11 things to delight—or inspire—the book nerd in you
Waking the Dead and Other Stories by Yvette Tan
There’s room for urban legends and Philippine folklore in the modern, high-tech, fast-paced world, as in the stories in this collection of short, unsettling tales, where there remains a realm of creatures and circumstances that cannot be explained, quantum leaps in science and technology notwithstanding.
The Eye of the World 30th Anniversary Edition by Robert Jordan
Just released on Amazon Prime is a series adaptation of the Wheel of Time, which was first released 30 years ago. This special 30th anniversary edition of the first book in that series, The Eye of the World, is sure to take you back in time, and long-time fans of this fantasy epic are sure to relive what it was like reading the book for the first time.
Istoryang Siyentipiko: A Showcase of Filipino Scientific Excellence
Edited by Mikael Angelo S. Francisco and published by Filipino science portal FlipScience, this book penned by a team of science communicators shines the light on the unsung heroes of Philippine science. As a promotional post for the book puts it, “There is no shortage of individuals in the Philippines who find ways to use their expertise to solve longstanding mysteries, protect the environment, improve their community’s way of life, educate the public, and inspire budding scientists to follow in their footsteps.”
Heroes’ Feast: The Official Dungeons and Dragons Cookbook
Why do we want this cookbook? Eighty recipes worthy of fantasy, that’s why! Think “Orc” bacon, Feywild eggs, and Halfling Heartland’s Rose Apple and Blackberry Pie. We can’t say if the recipes are easy to follow, but, well, welcome to the world of fantasies, and if you follow the instructions to the dot, you might be able to have your fantasies and eat them too.
Trese by Budgette Tan
Tabi tabi po, but in this ongoing story, headlined by young sleuth Alexandra Trese, every page can bring you up close and personal with Philippine mythical creatures like the tikbalang and the nuno sa punso. Our local myths and folklore, abuzz with kapre and tiyanak and manananggal, is a deep world no obsessive geek can resist going into the bottom of. We just need to highlight them more to bring them up to par with zombies and werewolves and lake monsters.
Star Trek: The Wisdom of Picard by Chip Carter
What can Captain Jean-Luc Picard tell us about life, leadership, justice, and space exploration? Here’s a collection of some of the greatest lines of the celebrated Starfleet officer, archaeologist, writer, historian, and diplomat of the Star Trek franchise, accompanied by photos of the iconic scenes in The Next Generation.
Virtual Center by Raissa Claire U. Rivera
The class war is a war that seems endless in a world so densely populated by the haves and the have-nots. In the bible, it says that “the wealth of the rich is their fortified city; they imagine it a wall too high to scale.” This story is a similar commentary, set on Manila Bay of the distant future, where the rich have moved to virtual reality, and yet still have the poor at their beck and call.
Super Mario: Manga Mania by Yukio Sawada
Super Mario Bros is 35 going 36, but the inner kid in everybody is still mad about them like a teen in love! Available in English for the first time, this Super Mario manga volume is super collectible, a generous dose of nostalgia for Nintendo Entertainment System fans.
Project 17 by Eliza Victoria
The author of this science fiction novel imagined 2020 as inhabited by life-size robots. Maybe the world now is as she has envisioned, except that we have yet to find out, stuck as we are in our quarantine bubbles. The fictionist behind this book is also a poet, so expect a poetic touch to her telling of what might very well be our future.
Marvel Greatest Comics: 100 Comics That Built a Universe
Here’s an insider guide to the historical origins of the likes of the Guardians of Galaxy, the Human Torch, the Avengers, and Spider-Man for the fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It’s a great step to superhero geekhood, if you’re not yet there, as it will present you with all the genre-defining comics from the Marvel archives.
Ang Nawawala by Chuckberry Pascual
This collection of short stories hilariously written in Filipino is LGBTQ-themed in which a gay receptionist looks into a series of disappearances in the neighborhood. It’s a social commentary not only on discrimination and prejudice, but also corruption, indifference, and other social ills.
