Libreria is The Filipino Book Bloggers’ headquarters!

 

My book haul from Libreria: The Ring by Jorge Molist P100; The Bitterbynde Books 2 & 3 by Cecilia Dart-Thornton - The Lady of the Sorrows P320 & The Battle of Evernight P320; and The Buried Circle by Jenni Mills P380. Kenneth gave copies of the Philippine Genre Stories’s 2009 Christmas issue. Thanks Kenneth! I can’t wait to hang out at Libreria again!

The Filipino Book Bloggers met again last Saturday for books, nice company and conversation, and lovely coffee! Libreria at Cubao Expo was the best venue for book geeks. The place had charm and coffee galore! The book selection was fabulous, and Triccie the owner was the most gracious ever. Even if you’re not really into books, drop by and relax on the couch with a cup of coffee for a relaxing late afternoon or evening. Just destress, you know.

Libreria is located at Cubao Expo, a collection of shops on Gen. Romulo St, Araneta Center, Cubao, Quezon City. Look for it behind the Old Rustan’s building (beside Ali Mall), which is behind Shopwise in front of the entrance of the Araneta Coliseum. The entrance gate leading to Cubao Expo is closed to traffic starting 10pm. Refer to map for directions.

I quite enjoyed myself , and was very sorry I was late and missed much of the conversation. I’ll just share a short recap of the topics covered by the group. I have shamelessly referred to the recap of the other bloggers just so I can post something.

• How blogging affects real life, and vice versa
• Blogs we liked; blogging idol
• Addiction to monitoring blog statistics
• Negative reviews
• Personal review policies
• Plagiarism
• Dilemma of reviewing books written by people we know

Apparently, there was an outcry in Twiter by authors who get tagged in

A treasure Chest. There were not that many elements in Libreria yet all combined to create a cozy ambiance. The place was not cluttered. Triccie, the owner, knew how many books are enough to place in the shelves, replenishing the shelves in a controlled pace that would get customers to come back again and again. I for one shall return.

negative reviews. ‘It is hurtful and there is no need to tag them’ was the sentiment. Most of the other bloggers agreed with this, saying the authors can always do a google search of negative reviews if they feel like it. The authors have a point, I know. But is it not a given that not all readers will like their books? When I write about a book, I basically just say whether I liked it or not. I don’t want to be accused of bad manners by an author for writing honestly in my blog.

Tina of One More Page recently had a brush with this issue, she told me later.

I like the solution of Tarie of Asia in the Heart, World on the Mind. She uses different ways to feature books: through reviews, memes, or author interviews. That way if she doesn’t like a book but does not want to post a negative review she can still choose to present the book in a positive light.

Another hot issue was plagiarism. Our own supreme court was guilty of this, whether intentionally or not is yet to be confirmed — click links here and here for the story. Kenneth said he felt strongly about plagiarism, and shared with the group another recent example where a cooking magazine editor used without permission an article written by a food writer. When asked for compensation by the writer, the editor allegedly said that the web is public domain and the writer should thank the magazine for editing her work!

Kenneth will host the next Filipino Friday discussion, which will be about plagiarism.

I’d like to commend Chachic for being such a fantastic moderator. She kept the conversation going and effortlessly stepped in with observations and questions when there was danger of dead air. To the other bloggers – Will, Aaron, Jason, Peter, and Rhett - great to see you! Honey, we should continue reading that Choose-your-own-romance-adventure. Blooey, terrific ghost story you shared–made me want to do another gothic tour.

Photos from Chachic’s Book Nook

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