The Goodbye Girl by Noringai

Noringai’s third book depicts different stories how girls got disregarded, taken for granted, hurt, frustrated, turn nasty, vengeful, and eventually hopeful all in the name of love. If in her first and second book Noringai displays her humorous and lively viewpoint in matters of the heart, The Goodbye Girl is a bit different: it is more serious, emotional, deeper in exploring the varied pains that loving someone brings about.

Sixty in the City ni Lualhati Bautista

Umiikot ang Sixty in the City ni Lualhati Bautista sa buhay ng magkakaibigan na Guia, Roda, at Menang. Mga asawa at ina silang nagsisimula sa panibagong yugto ng kanilang buhay: ang pagtuntong sa edad sisenta. Magkawangis man ang kanilang tungkulin bilang ilaw ng tahanan, kinakaharap man ang kanya-kanyang mga suliranin, may mga katuparan pa rin silang nais para sa kanilang sarili.

The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins

If there is there is a book to make you laugh hysterically, cry anguish tears, devour you with suspense, recoil in horror, root for your heroes until the final pages, it is most definitely The Woman in White. This is a wonderful beast of novel. It has an electrifying power within and beyond it to make anyone instantly become a passionate devotee of Wilkie Collins’s works.

Panayam with Marcelo Santos III

For the start of the New Year, our book club, Pinoy Reads Pinoy Books, always read something light and easy. That is why for January, we choose to read and discuss the bestselling Para sa Hopeless Romantic by none other than the Hari ng Kilig and one of today’s popular writers, Marcelo Santos III. And at the end, it turns out this initial Panayam for 2016 is more than noteworthy.

Para sa Hopeless Romantic ni Marcelo Santos III

Ang kuwento ng Para sa Hopeless Romantic ay tungkol sa mga karakter patungo sa kanilang journey to forever. Kinatatampukan ito ng limang tao na pilit na lumalaban sa masalimuot na mundo ng pag-ibig: sina Maria, Ryan, Becca, Nikko, at Faye. Kahit man nasaktan sa kani-kanilang landas upang makamit ang ultimate goal na magmahal at mahalin in return, pilit pa rin sila sa pakikipaglaban upang magwagi sa huli sa larangan ng giyera ng mga puso.

It’s Raining Mens ni Bebang Siy

Kung ang It’s a Mens World ay pagtunghay sa kabataan ni Bebang Siy, ang It’s Raining Mens ay sulyap pa rin sa buhay ng may-akda nang siya’y maging isang dalagang-ina, sa pawarde-wardeng daang tinahak ng kanyang buhay pag-ibig, at ilang isyung kinaharap at patuloy na hinaharap bilang babae sa kasalukuyang lipunan. Tampok din sa aklat ang ilan sa kanyang mga katha gaya ng maiikling kwento, radio drama, at iba pa.

In Sisterhood – Lea at Lualhati ni Lualhati Bautista

Kung ihahalintulad sa mga nauna niyang aklat, iba ang atake ng In Sisterhood. Simula pa lang hahamunin na nito ang iyong pagtingin sa kung paano nga ba ang nararapat na paraan para isulat ng isang may-akda ang kanyang memoir. Mantakin mo kasi, imbes na diretsong ang manunulat ang maglalahad sa kanyang pinagdaanang buhay, dito’y ang tauhan ng may-akda ang nagpupumilit na isulat ang talambuhay ng lumikha sa kanya. Pihado, may hagod ng post-modernism ang akdang ito!

Nine Supernatural Stories edited by April Timbol Yap and Lara Saguisag

Breaking Supernatural ( A Book Review of Nine Supernatural Stories edited by April Timbol Yap and Lara Saguisag ) Pushing the cobwebs aside and giving an old-timer a modern spin, Nine Supernatural Stories, published by The University of the Philippines …

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

Millennium Sleuths (A Book Review of Stieg Larsson’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) To call Stieg Larsson’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo an explosive read is an understatement in my case as I finished the book amid the noise of …

Dracula by Bram Stoker

More Than Bats, Castles, and Fangs (A Book Review of Bram Stoker’s Dracula) Conceivably, no other single work in horror fiction has had a greater impact than Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Published in 1897, Stoker’s vision of the vampire, based from …

Before Ever After by Samantha Sotto

Of Chickens, Journeys, and Forever (A Book Review of Before Ever After by Samantha Sotto)  With its share of joys and aches, Shelley Sullivan’s love story, on its surface, is something we have known and heard before — that is …

The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

A Love to Defy the Rules of Time (A Book Review of Audrey Niffenegger’s The Time Traveler’s Wife) Right from the beginning of Audrey Niffeneger’s famed debut novel, The Time Traveler’s Wife, the reader is already thrown terrifically off-balanced. Here’s …

The Woman Who Had Two Navels by Nick Joaquin

Past Engagements (A Book Review of Nick Joaquin’s The Woman Who Had Two Navels) In 1955, Nick Joaquin left the Philippines on a Rockefeller creative writing grant taking him to countries such as Spain, the United States, and Mexico. This …

When the Elephants Dance by Tess Uriza Holthe

The Power of Stories (A Book Review of Tess Uriza Holthe’s When the Elephants Dance) A group of neighbors seek shelter in the cellar of an abandoned house. They are cramped, huddled on the dirt, starving and terrified. Outside fierce …