12 to Read Them All
By Ruel S. De Vera
 

MANILA, Philippines – Even as more people bemoan what appears to be the young generation’s growing distaste for reading, 2007 was actually a banner year as far as those old-fashioned artifacts called books were concerned. The pages turned, minds opened. Local or foreign, big or small, books were hot topics these past 12 months, and here, in no particular order, are 12 tomes that hit the shelf just right.

1. “Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows” by J.K. Rowling (Arthur A. Levine Books): The single most identifiable reason kids learned to be excited about reading again, Rowling’s seventh book put the period on the Harry Potter saga and delivered exactly what it promised.

2. “The World Without Us” by Alan Weisman (Thomas Dunne Books): Perhaps the most original non-fiction book of the year, a case of Richard Preston-meets-Bill Bryson, it shows us what the world will be like if man were to suddenly disappear. Scary prospect: it just might be a much better place.

3. “The Kite of Stars and Other Stories” by Dean Francis Alfar (Anvil Publishing): This award-winning fictionist shows in this debut collection how exactly he has become the brightest light in Philippine speculative fiction. For one, his stories are smooth and stunning in their harnessing of imagination.

4. “Legends & Adventures” by Carmen Guerrero Nakpil (Nakpil Publishing): The second volume in Nakpil’s promised autobiographical trilogy, “Legends” begins after the Second World War, when Nakpil as a writer, widow and much more, shows us a woman in full with a world suddenly wide, in a book powerful enough to contain it all.

5. “The More The Manyer: Pinoy Clichés and Other Words of Wisdumb” (Tahanan Books): Funny and enlightening, this tiny illustrated book of Filipinos’ common English malapropisms will leave readers in teary-eyed, wordless stitches. Not to be read in public, to avoid the spectacle.

6. “Eclipse” by Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown and Company): Perhaps the most unexpected hit series in recent years, Meyer’s vampire love story teems with addictive characters and a gripping narrative. This third book brings Bella and Edward’s story to dangerous, rewarding heights.

7. “Elmer” # 3 by Gerry Alanguilan (Komikero Publishing): The year brings the penultimate volume in Alanguilan’s offbeat and amazing comic book mini-series about a Philippines where chickens have gained sentience. This issue recalls the all-important day when the chickens discovered they were their own, uh, birds.

8. “Tongues on Fire” by Conrado de Quiros (Anvil Publishing): Agree or disagree with him, Conrado de Quiros remains the most compelling columnist in the country today. Here, in these speeches, he shows that his cool rhetoric is just as sharp in longer forms.

9. “John L. Gokongwei Jr.: The Path of Entrepreneurship” by Marites A. Khanser (Loyola Schools Ateneo de Manila University): A surprisingly reader-friendly recollection of Gokongwei’s rise from nothing to tycoon, framed with the classroom in mind, but rewarding even for those with a passing interest in what really makes a business—or businesses—succeed.

10. “Expeditions: The Philippine Graphic/Fiction Awards Vol. 1” (Fully Booked): Fully Booked’s Neil Gaiman-sponsored contest bears remarkably compelling fruit, with both the Prose and Comics volumes proving to be impressive reading as well as a formidable showcase of Filipino creativity.

11. “Math Doesn’t Suck: How to Survive Middle-School Math Without Losing Your Mind or Breaking a Nail” by Danica McKellar (Hudson Street Press): Yes, that is the child actress formerly known as Winnie Cooper of “The Wonder Years.” She happens to be a respected mathematician who even has a solution named after her. In this very accessible, hip book, she makes math sound like it’s doable and likeable.

12. “Textual Relations: Poems” by Ramil Digal Gulle (UST Publishing House): Accomplished poet Gulle continues his journey through the sensual and sensical body electric with his latest collection. The poems are literate and lyrical, sexy and senti, but all deliciously playful.