15 years after... I am back MIBF ^_^

 

The last time I attended the Manila International Book Fair (MIBF) was 15 years ago, in 2009. I guess that year also marked the time I stopped collecting books. Life got busy, and I no longer had time to read. Those were also the years when I found myself watching series and K-dramas instead of reading.

But anyway, after a decade and a half, I've found my way back to books. So this year, I decided to visit MIBF again. I was curious to see how things had changed, especially after the pandemic (2020-2021).

I went on September 13, a Friday. I figured that if I went on Saturday or Sunday, there would be too many people, and I’m not a fan of crowded spaces. I expected quite a lot of people on Friday too, considering it was just before payday. But to my surprise, the crowd was manageable—probably because I arrived at 10 a.m.

The most prominent booths at this year's MIBF were National Book Store (NBS) and Fully Booked. I heard this was the first year NBS rejoined MIBF since the pandemic. They hadn’t participated right after the event restarted.

NBS offered a lot of bargains this year, with prices as low as Php 99, and promotions like “Buy 2, Get 2 Free.” However, while that might sound like a great deal, the books in that category ranged from Php 400-1000, which still seemed too expensive for me, as I’d end up spending around Php 800-2000. Most of the titles were classics I’ve already read, so I wasn’t that interested.

However, something under the Php 199 section did catch my eye.

One of my favorite authors’ newest series was priced at Php 199. Without a second thought, I grabbed it, knowing it usually costs around Php 300-400. I didn’t technically need to buy it since I already had the audiobook version, but there's just something about having a physical book. I’m also not a fan of ebooks.

Fully Booked, on the other hand, is still as expensive as ever. They only offered a 20% discount, which is pretty standard for them. Though they do have a wide selection of titles, especially for big book fandoms like manga, manhwa, and danmei, their prices are quite steep, in my opinion.

Most of the other booths on the first floor were either children's books or academic textbooks. Honestly, MIBF seems more beneficial for students and teachers. They offered textbooks and reference books for as low as Php 100-500, which typically cost over a thousand pesos. It made me wonder if these were new and current editions or if they were older ones.

There were also local authors holding book signings.

Back in 2009, MIBF only occupied the first floor of the SMX Convention Center at Mall of Asia, but this year, they also rented the second floor. Although I noticed some publishers and book distributors were absent this year, there were also new faces for me.

Take Tankobonbon, for instance. I didn’t see them back in 2009, probably because manga was so rare back then. But with the rise in popularity of manga, manhwa, and danmei, it’s no surprise stores like Tankobonbon have emerged. Aside from NBS and Fully Booked, they carry legit, original copies of these genres.

This brings me to a side topic. Back when I collected books (circa 2004-2009), I didn’t know pirated books existed. Recently, I discovered that they do, and they can look pretty convincing. The price and print quality are usually the giveaways, but even then, the quality is still decent.

On the second floor, a local publisher caught my attention: the publisher of Trese.

When Trese first came out, it caught my eye because its theme centers around Filipino mythology and supernatural beings. Plus, it reminded me of my favorite author’s NY Times bestselling series. I think I have all five volumes, but I’m not entirely sure. I’ll have to check my collection because I don’t want to accidentally buy something I already own.

19th Avenida Publishing seems to specialize in supernatural stories by local authors, and one book really stood out to me. I hadn’t planned to buy it because it was expensive, especially for something so thin. It took me a while to decide, but I justified the purchase by telling myself the synopsis was intriguing, let this be my contrition to the Filipino Literary Community. 

The book that caught my attention was titled Ang Nawawalang Barangay. I initially thought it was a fictional story based on the Biringan myth from Leyte, but after flipping through a few pages, it seemed like it wasn’t. Still, it piqued my curiosity.

It came as part of a bundle. I could have just bought this one book for Php 450 (it's priced at Php 500 in bookstores), but the bundle was Php 975 for three books, with a 25% discount. However, the discount was based on the publisher's price, so I got more than 25% off. The other two books in the bundle also seemed interesting.

The blue book, titled Agaw Anino, caught my eye, but it’s so thin that the Php 315 price seemed ridiculous. It’s a first-prize winner of the Palanca Awards, which is the Philippines' longest-running literary competition—somewhat like the Nobel Prize in Literature here. I was curious about what kind of work qualifies as a Palanca Award winner.

The third book, Ang Kapangyarihan Higit Sa Ating Lahat, is tagged for mature readers. I’m not sure if it’s full of gory murders, corruption, suicide, or something more explicit. The book’s design, though, is an eyesore, with bright pink and yellow fonts. I still wonder how that cover got approved!

Another book that caught my attention was Mga Walang Pangalan Pero Andyan. Just looking at it tugged at my heart. It’s an illustrated book about stray cats, highlighting their struggles to survive on the streets. It’s a perfect coffee table book, especially for cat cafes or communities with lots of cats. It also promotes “Adopt, don’t shop.” However, it’s priced at Php 1,200, which is steep, and there’s no mention of proceeds going to help stray cats. Maybe I’ll pick it up next time.

In the end, my trip to MIBF 2024 was quite satisfying. I hope next year I’ll have a bigger budget to spend on more books. I might drop by 19th Avenida again to pick up the Trese volumes I missed. I might even explore more titles by local authors. Hopefully, NBS will offer more interesting books in the Php 99 and Php 199 bargain sections next year.