A more meaningful MIBF
Maybe because I was thinking of Christmas? And maybe because, for the first time in ever, I only bought Filipino-published books.
For the uninitiate, the MIBF stands for the Manila International Book Fair, the country's biggest and most prominent book fair. Unlike other book fairs around the globe, the MIBF is really more of consumers' market, with hordes of readers descending upon the happily waiting publishers and distributors, setting out to find the long sought for book or the cheapest bargain. And, lately, hoping to catch a favorite author during one of the book launches or author-signing events during the MIBF.
The show runs for 5 days. It started on a Weds., Sept. 12 and will run till Sept. 16. My first visit was on a Friday, where I bought these four books for my kids:
No, I don't intend to sell any of these, which might be what the cashiers were thinking when they were asking why I was buying multiple copies. I just decided to do some of my Christmas shopping in the book fair. And if you're familiar with Christmas in the Philippines, then you know why some of us shop months ahead.
I also figure that this is a fantastic way to keep on promoting local literature: to give these gifts to people I think might like them. Short of ramming it down their throats. (No, I don't do that anymore.)
Though I would like to because these are books I believe in.
Anyway, the only things I got for me, sort of, are these:
These are Filipino translations of Twilight and the first two books of Vampire Diaries! And who is responsible for this? Local romance books publisher Precious Hearts Romances. I think it's awesome. I really do. Because this publisher and their books, which may be looked down upon by many in the literary establishment, prove that many Filipinos read. And the fact that they worked to have local translations of these popular franchises available shows me that they keep their readers' preferences in mind and leads me to hope that reading will become more of a habit among Filipinos. They even have Tagalog translations of The Hunger Games and Fifty Shades of Grey in the pipeline. And though I may not read some of these books, as a reader I completely respect and admire what they're doing.
And that's all I bought. I didn't really get anything for me, since I plan to give away Takipsilim (Twilight) and the two Vampire Diaries books eventually. But I think I ended up spending more than I ever did. And I really just bought from local publishers.
That's why this MIBF strikes me as something more meaningful, from a personal perspective: support for the local publishers and authors, many of whom I've come to know and whose works I've come to read and love. It's not something that I feel was forced upon me, given that I'm already a part of the industry. I really just like these books, and I wish others would read them. In other words, I'm a fan.
Oh, another thing that made me happy about this MIBF? People. Saw the usual crowd of book bloggers, book club members, writers, and publishing professionals. Whenever there are books, you see these people.:) But I also got to meet one book blogger, Gilbert of Bookworm of GenSan, who flew all the way to Metro Manila from Mindanao just to come to the book fair and to meet a few fellow book bloggers. He came bearing gifts.
Gilbert gave us all personalized t-shirts, with our blogs in front and...
the Filipino Book Bloggers banner at the back.:) I feel bad that I couldn't hang out too long with him and Tarie and couple of other book bloggers, due to family duties. Nevertheless, thank you so much for the generous gifts, Gilbert!
At the time of this posting, there are still 3 hours left until the end of the MIBF. Will it be more successful this year than the last? For the event's sake, I hope so. But in terms of whether my visit was a success or not, I'd say yes. I'm happy with what I got and didn't get. I'm happy that I met friends. And I'm happy at the prospect of introducing more people to great stories that come from local authors.
For the uninitiate, the MIBF stands for the Manila International Book Fair, the country's biggest and most prominent book fair. Unlike other book fairs around the globe, the MIBF is really more of consumers' market, with hordes of readers descending upon the happily waiting publishers and distributors, setting out to find the long sought for book or the cheapest bargain. And, lately, hoping to catch a favorite author during one of the book launches or author-signing events during the MIBF.
The show runs for 5 days. It started on a Weds., Sept. 12 and will run till Sept. 16. My first visit was on a Friday, where I bought these four books for my kids:
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| Three are from Hiyas Publishing (OMF Lit) and one from Adarna House, Inc. |
- The Great Duck and Crocodile Race by Robert Magnuson - which I love. Love the art, love the text, love the message. It was also named as one of the Best Reads of 2012 in the last Philippine National Children's Book Awards.
- Porcupirate Plans the Day by Robert Magnuson - another wonderful book from Mr. Magnuson which made me go, "Awwwww." We actually helped convert this print book into an ebook. That opportunity made me admire Robert's work ethic even more, considering that he really took the time to immerse himself in the entire process and even redrew a lot of the pages to make sure that the ebook edition looks good given the format. His publisher, the wonderful people from OMF Lit, have already made the ebook version of this available on Amazon.
- Boom Bang Clang by Malou Malibiran-Salumbides (text) and Robert Magnuson (art) - Yes, I've become a fan. But this book is another charming story in the Filipino language.
- But That Won't Wake Me Up! by Annie and Anelka Lumbao - a lovely story by mother-and-daughter team Annie and Anelka, and published by Adarna House. The book won in this year's first Filipino Readers' Choice Awards, Children's Book category. This children's book also has an ebook version available on our store, Flipreads.
And that's all I bought on the first day of my visit.
Went back on the second day, toting my kids this time. I got them a few other activity books. And then I got these, too...
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| Local books so worth spending time and money on |
Multiple copies of:
- The Great Duck and Crocodile Race, Porcupirate, But That Won't Wake Me Up!
- Just Add Dirt by Becky Bravo (text) and Jason Moss (art) - because if you have an eight-year-old boy or if you are an eight-year-old boy, then you will understand this story very well.
- some puzzle booklets
- It's a Mens World by Bebang Siy - utterly hilarious memoir, written in Filipino. (Yup, it's really "Mens" not "Men's.") The book also won in the Essay category in the Readers' Choice Awards and is published by Anvil Publishing.
No, I don't intend to sell any of these, which might be what the cashiers were thinking when they were asking why I was buying multiple copies. I just decided to do some of my Christmas shopping in the book fair. And if you're familiar with Christmas in the Philippines, then you know why some of us shop months ahead.
I also figure that this is a fantastic way to keep on promoting local literature: to give these gifts to people I think might like them. Short of ramming it down their throats. (No, I don't do that anymore.)
Though I would like to because these are books I believe in.
Anyway, the only things I got for me, sort of, are these:
 |
| Filipino editions! Plus one new comic series, Animen. |
These are Filipino translations of Twilight and the first two books of Vampire Diaries! And who is responsible for this? Local romance books publisher Precious Hearts Romances. I think it's awesome. I really do. Because this publisher and their books, which may be looked down upon by many in the literary establishment, prove that many Filipinos read. And the fact that they worked to have local translations of these popular franchises available shows me that they keep their readers' preferences in mind and leads me to hope that reading will become more of a habit among Filipinos. They even have Tagalog translations of The Hunger Games and Fifty Shades of Grey in the pipeline. And though I may not read some of these books, as a reader I completely respect and admire what they're doing.
And that's all I bought. I didn't really get anything for me, since I plan to give away Takipsilim (Twilight) and the two Vampire Diaries books eventually. But I think I ended up spending more than I ever did. And I really just bought from local publishers.
That's why this MIBF strikes me as something more meaningful, from a personal perspective: support for the local publishers and authors, many of whom I've come to know and whose works I've come to read and love. It's not something that I feel was forced upon me, given that I'm already a part of the industry. I really just like these books, and I wish others would read them. In other words, I'm a fan.
Oh, another thing that made me happy about this MIBF? People. Saw the usual crowd of book bloggers, book club members, writers, and publishing professionals. Whenever there are books, you see these people.:) But I also got to meet one book blogger, Gilbert of Bookworm of GenSan, who flew all the way to Metro Manila from Mindanao just to come to the book fair and to meet a few fellow book bloggers. He came bearing gifts.
 |
| My blog! On a t-shirt! And cute earring and a Manny Pacquiao pen.:) |
Gilbert gave us all personalized t-shirts, with our blogs in front and...
 |
| The back of the shirt! |
the Filipino Book Bloggers banner at the back.:) I feel bad that I couldn't hang out too long with him and Tarie and couple of other book bloggers, due to family duties. Nevertheless, thank you so much for the generous gifts, Gilbert!
At the time of this posting, there are still 3 hours left until the end of the MIBF. Will it be more successful this year than the last? For the event's sake, I hope so. But in terms of whether my visit was a success or not, I'd say yes. I'm happy with what I got and didn't get. I'm happy that I met friends. And I'm happy at the prospect of introducing more people to great stories that come from local authors.
Comments
We won't be called "Filipino Book Bloggers" kung walang pasalubong, right?
The gifts are my way of showing my appreciation for the efforts you, Blooey and Tarie have put in for our FBB activities, the ReaderCon and the Book Blogging seminar.
So on to more reading and blogging for us FBBers! :)