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Super late post!!! The 31st Manila International Book Fair ended last Sunday. My PhD classmates and I managed to drop by after our horse racing adventure at Santa Ana Park. I didn’t think we’d have enough energy left, but these are books we’re talking about. We always have energy for geekery.

Visiting the book fair has been a tradition for me every year. This time around, the event was held at the SMX, which is probably the biggest hall I’ve ever been in. It shouldn’t surprise me that there will be lots and lots and lots of new innovations to see, but it still did.

I don’t really know what people were doing up there but they seem to be having fun.

One thing I noticed about this particular fair, however, is the predominant presence of religious artifacts. I took a photo of the most interesting religious booth in the area. I’m not sure if this is Buddhist, though.

There’s something about the look of libraries that really gives me an overwhelming sense of comfort…even if it’s in a crowded place like the book fair.

Which sort of leads me to an interesting thought. I had assumed that people these days have the attention span of toddlers so I figured, there will be very few readers left. The population I saw that Sunday was surprising. SMX was just as packed as the last event I went to (Manila Art 2010).

I don’t know if it’s clear in this photo but there’s this electronic white board that sort of reminds me of the Cognoter case study I gave my undergraduate students back when they were still lively enough to tackle PhD level concepts. (For APC students, those were batches ABMA40-ABMA60.)

This is also the first time I saw booths really make a career out of their aesthetics. I know people who might find the crown thing a bit tacky, but I think it’s adorable. This booth is one of my favorites.

And who can forget about National Bookstore? Their area is so huge I could swear it’s the size of a regular National Bookstore branch!

But of course, I went straight to Summit Publishing before exploring the entirety of SMX. I got myself the latest Preview ish (with Sarah Geronimo on the cover) and a Cosmo book. I received two free Women’s Health back issues in return. So I basically took home four readables from Summit.

Oh, and I passed by this tarp. I saw the name of my favorite professor, Pia Arboleda, and promptly asked about the book being advertised. The book’s title is Essays on Philippine Language and Literature. Later, I noticed that the names of a couple of National Arists and our current Dean (UP-CMC), Rolando Tolentino, were also in the list of authors. Most expensive purchase I’ve had in a book fair so far — since I chose the better print — but I think it will be worth it. (And hey, it’s cheaper than most educational books.)

All in all, this has been yet another satisfying event. For those who weren’t able to go. There’s always next year.