Top 10 Books for Pinoys in 2013

Well, if you’re like me having that prevalent feeling that books nowadays are on the way out, then you and me could be in for a serious fix.

We may not see much of them – paperbacks or hardbound – brought in public areas, much less the malls. But in this Jennifer Lawrence generation, nobody carries a book anymore (except graders and textbook-intensive schoolers) because nobody has to. To have access to books, you just have to have a device. Smartphone, tablets or Kobo or Kindle for the sophisticated. Get the drift?
Top 10 Books for Pinoys in 2013
So since books has evolved, new wave of possibilities happen. One of these is the Filipino nation’s Top 10 Books of the 2013. Here goes:

1. “The Best of This Is a Crazy Planets Book 2” by Lourd Ernest H. de Veyra

This TV5 weatherman’s got the gift of laughter and it stands out like a sore thumb. Looking at the “brown nation” in a pair of super-hilarious eyes, his pages are essentially screaming of super fine-grade topnotch laughter. Essays like “Kadiri the Squatters” and the tribute to the late King of Comedy, Dolphy, will have you LOL in no time.

2. “Burning Houses: Poems” by Mookie Katigbak-Lacuesta (University of Santo Tomas Publishing House)
Burning Houses Poems by Mookie Katigbak-Lacuesta (University of Santo Tomas Publishing House)

3. “The Dark Colony: Book 1 Mikey Recio & The Secret of the Demon Dungeon” by Budjette Tan, Bow Guerrero and J.B. Tapia (Visprint Inc.)

Finally, a book that is deeply Catholic in nature but whose appeal is universal. Catch yourself an adventure of a lifetime as the good guys battle evil, starting from the holiest of days, the Holy Week. The tempo is great, you’d run out of pages in no time and wished you’ve bought the sequel already.

A second offering from prize-winning author-poet Mookie. It’s amazing how seemingly unrelated words put together can cook up solid imagery and trigger the imagination to unknown heights.

4. “Dessert Comes First: A Book” by Lori Baltazar (Fully Booked)

Lori Baltazar introduces you to the world of cheesecakes and the sumptuousness of food like only she can. For its recipes and sheer brilliance, this lady wordmaster is raising the bar when it comes to dessert food preparation and may well be on the way to the throne as the “Queen of Food Books”.

5. “Doctor Sleep: A Novel” by Stephen King (Scribner)

This is classic Stephen King and if it’s the first time you have encountered the author, it will soon be obvious to you why he carries the moniker of “Horror King” reading through this super-thriller.

6. “Go to Sleep, Kuting!” by Robert Magnuson (OMF Literature Inc.)
Go to Sleep, Kuting by Robert Magnuson (OMF Literature Inc.)
Easily you may dismiss this as a bedtime story book and it is. The genius of the book is obvious when you scan through the pages. You, any adult or young reader for that matter, will hold to its pages like a child who just saw a rainbow.

7. “Growing Up Wired: Raising Kids in the Digital Age” by Queena N. Lee-Chua, Ma. Isabel Sison-Dionisio, Nerisa C. Fernandez and Michele S. Alignay. (Anvil Publishing, Inc.)
Growing Up Wired Raising Kids in the Digital Age by Queena N. Lee-Chua, Ma. Isabel Sison-Dionisio, Nerisa C. Fernandez and Michele S. Alignay. (Anvil Publishing, Inc.)
Apt and timely, this groundbreaking study is a masterpiece that dissects the human psyche of the hi-tech generation of today dubbed as the “Millenials”.

8. “The Impossible Lives of Greta Wells” by Andrew Sean Greer (Ecco Books)
The Impossible Lives of Greta Wells by Andrew Sean Greer (Ecco Books)
How does one live the life of three different personalities each evolved from distinct timelines and decades apart, in one single body? This is the beautifully-spun story of Greta Wells, a psychiatrist’s nightmare.

9. “Manila Noir” edited by Jessica Hagedorn (Anvil Publishing, Inc.)
Manila Noir edited by Jessica Hagedorn (Anvil Publishing, Inc.)
This, maybe, a compendium of 14 different noir stories revolving on Manila from various points of view but because of the level of quality in each of them, it’s hard to be picky as to who did the writing best. Superb!

10. “The Mango Bride” by Marivi Soliven (NAL)
The Mango Bride by Marivi Soliven (NAL)
Winner of the Palanca Award, this novel may just be about two distinct women – Amparo and Beverly – who may be world’s apart in personalities but are as intertwined as they can get. For its twists and turns, “The Mango Bride” nails you to your seat – without you knowing it.

Most – if not all – of these books are available in National Book Store. For more of the details of this Top 10 list , please look here.

So once again, there you have it fellow ‘kababayans’ – ‘kapatid’, ‘kapuso’, ‘kapamilya’, ‘kabisyo’. I hope I’ve given you what you truly deserve, timely information on the run.

And should you warrant it, please do drop me some lines. Nothing too vain or too naive. Just shoot. And I’d be glad to give you my own 2 cents.

Lastly, before I forget, I enjoin you to take part in our little dissemination campaign. Please share this Top 10 to your friends or people you know who has fascination with books. Books provide the medium by which Hitler got his Mein Kampf across, or Darwin his The Origin of Species, or for that matter the Catholic Church got to spread its adherents.

Chada! (as my minion friends from Despicable Me 2 used to say)

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