04 September 2007

Tired but Happy Feet at the Book Fair







My wife and I went to the Book Fair last weekend: she for work, me for book hunting. There were 7 aisles of booths chock full of books! Big name bookstores were there, as well as the publishers themselves.

Here's my catch for this year:
Indio Bravo: the story of Dr. Jose Rizal by Asuncion Lopez-Rizal Bantug, the granddaughter of Rizal's elder sister Narcissa. The basis of this book was derived from the manuscript of the Commonwealth Biography Contest entry Ms. Bantug wrote about her granduncle, of which she won third prize. Artwork is done by National Artist Bencab.

Supremo: the story of Andres Bonifacio by Sylvia Mendez Ventura. Through exhaustive research, Ms. Ventura documents the largely undocumented life of Andres Bonifacio up to his execution at the hands of his own Katipunero brothers.

By Sword and Fire: The Destruction of Manila in World War II, 3 February - 3 March 1945 by Alfonso Aluit. Contains photos and day-to-day account of the war that left Manila in ruins.

I got these books because I became keenly interested in re-educating myself about our history, particularly about Rizal and Bonifacio. Phil, this is all your doing! :-)

The three books above cost me P350.00 from Bookmark. Great deal!

I was actually thinking of doing a blog on purely adobo stuff. Ask recipes from friends and relatives, cook it myself (not that I'm a great cook), and have a couple of "judges" try it out. And then I saw this book advertised in Yummy Magazine (which I buy occasionally just to look at the photos and work up my appetite). So I looked for this book at the Fair and here it is! I have read a first few pages containing anecdotes and the Filipino love affair with adobo. Did you know that anywhere in the country, there is a dish called adobo? There may be differences in preparation, but regardless of dialect, there is bound to be adobo in the region. It's unifying food! Who knows, I just might find myself mystified by the many ways adobo is cooked and try it out!

I was just taking a walk around when I spotted the spine of these books. Doctor to the Barrios! I read these back in grade school! And I loved these so much that I borrowed these more than once. It was like meeting old friends when I saw these books. I forgot Doctor to the Barrios in Baguio; I have started reading that. So I'm jumping to these other titles. They're stories about Rural Reconstruction Workers in the 70s, their life and experience with the Barrio locals. Very interesting reading.

To top it all, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Dr. Juan Flavier wrote these books! I didn't know it was him back in grade school. I have high regard for the man.

See the book with the butterfly on it? It's about Advanced Origami. I took a peek inside and wow! The figures were amazing.

Alas. This was the book that got away. I ran out of cash. This one was 1,495 pesos less 20% discount. I'll save up and buy it as birthday present for myself.

I also attended a Filipiniana.net seminar which I thought was going to last only for a few minutes but turned out to be a full hour. Sorry, it was lunchtime and I was so hungry. At any rate, it was an interesting overview to the site, where you can view books and images for free, with mini-projects within. The virtual Blair and Robinson looks most promising.

It was another interesting Book Fair. Last year, I had craft books. This year, it's mostly material related to the Philippines. I wonder what will it will be next year.

18 comments:

  1. Dang, now you have me interested in the first three books as well.

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  2. Ed: I'm currently reading The Barrios series, and will proceed to Jose Rizal afterwards. I'm looking forward to it. Finally, a book reading schedule!

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  3. Ed: are you familiar with Rizal and Bonifacio as well?

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  4. too bad i missed this again.. and i literally have no budget for this right now...sobrang wrong-timing.. who is the purple mascot?

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  5. If you start cooking adobo dishes let me be one of the judges! ;-)

    Nice choice of books.

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  6. Hi Watson. Glad you got a great deal out of those books.

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  7. Wats0n: I have a passing knowledge but that's it. Most of the Filipino readings to date have been on the Bataan Death March and folklore.

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  8. Dessagirl: yeah that purple mascot reminded me of you, though I don't know who that was... dumaan lang bigla sa harap ko. Baka kamag-anak ni Barney.

    Sidney: Are you sure you want to venture into my cooking? haha. Thanks Sidney.

    Rach: They were indeed!

    Ed: I have started reading "By Sword and Fire". It starts with General Douglas McArthur coming back from Australia. It's looking up to be quite an interesting reading.

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  9. adobo seems to be th dish that most Americans know about! Why not? it's great!

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  10. Went there too but never found the books I wanted. Perhaps because I went on the last day. Hehe. I only saw 20% max for the discount. Was hoping 50% - 70%. Hay!

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  11. Anonymous9:34 pm

    gusto ko rin yang books na binili mo. magkano ba yan?

    I just posted Jose Rizal in Hong Kong in my blog. :)

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  12. Anonymous2:43 am

    ang dami mong nabiling books ah!! dati, hindi ako mahilig magbasa pero ngayon ng dahil sa asawa ko, na-encourage ako! enjoy pala...

    pwede bang matikman ang luto mong adobo?! masarap yung tuyo.. hehe!

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  13. i had to miss this one... wala nang time at all to go!

    and grabe, siguro super lamig sa daguldol kasi inulan kayo!!! pero suko ako dun kasi ang init ng hike... kahit pa ang lamig sa campsite lalo na pag madaling araw at may mga water stations/sources :D

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  14. longtime!!!! nice new look blogsite watson!

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  15. Anonymous1:13 am

    hi, watson! howdy?

    book fairs are interesting. where was this? my kids love to go to places where books abound. pareho kaming mag-iina.

    btw, that trek to dagulgol looked interesting kahit mukang nilamig kayo. walking is a good exercise, too. if done frequently this can shed a lot of those unwanted in our bodies. :-D

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  16. hi sir nick!!!! kamusta na jan ah? dito walang masyado book fair pero meron silang mga electronics churva churva fair. sobrang mura lahat. yung mga plasma tv na 32" flat screen...guess what? nasa 30,000 Php lang. eh diba mga 80,000 Php yung ganun jan? tapos yung mga cellphone sus maryosep mga n series na nokia nasa 4800 Php lang!!!! pero syempre hindi ako makabili kasi pauwi na ako sa pinas. nasa pinas na ako by SEPTEMBER ....secret! ayaw ko sabihin yung exact date! tatawagan nalang kita pagnanjan nako ako para makapag san mig light na ulit ako chaka chicken joy!!!!!!


    ooooh yeah!!!!


    SEE YOU SOON SIR NICK!!!!

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  17. two years in a row ko nang nami-miss ang book fair! sayang.

    OT: my email addy is z.perion@mjs.org.ph :)

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  18. Katana: I'll be coming up with a blog about adobo! That'll be something!

    Abaniko: The origami book I wanted only had 20% off too that's why I wasn't able to buy it. Sayang

    Tutubi: I was in your blog yesterday. I saw your Rizal in HongKong post. Very interesting and I felt proud that our heritage spans oceans.

    rho: Ay magkaiba tayo... gusto ko may konting sabaw para sa kanin!

    Mec: Buti na lang walang sinipon sa amin dun. It was a nice challege overall.

    Tet: You have a nice new layout too! I love the Baguio photos!

    Bingskee: That's great! Kids who appreciate books!

    Chu: September na ... asan na ikaw!


    Zherwin: sent you invitation na. As for the Book Fair, meron naman ulit next year :-)

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