nonfiction
-
Bookbed reviews: ‘Thinking of You (but not like in a weird creepy way)’ by Beth Evans
by KB Meniado THE STORY Cartoonist and Instagram sensation Beth Evans (@bethdrawsthings) has one goal and one goal only, and that’s to make her readers feel seen, uplifted, and not so alone in the world. She successfully does that yet again with Thinking of You, her new collection of humorous and validating comics. In her newest…
-
Bookbed reviews: ‘Even Ducks Get Liver Cancer’ by Wilfredo Liangco
by KB Meniado THE STORY Blunt, hilarious, and heartbreaking, Even Ducks Get Liver Cancer is a candid and hysterical account of the realities of life in and out of the Philippine General Hospital. Will Liangco’s collection of essays on his years of training as a medical intern and oncology fellow is everything you need to know about…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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,…
-
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…
-
Why Filipinos Should Read: ‘Pedagogy of the Oppressed’ by Paulo Freire
by Bryan Meniado A recent World Bank report says that “nine out of ten Filipino children still struggle to read simple text by age 10.” This reasserts another report released by the Programme for International Student Assessment in 2019 where the Philippines ranked the lowest in reading comprehension among 79 countries. Coupled with the “history…
-
Why Filipinos Should Read: ‘Rizal in Saga: A Life for Student Fans’ by Nick Joaquin
by Bryan Meniado I recently attended a writing class with Write Things PH and historian Ambeth Ocampo, author of Rizal Without the Overcoat, on the eve of Jose Rizal’s 161st birth anniversary. In that session, we discussed writing about the past and how to make history more meaningful for everyone, especially for younger generations. It…
BOOKBED 