Category: Special Sections
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Why Filipinos Should Read: ‘Dekada ‘70’ by Lualhati Bautista
by Bryan Meniado For Women’s Month, I’m sharing the classic novel and winner of the 1983 Palanca Award Grand Prize: Dekada ‘70 by the late Lualhati Bautista, one of the most celebrated Filipina authors. I’ve read this once before but of course many books, such as this one, deserve a couple or more rereads to…
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Why Filipinos Should Read: ‘Astrophysics for People in a Hurry’ by Neil deGrasse Tyson
by Bryan Meniado I watched the Dark series on Netflix and it totally blew my mind. Dark is a German science fiction thriller that revolves around the concept of time travel across several generations. The plot is so mind-bending and complex that it would be almost impossible to faithfully retell it to someone who hasn’t…
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Storiesnap Time: ‘Toasty’
Welcome back to Storiesnap Time, in which we feature books with illustrations in snaps and clips. This time, we’re featuring Toasty by Sarah Hwang, a story about “a deliciously funny tale of a piece of bread who wants to be a dog.” If you liked this, let us know in the comments below. We also welcome…
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Why Filipinos Should Read: ‘Meditations’ by Marcus Aurelius
by Bryan Meniado Happy New Year! I hope 2023 is treating you well so far. As we inch closer to February, I hope that many of us are still optimistic and hanging on to our respective New Year’s resolutions (if any!). While it may be difficult for some to remain positive amid the pandemic, poor…
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Why Filipinos Should Read: “Tarantadong Kalbo 1” by Kevin Eric Raymundo
by Bryan Meniado I was at the Manila International Book Fair 2022 (MIBF), rummaging through the stalls for my next great reads. The MIBF is the largest and the longest running book fair in the country. And since this was the first on-site fair in three years, Filipino bookworms went all out to get their…
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Why Filipinos Should Read at Local and Community Libraries
by Bryan Meniado G’day! I’m in Gold Coast, Australia temporarily. Beyond the beaches, culture, and wildlife, what has struck me about Gold Coast is its robust and efficient public library system. Over the past months, their local libraries have been one of my most frequented places where I get to enjoy their spaces, services, and…
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Storiesnap Time: ‘Book Love’
Welcome back to Storiesnap Time, in which we feature books with illustrations in snaps and clips. This time, we’re featuring Book Love by Debbie Tung, a collection of “comics tailor-made for tea-sipping, spine-sniffing, book-hoarding bibliophiles.” Definitely a book after our own heart! If you liked this, let us know in the comments below. We also welcome…
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Why Filipinos Should Read: Ayala Museum’s (@ayalamuseum) The Diorama Experience of Philippine History
by Bryan Meniado Every time I travel to a new place, I make a conscious effort to drop by local museums as part of my itinerary. Being repositories of objects of historical, scientific, artistic, and cultural significance, museums give a glimpse of the local culture and heritage that help us appreciate the people and the…
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Why Filipinos Should Read: ‘The Anthropocene Reviewed: Essays on the Human-centered Planet’ by John Green
by Bryan Meniado Apart from reading, I typically spend my free time watching and spiraling into the endless labyrinth of suggested videos on YouTube. One of my favorites to binge-watch is the educational channel started by the brother tandem of John and Hank Green called “Crash Course.” Their channel features diverse topics on history, philosophy,…
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Why Filipinos Should Read: ‘To Be Poor and Obscure: The Spiritual Sojourn of a Mindanawon’ by Karl Gaspar
by Bryan Meniado Last weekend, Dabawenyos celebrated the first in-person Kadayawan Festival after a two-year hiatus brought by the pandemic. The Kadayawan is an annual thanksgiving of life, culture, and bountiful harvest. It is derived from the local term “madayaw,” which loosely translates to good, valuable, and beautiful. This year’s celebration was also my first…
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