Tag: manila

One day to go: Manila International Book Fair!

I can’t believe it’s only one more day til the 33rd Manila International Book Fair!

The MIBF has been a permanent fixture in my calendar for the past seven years, but my first MIBF was actually way back in 1993. I was in third grade on a field trip with the Reading Club (and I just realized, that was the first book club I ever joined!), and I was in awe — I had never seen so many books all in one place! With fellow bookworms from the Reading Club, I went from booth to booth, figuring out what to buy with a couple of weeks’ worth of allowance. And  when our money run out, we made the rounds once more, this time to chase down the mascots, listen to a story or two, watch cartoons, and of course, to take note of books we wanted our parents to buy for us, when we begged them to go back to the book fair as soon as we got home.

I lugged home a bag of books (see, book hoarder at age 8), which included — wait for it –Sweet Valley Kids #6: Lila’s Secret and The Babysitters’ Little Sister #23: Karen’s Doll!

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Band of Brujos

After the interview with Alexander Yates at the Manila International Book Fair, Day 4 was wrapping up and I was dead tired, so I found myself wandering to the wellness fair in one of the halls upstairs, and got one of those 15-minute massages on a demo massage chair. So I kicked off my shoes and took out my copy of Moondogs and had fifteen minutes of pure reading bliss.

I’d had a very exhausting month, squeezing in some odd pages whenever I can, and I really wanted to get back to reading, so the following week, I went with my fool-proof plan of action whenever I’m in dire need of some quality reading time: I booked myself myself a massage (not reading, of course, although not for the lack of trying :p)  and mani-pedi combo (the golden opportunity!) at the spa (hair treatments at the salon work just as well)!

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The one with the “Other Yates”

One of the highlights of this year’s Manila International Book Fair for me was meeting Alexander Yates, author of the novel Moondogs.

I’d started Moondogs some days before I was scheduled to interview him, but it was quite a hectic book fair  for me (lurking in the bargain bins did not help!) and I came to over a hundred pages by the time I sat down to do the interview.

But the hundred pages were enough to capture my attention. It was quite intriguing tale thus far: a kidnapping plot involving an evil rooster, a villainous cab driver, and a rich American businessman; a US Embassy officer leading a secret life; and a highly talented (if ragtag) special operations unit — all in one very familiar setting: the Philippines.

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Marauding at the MIBF (even more loot!)

I’m home after the last day of the MIBF, and I think I carted out the biggest haul I’ve had in years. I thought last year’s loot was quite a haul, but  it pales in comparison to this year’s three-post-running loot, and I’m glad my mom is out of town, or else I’d have to smuggle my purchases inside the house!

Now I need to shelve these (stuff them in with the old so they don’t look newly-acquired, hehehe) before mom gets back in town!

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Weekend at the 32nd Manila International Book Fair

As you can probably tell, I’m totally zonked from five days of the MIBF — I think I was there from opening to closing time nearly everyday!

Well, you’ve seen half of my loot — and there’s more to come, but in the meantime, here’s the weekend I spent at the 32nd Manila International Book Fair!

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