Malditang Librarian

When in Besźel. Only see Besźel. I have to get on a shuttle bus on my way to and from work, and the travel is about an hour, but I like it because I have time to read. I have finished Miéville's The Scar ,  The City and the City , and Kraken  on the bus. In  The City and the City, the author moves away from his fantasy/weird fiction roots and tries his hand on the murder mystery genre. The setting is not any fantasy world but in our modern days, though the countries are purely fictional though very believable. The City and the City is told from the perspective of Police Inspector Traydor Borlu who works for the city-state of Besźel, a fictional place located somewhere in Eastern Europe. A woman's body was found dead, dumped in his city. As they start to investigate, the setting of the story gets more complicated. Besźel shares its space with a very different city, Ul Qoma. The two are different countries yet occupy the same space. There are places specific to ...

I have recently arranged my bookshelf and got rid of most books. I want to read through the books I own first before trying to buy more, but I wasn't so strict with myself and bought some I really wanted to have. I kept flipping through the books left and thinking what to read next, so I did this: I wrote the titles down on small pieces of paper, rolled them, and put them in a used mints tin. I just pick a title randomly, let chance decide the next book to read. I had picked Mario Vargas Llosa's War of the End of the World first. It had been on my shelf for 10 years, I had bought it in some Booksale when I was 15. It was okay when it started, but I reached a quarter of the book and three rapes have already happened (or mentioned). Honestly, the book was good if not for that, but if I kept reading and the word rape appeared again, I would feel sick. In the story, the depictions of rape were so normal and casual, and even one main character tries to justify to himself his rap...

"Fortune favors the bold." We Will Rock You. We Are the Champions. Radio Gaga. Bohemian Rhapsody. Even if you don't know what Queen is, you might have heard these songs before. Queen is a rock band that was popular during the 1970s and 80s. Freddie Mercury, the lead singer, is one of the most popular rock icons in the world. Bohemian Rhapsody attempts to tell the story of the band and its frontman. I actually watched the film in Robinsons Manila last November 2, I met my friends from HALA and another roommate when I stayed in Taiwan. We just decided to watch what movie was available, and we ended up watching this one. Though I already wanted to watch it before, back when I saw the trailer. The movie begins with Freddie getting ready for a concert. The beginning sequence ends with him on the stage, about to start singing for a huge crowd, then the movie cuts to the main story. Freddie lives in a somewhat conservative immigrant family. There's a particular band ...

View from above: Iloilo Mega Book Fair and Zinefest For the past few weeks, I have been sharing and reposting about the 1st Iloilo Mega Book Fair and Iloilo Zinefest since I also joined the event. I joined the 3rd Iloilo Zinefest last August 2017 and you can read about my experience and reviews of the zines I bought in the following blog posts: #ZineZoned3: Iloilo Zinefest 2017 experience and Reviews and Reactions: Zines from #Zinezoned3 .  Our booth! The Zinefest is now part of a bigger event, the Iloilo Mega Book Fair. Instead of 2 days, the book fair lasted for 4 days from Thursday to Sunday, November 8-11 in Festive Walk Mall. I was there from Saturday to Sunday since I couldn't go to the weekdays, but I did drop by to buy books and zines. It's good to see that they extended it from two days to four and made it part of a Book Fair. There are also many activities and I liked that they are also open for booksellers of all kinds (even for those with pre-loved book...

This November 8-11, 2018 is the 1st Iloilo Mega Book Festival.  This event's goal is to promote reading among Ilonggos and the rich local literature. I will also be joining as one of the writers with my own zine to sell. For more information on the program of the even, check out my previous blog post: http://bit.ly/1stIMBF2018 There are many varied activities and these are things you can do in the Book Fair: See the Book Exhibit There will be a West Visayan Book Fair showcasing 100 books by West Visayas and Ilonggo authors. There will be an exhibit of historical and contemporary literature. I am excited about this one, I am aware of Ilonggo authors but I haven't read much of their works. Buy books There will be books for sale, so don't miss it. It is difficult to get hold of local books, and most of them have limited print runs. You might find something you like by local authors. See the Book Launching of new books by Kasingkasing Press There will be a Book Lau...

Note 1/18/2019: Shortly after writing this, I got accepted in a research library where I'm currently working. For those unemployed and dealing with disappointment, don't lose heart! Yes, I don't currently have work. I am applying for some and I am waiting for the results, but whether I get accepted or not, it's okay. My current top priority is I want to finish my Master's degree in Library Science, I only have Thesis Writing left. If I will not be able to work, then that's my focus and I will try my best to finish it as soon as I can. Honestly, I was battling with myself whether to continue my MLIS or not - just going to school drains me out, but I thought that it's better to finish it now that I'm very near the finish line. I passed all my subjects and passed all my comprehensive exams without the need for retaking, and all that money and effort would go to waste. Maybe it's just dread and slight depression talking. I want to talk about...

The Philippines is rich in festivals. Almost every month, a festival is celebrated in each province to commemorate a historical or important event. One of the festivals in Iloilo City is the Banaag Festival of Anilao this October:  The Philippines’ Best Tourism Municipal Festival BANAAG FESTIVAL 2018 IGNITES WITH MORE SPECTACULAR PERFORMANCES Press Release by media.Xchange PR  More people are expected to flock to the charming town of Anilao, Iloilo this month to witness for themselves the much-awaited and talked about festivities of what has been officially proclaimed as the Best Tourism Municipal Festival in the country -- the Anilaonon’s very own Banaag Festival. Also known as the Festival of Lights, the Banaag Festival is a cultural tradition in Anilao, Iloilo which was inspired by local sentinels during the Spanish era who guarded bamboo watchtowers and warned residents of incoming pirates by lighting the torch as a signal to flee. Thus, the torch became a ...