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My MIBF 2024 experience

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It has been six days and the feeling of being in the whirlwind of excitement hasn’t left me. The Manila International Book Fair has been a part of my yearly tradition ever since I joined the literary scene as an author. I just can’t imagine missing the chance to fangirl with the artists I look up to, as their works continue to inspire and fuel my passion for writing. Last year’s fair was lit—it could have been easily my favorite MIBF year—but who would have thought that MIBF 2024 would surpass the excitement and exhilarating experience that 2023 fair brought me? Like, I was there for two days! Obviously, not even me! 🤩 Day 1 (Fair’s Day 3): Reconnecting and discovering Overspending has always been an issue in these events (god, I even posted reminders on my social media page to don’t overspend!) but who overspends when it came to books? But I tried not to—I really did. Believe me when I say I even had a List of Books to Buy from MIBF 2024. I also took note of the booths to visi...

Jdrama: Momoiro Anzuiro Sakurairo

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I long ago stopped watching dramas for escapism - most of the time, I binge-watch to remind myself that there is more to life than articles and ads and endless social media scrolling. But I am in constant search of light, toe-curling romance because this spicy piece of property hasn’t been cuffed yet and maybe it’s gonna be that way for a very long time. That’s how I discovered this jdrama - Momoiro Anzurio Sakurairo (Colors of Romance) is only six episodes and it quenched my thirst for romance. Most comments would say that the premise is good but it lacks in execution. I would say maybe I enjoyed this drama because its execution is unusual and something I haven’t seen in the romance stories I encountered in the past.  Kuroda Tetsuya (Kizu Takami) looks like a dream - and maybe that’s one of the reasons why Kawakami Anzu (Okunaka Makoto) felt an instant connection to him when they saw each other the first time. That and the fact that he saw her in her raw, unfiltered version. It ...

June reads

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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...

Hotel Iris, Yoko Ogawa

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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...

Book review: Idol, Burning

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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...