3x3: Anne Grace Bansig’s Top 3 Best Reads of 2018

Reading has been one of my stress relievers. I am glad that our library has a good collection. So, I am going to share with you the most delightful books that I have read for 2018. 

Here are my Top 3 best reads for 2018:

Aristotle and Dante discover the secrets of the universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz – Recommended by a good friend, this book is about two young men, Ari and Dante, discovering their true self. What I like most about this book was the support, love and acceptance of Ari’s parents. I wish many books of this kind be published in the future as it shows an understanding of the LGBT community. 

The Inexplicable logic of my life by Benjamin Alire Sanez – I enjoyed the story of Ari and Dante so I looked up for the author’s other works and found this book in our library collection. It’s about Sal and his struggles when senior high started. It was a good read as you will also get to know his amazing dad, grandmother and friends Sam and Fito. 

The Origin by Dan Brown – This book will take you to the modern Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao with Robert Langdon, the famous Harvard professor of symbology. This is about a ‘revelation’ of the discovery of Langdon’s former student that will change the science forever and will shake the foundation of the Catholic religion. If you have read other Dan Brown’s works, then you will surely delight on this page-turner and heart-stopping book. 

Ann Grace Bansig is currently the Audio-Visual Librarian at De La Salle Santiago Zobel School. She likes writing papers about children’s books and also an enthusiast traveler, storyteller and community volunteer. 

3x3: Johann Frederick Cabbab’s Top 3 Best Reads of 2018

Three komiks... Three continuing series... Three sentences... I'd like to feature three I picked up during Komikons and Komikets. 

SAGALA #1

Tori Tadiar's work won for Best Komiks during the Komiket Awards in 2017. Rightfully deserved since it's Filipiniana fantasy at its finest. There's plenty of maidens, baro't sayas, ternos, gunslinging, martial action, Guardia Civil, and other historical and cultural references to go around in this alternate world set during the Spanish Colonial period. 

The Hotdog Prince volume 1

Francis "Kong" Martelino masterfully weaves a tale about a guy who loses his nose, mushrooms, Maria Ozawa, stepping on dog poop, and a giant anthrophmorphic meat sausage aptly named "The Hotdog Prince". I never knew you could use rubber slippers and backscratchers like that for immortal combat. Not for the easily offended and squeamish, though.

Carnal: Banahaw

Bambi Eloriaga-Amago, Olan Amago and BK Peña come up with a work that creepingly resonates with Philippine myths and monsters. Banahaw, a rockstar, and Cristobal, a man of the cloth, are brothers intertwined in a narrative where there's this slow and certain uneasiness with a damning realization that, yes, something outworldly is going to happen at some point in time. Waiting for the next installment Carnal: Cristobal.

Johann Frederick "Igor" Cabbab is a librarian, archivist and full time faculty member of the UP School of Library and Information Studies. He was managing editor, writer and graphic artist for several anime, children and young adult publications prior to rejoining the academe in 2007. He is currently pursuing his Doctor of Literature and Philosophy in Information Science (DLitt et Phil) via distance mode at the University of South Africa (Universiteit van Suid-Afrika). He is old.

3x3 is a series of blog posts that features three books each with a review of three sentences long. For the month of January, the blog is featuring Filipino Librarians and their top 3 best reads of 2018. Read the first post here.

Christmas Reading Passport 2018

In December 2018, I launched the library's annual Christmas Reading Passport.There were four students who availed of the passport. Three came back completely filled out. Hurrah!

3x3: Joseph Marmol Yap’s Top 3 Best Reads of 2018

Librarians are expected to read. We may be too busy running a library, but one way to escape reality is by reading. 

Before the two movies came out, I grabbed a copy of the books and read them. 

1. Love, Simon - A story of a closeted young man who found himself comfortably talking to a stranger in an online world thru email because they have the same situation. Eventually, he fell in love with Blue, his 'email-pal'. The story gave hope to teens in accepting who they really are.

2. Crazy Rich Asians - This is a love story between an Asian couple who are bound to conquer an American lifestyle. It depicts how Chinese families value their wealth and luxurious life. The Chinese familial culture is highlighted in this book.

Finally, when the John Newbery Medal was awarded to Erin Kelly in 2018, I was curious and found out we have a copy of her book in the library. 

3. Hello, Universe - Is a story of a young boy with a Filipino background. The story infuses Filipino folktales as told by the grandmother. It's a children's novel that tackles bullying and friendship. 

So here it goes, my three book recommendations from 2018. You may have missed the movies, but you can always find a copy of the book in your local bookstore or library.

Joseph Yap, is a Pinoy librarian currently based in Kazakhstan. He is one of the reference librarians of Nazarbayev University Library.

He is the Secretary of the Special Librarians Association, Asia Chapter.

3x3 is a series of blog posts that features three books each with a review of three sentences long. For the month of January, the blog is featuring Filipino Librarians and their top 3 best reads of 2018.
Read the first post here.

Dear Ms. Z: Please Help Me Plan for a Talk on Storytelling

To continue from last Monday’s post, January 14, 2019, here are my tips and advise for Ms. Sheila Joy Bañares on planning for a talk on storytelling.

An outline may look like this;

1. Objective of my session

2. Professional Sharing: My Storytelling Experiences in the Library

a. Why do I conduct storytelling session for kids

b. What books and stories do I read aloud and share

c. How do I tell stories and read books aloud ( do a demonstration)

3. Storytelling pa more!

Here, you can show some of my videos when telling stories

Feel free to use my videos, but do cite and attribute as required. I don’t mind sharing information and skills, but courtesy matters a lot to me.

Read Aloud Sampler - one of my favorite stories to read aloud is George Shannon’s Lizard’s Rock. This wonderful story book talks about the songs we sing and the places we call home. Palyfully illustrated and colored by Jose Aruego and Arianne Dewey. 

Joseph and His Overcoat is storytelling with the use of paper tearing. I love telling this story because it speaks of creativity as a crucial set skill needed for survival. Also, the use of paper when telling this story in the oral tradition is a simple but effective way of driving the point home.

To all librarians out there telling stories, go and multiply! Stories keep us alive!

Book Review: Bone Talk

Bone Talk
Candy Gourlay
Anvil, 2018

Bone Talk is the story of Samkad, a young Bontoc boy at the cusp of manhood. His journey towards becoming one is a thrilling and heart breaking adventure since the setting of the novel happened at a time of conflict and change. It is 1899 and the Philippines has entered a war with the United States of America. His village in the Cordilleras is not spared of the cruelty of invaders. Though, the opportunity to learn from a friendly stranger presents itself. This coming of age story has a lot to tell, and teach, about identity, honor, subversion, obedience to customs and traditions and the gray areas in between. 

Candy Gourlay once again dazzled me with her humor, wit and storytelling. I literally laughed out loud at one point when she started a chapter with this line, ...no talk of my manhood, after a series of action filled narratives. This is Samkad speaking and there I find the typical teenager. Irrational. Emotional. Impulsive. Self centered. I remember myself at twelve years old during the height of the People Power Revolution. I worried about my grade school graduation. Never mind if tanks and soldiers were moving and marching on EDSA. I need to graduate by March!

And then, there is Luki. Irrepressible and persistent, she is Samkad's best friend. It is through her that social class and the roles of Bontoc women are presented. How she defies and disobeys them not because she is a bad girl. Luki is smart and perceptive, protective of her family and friends. She knows who she is and where she belongs. These are all evident in the dialogues she has with Samkad implying that, even girls or women, can fight for the people and the place they love.

This is why I love reading Candy Gourlay. She is capable, with great effect, to show her characters as they are: strong yet flawed, willful but yielding, good and bad. She does so in situations that test these characters. She makes use of images, symbols and metaphors. A music box and a book as gifts from Mister William. A gun and camera as tokens from Colonel Quinlan. This literary technique opens up discussions of a larger scale.

For one, these colonisers' intent and interests can be further fleshed out through a comparison of the objects they gave the Bontocs. What do music and books represent? What are guns for? How powerful are photographs? By bringing these objects in the novel and planting them at well selected spots or parts in the entire narrative, I thought about the ways we were subjugated. They differ in function but were used to colonize just the same.

Ms. Gourlay claims that Bone Talk is not history. True, but fiction can lead readers to a broader understanding of other disciplines and life lessons embedded in the material either intentionally or otherwise. In the end, I realized, that while Samkad earned his rightful place in the village, it is his father who learned a great lesson as well. This for me is the most beautiful part of the novel.

So, go and read the book. Find a copy. Buy or borrow! Do not miss out the wonderful discoveries and insights you can take away from the novel.

Rating: 5 Bookmarks
Recommended: Grade 5 and up

Dear Ms. Z: Please Help Me Plan for a Talk on Storytelling (1 of 2)

Last week, I received a direct message from Ms. Sheila Joy Bañares via Instagram. Sheila is a librarian from Isabela. 

This is her query:

Ma’am Z, librarian po ako sa school namin. And they (College of Education) are inviting me to give some tips po pano mag story telling. Education students po ang tuturuan ko po. Pano gawin? Thanks po.

I further asked her for details. When is the schedule of the workshop and if she is the school librarian of their institution. She said that she got the invitation a day before the workshop. She does storytelling for the elementary grades but conducting a workshop makes her nervous. The least she can do, according to the inviting party, is to share her experiences when reading aloud and telling stories to children. 

Still a tall order. Preparing for a talk or a workshop takes time, even for seasoned facilittaors. Then again, this is an opportunity for the librarian to step up her game and show how she can be an asset to the learning community.

So, I this was my reply:

What are you confident in sharing to your colleauges as far as storytelling and reading aloud is concerned? It’s good that you are nervous and excited. This means, you know you can do it!

Maybe setting one objective of your session will help you. Know your purpose. Bakit ka ba magsheshare ng storytelling experiences mo?

Your audience are college students. You were once a college student. But now, you have experience. So, share your storytelling experience. After knowing your objective and your experiences to share, draft an outline.

This is a two-part post, so come by the blog again this week for the tips I sent Sheila in planning for a talk on storytelling.