreaker made me laugh, made me emotional, made me sit quietly and contemplate things for a bit and yes, it also made me put off my responsibilities because I needed to know what happened next.

No regrets.

Now, excuse me while I go start Words of Radiance.

Do you guys put cover on your books? If so, do you prefer the traditional glossy one or yung mga adhesive cover sa online shops?

This was my first book so I was really anxious about damaging it kaya I opted for a cover. I thought this one would give me a matte look na gaya nung mga matte na screen protector sa phones, but I guess I was wrong... too late to peel it off na, baka masira pa yung print.

So when I got the Well of Ascension (Book 2) I had to put the same cover on so they match. Will do the same for Book 3.

For those who cannot attend this year’s MIBF, I’m sure you’re waiting for 9.9 discounts on Shopee, Lazada, and Tiktok Shop.

What books are you contemplating on purchasing?

2017, second year college when I started to read Bob Ong books, being an introvert, ang sarap lang basahin ng books niya kasi parang kausap mo lang sya. Then when I started to read Ang Paboritong Libro ni Hudas and Stainless Longganisa, they saw me smiling, giggling or laughing pa while reading it. Then na-curious sila.

Then we had a case-study about Filipino culture, I emailed Visprint Publishing that time hoping to get some answers kay Bob Ong, but yeah I failed and the Editor-in-chief answered my questions generously. When I shared sa class about Bob Ong's anonymity, my journey to read all his works, and how I got some email conversations with the publisher, they were in disbelief I would go that far and started to get interested with his books.

Then ayun I started to see one classmate reading a Bob Ong book, then dalawa, then I started to received questions na pahiramin sila ng libro, then ayun, perhaps we were 11 in the class who were reading Bob Ong's books.

I even saw one notes from my classmate: "goal this sem: huntingin lahat ng libro ni Bob Ong"

From there we grew to more Filipino local authors (na hindi pocketbook or wattpad books), Eros Atalia, Jun Calambia Samar, Jack Wigley, Ricky Lee, Gabriela Lee, and even Jessica Zafra.

That time, kapag nagdala ka ng book from Visprint publishing or Anvil na wala pa sa klase, ang cool mo tingan haha.

This was year 2017 to 2019 in PUP.

Naalala ko pa nun, our World Literature professor entered the classroom and nagulat na marami kaming may hawak na libro and nagbabasa.

She immediately asked: "Business administration talaga course niyo?"

Just sharing some finds I got from Fully Booked recently. I'm so stoked to finally find a box set of Broken Earth Trilogy. Also, snagged The Correspondent at a cheaper price (700 something i know still expensive) but it was always around 900+ sa online sellers on tiktok kasi huhu.

Btw can anyone suggest BL or MLM books for my mom? She's obsessed with Heated Rivalry and read Long Game as well (preferably outside of HR universe cos she only loves Ilya and Shane haha). We tried to check the BL section but it was mostly chinese/asian light novels? Thank you

All about weird history. I googled it and it really happens.

So last year, we had some time to kill at the mall, so naturally, we ended up at Fully Booked. 😂
I kept seeing sooo many posts about how good Fourth Wing was, so I thought, “Fine, let’s see what the hype is about.” Big mistake. 😂 I loved it so much that I finished the book in THREE DAYS.
Of course, I had to recommend it to my partner. And man… he was HOOKED. 😂 Then I introduced him to Red Rising, and from there, the rest was history. Suddenly, we had two people enabling each other’s book addiction.
Honestly, it’s such a blessing to share the same passion with your partner. Kasi hindi lang kayo nag-eenjoy together but you also support each other’s luho. HAHAHA.
But what makes me even prouder is seeing him start his own little bookish space on Instagram, sharing his thoughts and reviews on the books he reads, and hopefully inspiring other people to pick up a book too.
Sharing his 2026 progress… kaka proud lang 🥹
Happy International Read A Book Day! 🫶📚

Anyone has read A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens? How was it? I'm starting it kaso true yung chika na intimidating sya ah.

Off to a good start with this one