Tag: nonfiction
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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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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 […]
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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 […]
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12 Books on Philippine Independence to Read Anytime
by BM Question of Heroes by Nick Joaquin An acceptable holocaust: Life and death of a boy-general by Teodoro M. Kalaw Mabini and the Philippine Revolution by Cesar Adib Majul The Propaganda Movement 1880-1995 by John N. Schumacher, S.J. The Other Philippine History Textbook: Precolonial Philippines to the Philippine Revolution by Christine L. Diaz 101 […]
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Why Filipinos Should Read: Akin Lang Naman: Mga Tula by Aristotle C. Pollisco a.k.a. Gloc-9
by Bryan Meniado The recent national elections may have been the most polarizing and divisive one in recent memory. While I’m disappointed, I’m not that surprised by the results. With all the miseducation, disinformation, historical distortion, and blatant lies we have been fed over the past years, it’s not far-fetched why many of us still […]
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Why Filipinos Should Read: The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
by Bryan Meniado In the previous WFSR, I shared about To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee which is a well-loved international classic. Since it’s a masterpiece told from a child’s perspective, reading it reminded me of how much we can learn from our children, even with their seeming youthfulness and innocence. This in turn […]
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Bookbed recommends: ‘Why Emotions Matter’ by Tristen Collins and Jonathan Collins with Melissa Binder
by Rhoshniyan Sudario Emotions are interesting and complicated but when we try to understand and use them to act productively, they can make life even more beautiful. They play such an important role in our lives from making decisions to connecting with others, and trying to suppress or ignore them will just make our lives […]
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Why Filipinos Should Read: ‘Reportage on Lovers’ by Quijano de Manila
by Bryan Meniado Beyond all the heart balloons and bouquets, it might be unknown to some people that Valentine’s Day is also a Christian feast day in honor of Saint Valentine, who was martyred on February 14. This piece of history is usually overlooked nowadays because people tend to focus more on the celebration of […]
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Why Filipinos Should Read: ‘A Brief History of Time’ by Stephen Hawking
by Bryan Meniado I’ve recently watched the newest hit Don’t Look Up on Netflix and it has easily become one of my favorite science fiction films. Released late in 2021, it tells the story of two astronomers trying to warn humanity of an approaching comet that will wipe out humankind. It is a disaster satire […]
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