The MIBF Experience

Once a year, the Manila International Book Fair opens, and book worms, book lovers and those who just love reading convene in one place to satisfy all their bookish needs. I haven't attended any MIBF events in my entire life, and I was hoping I will be able to attend at least some of the major happenings, but my schedule only allowed me to visit MIBF 2 days before it ends. And I was there today to check out what's in store for me, and here's what I got.

I got to SMX around 3pm after a very important appointment with a friend was over, so as expected, the place was overflowing with people. Kids, accompanied by their parents, and people of all ages are roaming the halls scouring for books, some were even wearing cosplay clothes. After I paid for the entrance (20 PHP) I immediately hit National Bookstore's bargain shelves. I figured it would be better if I scour the shelves for bargain books first before I go through all the books inside (all books have 20% discount!).

Alexander Yates' Moondogs book signing event

I got there just in time to catch the end of Alexander Yates' Moondogs book signing. There was a crowd of people in front and by the time I tried to check if he was still there, the signing was over. I got sidetracked by all the books around.

So I went over the YA book section to see what books they got, and I was a bit impressed by what's on the shelves.

Two awesome books side by side

Noteworthy titles are You Against Me, Dear Bully, Hades, Bloodlines and Fury. Those copies of Liesl and Po were gone by the time I went back to grab a copy. I'm sorry for the blur! I didn't try taking a second picture since I'm not sure I'm even allowed to take one.

And I also stopped by the table for Scholastic. Remember people, the Rachel Ward event is tomorrow! You'll be able to talk to Rachel and if you buy a copy of the book, you'll get an 'I Am Numbered' button! *whispers* Buy the box sets for The Wolves of Mercy Falls series and The Hunger Games series too!

I got these 5 YA books from the bargain rows and I picked up a copy of Dear Bully. It took me around an hour to find all of these. I also found copies of Rachel Vincent's My Soul To Take, Big Fat Manifesto and Found but of course when I tried searching for them again, they weren't there. Contrary to what other people say, all these books are in great conditions!

I hope to catch Rachel Ward's event tomorrow! And I also want to check out the panel discussions for Samantha Sotto, Andy Mulligan and Alexander Yates.

It was raining pretty hard earlier today, but I had a lot of fun! I tried going around all the other booths inside but there weren't much activity in any of them compared to National Bookstore's. Houghton Mifflin and Grolier only had a few books. Plus the staff at National Bookstore were wearing Ally Condie's Matched shirts and Paulo Coelho's Aleph, I want one!

Overall it was an enjoyable experience. Maybe I chose the wrong day to go, but nevertheless it was awesome!