For three years, while hogtied at home by the global brute called Covid-19, I had ached for the return of the annual Manila International Book Fair (MIBF). I kept busy by reading, blogging, and tweaking on-end the books that would have been launched in that event three years in a row. But as you and I know, no activity of such magnitude was allowed.
Then came 2023 and after the health hogtie was cut loose, the MIBF materialized from hibernation. And irony of ironies, I was caught unprepared for its sudden reappearance. I forgot to invite people and to take photos. All the shots on this page were sent by friends.
Yes, the Book Fair had the huge crowd of book lovers times one thousand! There was hardly any space to squeeze one’s body from booth to booth. Many who tried to join the fray complained, “The place was a war zone. We kept battling for a parking space, but losing.”
With my usual entourage—my sister Aie, and sons #1 and #3—I hied to MOA (the venue for years) early so I could catch the launching of my book “Second Chances” at the CSM booth. As in the previous years before the three-year pandemic, the booth was heavily infested with human bookworms.
From there, I raced to a lunch meeting with one of my publisher’s CEO and a writer friend.
After that, we rushed to the launch of OMF’s big books, two of which are my titles (All Aboard with Five Lolas and Half and Half of the "Oh, Mateo!" series). Although my few photos of the event seem tame, the whole day was, believe me, pandemoniacal: chats with readers, photo-ops (with their cameras), meet-up with friends, book signing, and hurried interviews.
Yes, the MIBF is back! Brought by grace multiplied a thousandfold.
"This is the day the Lord has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it." Psalm 118:24 (NKJV)
No comments:
Post a Comment