It’s that time of the year again in my country where book lovers gather in one place and empty their wallets while hoarding too many books. Last September 13 to 17, 2017, the 38th Manila International Book Fair a.k.a. MIBF – the only book fair event in my country – took place at SMEX in MOA. But unlike those book fairs in other countries, the only perks in our book fair is the 20% off from the original book prices of all the books. No ARC copies and two or three foreign authors who are having their book signing.
I’m planning to document my MIBF experience this year with photos of the place and the event itself. HOWEVER, I wasn’t able to. Because I work until Saturday, my only free time is Sunday, which is the last day of the book fair. Me and my friend decided to go there early to avoid the swarm of people in the afternoon. BUT when we arrived at the venue there is a long line of people outside because the doors aren’t open yet. It’s so hot and I can’t take my phone out to take some photos because we’re all squeezing in the line to avoid those people who want to cut in line to get inside immediately. It took us 20 minutes before we finally entered the venue. It is a total chaos. Good thing we have a ticket from our local bookstore so we don’t need to buy because the line in the ticket counter is as long as the line outside (okay not as long because the line outside is twice or thrice as long).
Another thing that I’m patting myself while in the book fair is I know the books that I want to buy and so I immediately look for them and canvass which booth sells the book in a cheaper price. I was frustrated at some point because I sawĀ Night of Cake and PuppetsĀ but in paperback edition! I’ve been looking everywhere for a hardcover copy but no luck in finding one. Same situation withĀ The Dazzling Heights!Ā They have the paperback edition but not the hardcover edition.
I think I’ve rant enough about this year’s experience in MIBF. It’s time for my Book Haul! I ended up with 12 books in hand after this book fair and I feel like I won’t be buying books anytime soon. (Except Dan Brown’s new book on October.)
BOOK HAUL!
Who would say no with books these gorgeous?
These books are written by the national hero of my country, the Philippines, and are part of the curriculum in high school. I’ve read these books before in my own language but I’m intrigued as to how other people would experience these stories as they read it and how the translation would impact in the story compared to what I’ve read before. And as for the comics, it’s just too cute (and cheap) to say no.
I feel like I have a theme with this year’s MIBF and that is Filipino authors. I remember Nick Joaquin from my Philippine Literature class in college and I would like to try and read his works. It’s just short and I could definitely read this in one sitting. Penguin classic also published one of his books but it’s pricey so I’ll just buy it if I like these books.
These books are written by my college professor. I already have book 1 because we used it in our class. And I want to read more of his works. And so, I decided to buy these books. They’re not as expensive as I thought they would be (the first book is very expensive!) and they’re 30% off. I can count though, I just bought the fourth book instead of the third because the third book is written in French. Would probably buy that for collecting purposes but I couldn’t understand it even if I try.
And that my friends are all the books that I bought in this year’s MIBF. BUT! There’s one more book that I need to haul. After the book fair, my friend and I visited the mall – which is located beside the venue of the book fair – to eat and check out the stores because they’re also on sale. And we noticed a new bookstore inside the mall so we checked it out. And what do you know, this gorgeous baby is on display and it’s also 20% off. I immediately grab this book because it is the only copy! I guess I’m lucky.
There you have it! My book haul and a rambly recap of my 38th MIBF experience. Still crossing my fingers that I would have a more decent MIBF photos next year.
Till next time!
Maria ā¤
A Daughter of Parchment and Paper 