Let's talk about book, shall we?

Sad to say...Filipinos aren't into books and you can't even find a decent public libraries anywhere.

There are two more bookstores in the metro, "Powerbooks" also in Glorietta and the other one is "Fullybooked" in BGC. If the book that you are looking for is not there, you can make a special order at the customer service but it may take more than month for you to have it...tho they can make an express.

I am into design and very passionate into wooden furnitures for the house (does this one count?) so I always look for Asian architecture, published by the architects and notable designers.

I know someone selling their kindle paperwhite 2nd gen for around 5K and brand new one 2014 edition around 8k.

Lonely? Go out! Have fun...enjoy the sunny weather of the Phillies! 

Many Filipinos are into books and many even have written great ones; it is just that the government here does not encourage Filipinos to be a readers; and not everyone can afford to buy these type of books you are mentioning about; another recourse is to go on line; I am into readers digest and the national geographic; I have read novels such as Gone with the Wind; Godfather; Papillon etc;  I like Horror by Edgar Allan Poe; I read the little Prince and Sherlock Holms is a classic; in Vancouver, Canada I had a great time buying those 2nd hand books; now if I need one and I can find this in National Bookstore; Goodwill; Bookman, etc I go online; in my iPad in "free books" you can download free books authored by John Milton; love Jane Austen; Bram Stoker Dracula etc. etc

My family are into books, so when i visited makati 3 weeks ago really disappointed that i couldn't find the U2 book my daughter'd asked me in a book store in glorietta, greenbelt, MOA.
We loved to read historical, biography, music, detective and especially for me, i really love books about baking/cooking, interior deaign, DIY project for home decor.
I've never been used kindle before, for online i only used the apps at google play...but i'm currious about kindle now 
We're going to move to makati by June, it would be  great if book lovers here can have a meet up and discuss books....

lina hidayat wrote:

My family are into books, so when i visited makati 3 weeks ago really disappointed that i couldn't find the U2 book my daughter'd asked me in a book store in glorietta, greenbelt, MOA.
We loved to read historical, biography, music, detective and especially for me, i really love books about baking/cooking, interior deaign, DIY project for home decor.
I've never been used kindle before, for online i only used the apps at google play...but i'm currious about kindle now 
We're going to move to makati by June, it would be  great if book lovers here can have a meet up and discuss books....

@ middleborn & Lina hidayat - You may want to view ebooks via the IOS platforms (iPad/iPhone/iPod) and make a digital library (via iTunes) for your family, using newer technology (including IOS Cloud Technology).  Please also understand that the Kindle app is optimized for the iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch (Apple devices) so there is no need to buy the more limiting Kindle device.  As a heavy reader, please make a note of some sites with free ebooks (best non-academic ones are 'Project Gutenberg' and 'Feedbooks'). 

Later, your family may go the route that many of us travel when there is a graduate level degree & related research needs. I was able to influence my younger family members with my intense graduate level research by sharing the tools and steps needed to build an annotated bibliography using Endnote, Reference Manager and other bibliographic tools.  Eventually, your kids/family will need to learn the art/science of 'Scholarly Level' research and the related tools.  Most of these tools are in electronic form already at University Libraries.

By using the current device offerings, the younger set will be well prepared to read and collect these data from "esources".

BTW, Choice (an ALA-American Library Association publication) has a timely review on this very topic this month.  http://www.ala.org/acrl/choice/home "Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries"

Note: Their byline states, "More than 22,000 academic librarians, faculty, and key decision makers rely on the reviews in Choice magazine and Choice Reviews Online for collection development and scholarly research. Choice reaches almost every undergraduate college and university library in the United States."

I am not in any way connected with this organization and simple post this as a reference on this topic. 

Best wishes...

Here! You can try these libraries.

spot.ph/gallery/2336/top-10-libraries-in-manila/article/51640#photo-1-1

I personally like Filipinas Heritage Library because it's right across my workplace.

Calif-Native and andreafajilan thank you sooo much for all the inputs above 

1. Do you have any recommended bookstores in Manila? What about libraries?

The more well-known bookstores in Manila:
National Book Store - the largest chain of bookstores in the Philippines. 30-40% of their merchandise is books and reading materials.  The rest are school and office supplies. Their biggest store is in Glorietta 1.  My kids are fans of Mo Willems. I was really surprised that I found "Let's Go for a Drive!" there just a few weeks after its release in the US.

Powerbooks - also owned by National Book Store, but their focus is more on books rather than school supplies. If you can't find a certain book at National Book Store, try looking for it at Powerbooks.

2. Are Filipinos into books? In general.
In general, no.  If you give a book to a Filipino as a gift, it's probably going to end up in a shelf unread, unless it's something that particularly interests them, like say a cook book, travel book, parenting, hobby, religious, self-help, etc.

3. Where is the best place to buy Kindle, especially Paper White? (or you may let me know if anyone wants to sell the brand new/ pre-loved stuff : D) 

Look online, like in olx.com.ph. I'm interested in getting a Kindle too. But I might just order it from amazon and have a relative or friend bring it with them when they visit the Philippines.

4. Do you know where can I find The Lion and The Bird by Marianne Dubuc? If you have one and want to sell it, just buzz me, ok? : )

Try National Book Store at Glorietta 1. If you can't find it, ask the sales people if it's available at another branch. If it's not at National Book Store, try Powerbooks.

If it's not in those stores, you can order it through National Book Store and they can have it shipped to them, which you can then pick up from their store. But this service is a bit expensive. It would be cheaper, I think, to order it from amazon and have it shipped to you.

5. What's your favorite book(s)? I love The Little Prince and Sherlock Holmes. I also enjoy something like Freakonomics, Paul Arden's, and Malcolm Gladwell's. Sadly, I didn't bring my books, not even one, ugh. So, it's quite lonely here

My family loves books, and we have lots of them. So sorry that you left your books back home.

I don't have a favorite book. I do like reading children's fantasy books. I have a library at home in that genre with classics like The Princess and the Goblin (which was the book that got me into reading at age 9) to the Borrowers series to recent literature like Harry Potter (I read the first 4, but the 5th was just tedious and wordy,  I kept falling asleep. Don't feel like reading the last two without reading first the 5th. Maybe someday I will.)

I've read many classics when I was young, Dickens, Jane Austen, Harper Lee, etc.  Of the more recent literature, I like the two books by Dan Brown, Angels and Demons and The Da Vinci Code. I like the books' fast pace and the way the chapters flow into each other. The stories, by the way, are fiction to me. A week ago, I re-read The Bourne Identity. I first read the book soon after I saw the movie. I'm glad that I saw the movie first before reading the book, otherwise, I would not have enjoyed watching the movie.

I read to my kids almost every day. They really like Mo Willems's books. I miss the libraries back in the US. I read to my kids in the same way as the story time lady back in SF. Animated, dramatic, acting out the voices of the characters and the kids also join in. It's really fun for both me and the kids.

hi. there's a lot of groups here who are in to books, you just have to check it out. if your kind of books are like the ones you've mentioned, try making an fb account and search for book geeks ph (the crowd here is mostly 20s up) and their likes are classics and mostly deep lit. however, if you are into YA, try pinoybookfreaks, but this is a big crowd (mostly teeners to early 20's and very limited 30's range) and the acceptance of members is not automatic but you need to answer some questions (since its members are like 3k).

for books, it's really sad if you weren't able to bring not one of your books but aside from national bookstore, you can also try powerbooks (sister company of national bookstore or NBS) and a much better option, fullybooked. its main store is in BGC, a 3storey building just for books and other stuffs. yes, heaven for us book lovers!!!
all these 3bookstores have branches in all major malls (megamall - ortigas, trinoma - quezon city, promenade - san juan and glorietta). you can also try checking out booksale (used bookstore) and it's a treasure hunt in there but definitely worth spending the time. booksale  are in sm malls and greenhills

as for kindle, try checking out the malls (gadgets store) but to be sure, get it at amazon. i think nbs is selling but i am not sure if it's the latest one.

hope i was able to help. have fun!!!