Showing posts with label book review. Show all posts
Showing posts with label book review. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 12, 2026
Sunday, May 10, 2026
Thursday, April 2, 2026
Friday, February 27, 2026
Monday, February 23, 2026
Book Review: What’s New on Our Library’s Bookshelves?
New Titles: Stories Across Worlds
From Syria to Japan to imagined empires, these new arrivals open windows into cultures, histories, and epic journeys.
This collection gathers twenty-two masterful short stories by one of Japan’s most influential literary voices. Known for psychological depth and moral ambiguity, Akutagawa’s stories probe truth, illusion, and the human condition. A compelling introduction to modern Japanese literature.
The Hurricane Wars by Thea Guanzon
In a storm-torn empire ruled by magic and ambition, a fierce rebel and a powerful prince are bound together in a dangerous alliance. This epic fantasy blends political intrigue, elemental magic, and slow-burn romance. Perfect for readers who love high-stakes fantasy with emotional depth.
A sweeping and intimate novel set during the Syrian uprising, this story follows a young pharmacist torn between survival, love, and resistance. Lyrical and heartbreaking, it explores what hope means when a country is at war—and what it takes to stay. A powerful read about courage, memory, and choosing to live.
The Tale of Genji by Lady Murasaki Shikibu
Often called the world’s first novel, this timeless classic follows the life and loves of Prince Genji in Japan’s Heian court. Rich in emotion, aesthetics, and courtly intrigue, it offers a window into a refined and complex world. A foundational work of world literature.
Full list of new titles, click here: 2026 February New Acquisitions
Tuesday, February 17, 2026
Book Reviews and Recommended Reads: Light, Love and Revolution in Children's Literature (1 of 3)
February is a such happening month. We celebrate Valentine’s Day, National Arts Month, and the anniversary of People Power. All are reminders that love is not only personal, but creative and civic.
In these five Filipino children’s books, love appears as art made by hand, imagination set free, stories shared in libraries, light held in protest, and people gathered in peaceful unity. This month invites us to see that love can be expressed in creation, in memory, and in collective action and that even our youngest readers are part of that ongoing story.
Sayaw ng mga Ilaw (Dance of the Lights) by Cheeno Marlo Sayuno
Illustrated by Aaron Asis
The story centers on a child’s quest for hope and healing as it references the need to honor history. The narrative connects light with civic memory.
Illustrated by Jared Yokte
A cat works in a library and watches over books and readers. The story highlights the role of libraries as safe and shared spaces. It celebrates reading as a communal experience.
Ang Pambihirang Sombrero by Jose Miguel Tejido
A child discovers a hat that transforms depending on how it is imagined. Each page shows the hat becoming something new through visual interpretation. The book emphasizes imagination as an artistic act.
Illustrated by Sergio Bumatay III
This counting book introduces children to the events and imagery of the 1986 People Power Revolution. Numbers are paired with scenes of unity and public gathering. It presents history in a format accessible to young readers.
Isang Harding Papel by Augie Rivera
Illustrated by Rommel Joson
A young girl creates a paper garden while scenes of the 1986 People Power movement unfold around her. The story connects personal creativity with a historical moment in the Philippines. It presents art as quiet resistance and remembrance.
Monday, January 19, 2026
Book Review: Zero O’Clock by C.J. Farley
So, a lot of BTS’s songs are mentioned and the group’s presence in the book is very much a part of the novel’s emotional grammar. They accompany Geth through fear, isolation, and uncertainty, offering steadiness rather than easy consolation.
Zero O’Clock is not a story about resetting. It is a narrative of courage and resilience, of moving forward while carrying loss and grief. Because, in the end, Geth runs bearing the shifts and changes of the times. And she is beautiful!
Friday, January 9, 2026
Book Review: Doll Eyes
Doll Eyes (Santos & Mallari, CANVAS) is a story about two street children whose lives briefly intersect with the grace of the Black Nazarene. It captures how faith, hope, and courage can emerge even in the most frightening circumstances. The story honors the mysticism of the Black Nazarene as epiphany, a moment of being seen, held, and protected, inviting young readers to recognize grace not as something distant or grand, but as something that arrives exactly when it is needed.
Doll Eyes shines a light on the quiet ways faith can move and redeem.
In 2014, Doll Eyes was awarded the National Children’s Book Award by the Philippine Board on Books for Young People and the National Book Development Board.
On this day, being the Feast of the Black Nazarene, and Epiphany, may our inner light lead us in discovering ways to be of service to others and to the community. 
Friday, January 2, 2026
From ARMY of Bangtan's (AoB) BTS Reading List 2025: A Review of Jack-in-the-Box, A Short Story by Ray Bradburry
When Edwin finally breaks free from this boxed world, his declaration is "I’m dead! I’m glad!” reframes death not as an ending, but as liberation. What dies is the imposed self, the obedient version trapped within manufactured boundaries. What emerges is the possibility of living again, this time as a self that chooses, feels, and experiences the world beyond fear (sounds like Ego, right?). In this story, death becomes transformation, and freedom is earned through breaking away and sundering.
I chose this short story as part of the AoB Reading List because I wanted Jhope to be represented. Last year, I revisited "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea", a book Hobi read in high school and which later inspired Hope World. For 2025, with the HOPE ON THE STAGE tour marking a defining moment in his career, Jack-in-the-Box felt like a timely and necessary read.
Bradbury’s story resonates with Jack In The Box, the album, in concept, song lyrics and sonic qualities. Both confront boxed expectations, manufactured identities, and the cost of stepping outside what is prescribed. Both insist that emancipation is not always gentle, but it is essential.
This pairing honors Jhope not only as a performer, but as an artist continually choosing authorship over confinement, and selfhood over safety.
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