bethgstories

Internet connection sucked at the location, but we still managed to enjoy the two days Kim and I were at the Philippine Book Festival. This is my second year of attending the event, and just like before , the repeat buyer/reader and me couldn't get enough of author fangirling.   Fangirls unite! I met Rhois on Facebook, we've heard each other at the MIBF 2024, not only because we were both authors but we were both Kpop fangirls! Naturally, I was pretty excited about her latest release, which featured a boyband and their fangirls. Even more so when she mentioned that she was giving away photocards. Need I say more? I got there as early as I can to get my hands on the Mingyu photocard I was eyeing since the evening she posted it on Facebook. Meeting Ron Canimo (again...) It was during the last year's PBF when I first stood in line to get his books and have them signed. I didn't mind the long line, I didn't mind the wait. With him, it wasn't just about getting ...

I promised myself to read all the books I bought from last year's book fairs (and even from the year previous that) and decided to start with those written by women (yes, I just started this month). And so I immersed myself in the world of Sa Kalye Mailap , a Tagalog romance novel by Ana Digi . Published in 2023, the book has garnered love for its heartfelt storytelling, and I was fortunate enough to get my copy signed by the author at the MIBF 2024 . Meeting Ana Digi in person made the reading experience even more special. What is it about? Sa Kalye Mailap explores the intertwined lives of Robert and Lisa, two twenty-somethings thrust into unexpected circumstances that lead them to live as a couple. Rooted in the close ties between their families, the narrative unfolds with a focus on personal growth, familial bonds, and self-discovery. The plot follows Lisa and Robert, who have been childhood neighbors and whose fathers share a deep friendship. After the loss of their mothers, b...

I discovered Joi Barrios'  works when Kim showed me Muli, sa Tag-Araw. It was a little poetry book, almost looking like the prayer books my mom stashed at home. I am not a fan of poetry book—girl knew this and showed me the book anyway. I randomly opened the pages, a couple of lines caught me eyes, and then I was sold! Poetry is sacred to me, not in the religious kind of way, but figures of speech should be there. I want it to play with my thoughts. I want it to show me to discover the secret it holds. There are many poetry books out there, but only a few made me feel something. Joi Barrios’ poetry was one of them. A dive to the novels The novels were short—I finished them in one sitting. They carefully reminded me of the 2 PMs when I was way younger, when my auntie would play the AM radio and Tiya Dely would read mails about life experiences of her listeners and voice actors would dramaticize it. The smoke of my auntie's unfiltered cigarettes packed in a printed paper, li...

This post may be too late but I had to remove the carousel I uploaded on Instagram for aesthetic purposes. So here I am, sharing with you (once again) my June reads, and this time, this post is going to be here for good or for as long as this domain is alive .  1. The Premonition, Banana Yoshimoto This book has a magnificent prose. I love the way the words were weaved they sound almost lyrical. I wonder if it was the translator or the author, but it doesn't matter. The siblings gave me some Autumn In My Heart vibe it weirded me out in the beginning, but overall, I was entertained. Maybe I am Yukino in some life aspects. In that case, I desperately want my Masahiko! 😂 2. Idol Burning, Rin Usami Fandoms feel like a sensitive topic - they are so powerful and scary that they can make or break my internet existence. When Goodreads recommended this to me and discovered it was about fangirling, I didn't hesitate to read it.  Because I, too, am a fangirl.  Read my full review of...

There might be spoilers ahead. After the enjoyable experience Revenge has given me, naturally my thought process is to read another book from the same author. With Yoko Ogawa, there are a lot of books to choose from, and I chose Hotel Iris as my next read. My reason being 1) there's another Hotel Iris in one of the books on my reading list and 2) why the hell not?  Hotel Iris is such a short read, and if it was another book, I might have finished it in one sitting too. But no, it was a challenge to digest. I had to put it down in some parts where I felt uncomfortable, and somehow tried to find an acceptable reason why a 17-year-old naive girl would want to spend time with a 67-year-old experienced man... except for the fact that she was a teenager and when teenagers think they're in love they would go heaven and hell and beyond rationality. At one point it felt like I was watching a Japanese adult video (no babe, stop pretending you haven't seen one), especially during t...

Fandoms feel like a sensitive topic - they are so powerful and scary that they can make or break my internet existence. When Goodreads recommended Idol Burning and I discovered it was about fangirling, I didn't hesitate to read it.  Because I am a fangirl.  I spent most of my teenage years swooning over good-looking men who didn't even know me. Faces of strangers hung on my wall and each of them was part of my every night prayer. Their music was my after-class devotion and MTV was my salvation on days when trigonometry proved to be so much harder than it seemed. I collected teen magazines, compiled interviews, pasted cut-outs of their songs into a binder, and placed them on my bedside table. I recorded their singles from the radio and made mixed tapes that I would play depending on my mood, my emotional needs, and the weather. Life revolved around those men, and I would often daydream, what if... what if Nick Carter really married me.  Akari didn't have any romantic feel...