Part 2 of my post on the Manila International Book Fair 2014. Since a lot happened, I decided to divide my posts on the event. Check part one of my coverage here.
Now, on to the
Manila International Book Fair 2014...
After checking out the Marian exhibit at the mall, I returned to SMX for the book fair. The number of books and people was overwhelming. The place was congested, siksikan talaga. The book fair covered the entire hall on the ground floor. There, you could see many books from different exhibitors, including two of the biggest bookstores in the country, National Bookstore and Fully Booked (they I think were the biggest exhibitors). Leading publishers in the country also came in. It's almost not an exaggeration to say that one could see books about almost everything under the sun. There's religious books, bibles, textbooks, theoretical books, comics, mangas, novels... name it, chances are it's there. Most of the time I've wandered around, taking pics, looking at some stores and going out of the hall and in again. There's also a stage area for performances at one of the far ends of the massive hall.
In addition to the MIBF, there was also the Best of Anime 2014, which happened in the upper floor. This was my first ever cosplay event because I attended last year's. This year though, I didn't attend and the tickets for that were at the hefty price of 300 pesos. Yes, that expensive. Though I wasn't there, I was able to see the cosplayers gracing this event (and the bookfair. Some cosplayers entered the book fair too). I had to take pics of them when they came down the escalator and when they stayed near the entrances of the book fair. Good to see them as always. They brought more color to the place with their costumes and their talent. Not only the cosplayers, even from downstairs outside the hall, I could hear the performances taking place at BOA.
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| BOA upstairs. By the way, those without tickets to that can't go up due to some new policies for the events. |
One booth that I went to often was the Komikon booth. The main reason why is that it has something to do with my thesis project. I made about two visits here, first, I canvassed and checked out some of their titles, especially those that could help me in my thesis, plus I talked about it with the guys in charge of the booth. After that, I left it to think about what to buy. When I returned, I checked out some of their titles again and bought a few of 'em. I even had them signed since one of the artists was there. Hopefully though, they could help me for my thesis project. Good luck to me on that. :)
Also, I've been going to the religious stores. I was thinking of buying something, but in the end, I didn't. I might buy something from those stores some other time at one of their branches (like at St. Pauls to say one place).
Aside from books, there were more attractions all over the place. At the REX bookstore, they featured the world's smallest book. There were also booths that featured gadgets and robots. The event was even attended by famous personalities, other than just authors. Two big names I saw were Marian Rivera and Juluis Babao.
The Bookfair was also an opportunity for me to meet up with my classmates. I was able to meet some of them. Good to see them there. :) During the event, I looked for my other classmates that probably attended. I guess I didn't see 'em. :(
Around 4 PM I left SMX to have merienda somewhere but later on, I decided against it.
Here's some more pics:
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| @ the Komikon store |
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| Robots on display. This booth was near the stage. |
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| The smallest book in the world on display at the Rex store. |
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| Marian Rivera's in this pic... |
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| Religious sisters were a common sight at the book fair. |
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| News anchor Julius Babao |
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| At the religious stores. Note the standfie of Pope Francis. |
I left SMX at about 6:30 PM. At a jeepney I took on the way to the LRT, SM MOA had a fireworks display. It was tough to see it from the jeep and only saw some parts of it. Nonetheless, it was good to see it as I was leaving the place.
In the end, it was a really tiring experience. Though tiring, it was undoubtedly a fun event after the storms and at least I was able to do some things I had to do. The experience was worth it, though there more things I could've done (...maybe). Next time though to avoid that feeling of wishing I could've done this or that, I gotta learn to make the best out of everything. It felt strange after the event's over. There's always that weird feeling that comes after a big event like the MIBF... :/
Also, I'd like to say that the event was a pre-bday celebration. Last Wednesday, I celebrated my Bday and I thank God for all the blessings that He has given me. I do hope that I will realize more of them and may He help me in everything that I do in the days and years to come. I also hope to be more responsible for my actions and be able to go through everything that I face in life.
And that's that. Thanks for checking! :D \(^o^)/
