Reviving your bookmarks
While much has been written in the West about the demise of print, here in the Philippines, we in the industry — whether in newspapers, magazines or books — know that the key to survival and relevance lies in content. It doesn’t matter in which form the public acquires the information, whether in actual print format or via digital space/social media — what is important is that the “data”/content is sought for, retrieved, and absorbed. And there lies our raison d’être. To educate, to inform, to entertain, to enlighten. The creation of content is still of the essence, and it may only be a matter of adaptation or diversification in the dissemination of said content. While ABS-CBN Publishing Inc. (API) has been known for its magazines for some two decades now, it was only recently that it went full blast with that most antediluvian of concepts, books!
The book division of API may be a relatively young “player,” but thanks to heady decision-making on which book projects to embark on, it has quickly amassed an impressive list of National Book Store bestsellers. If you peruse the NBS Bestsellers chart, topping the list of locally authored books for the last three months (ever since its release) has been Miriam Defensor-Santiago’s Stupid Is Forever. And hot on her heels is Alex Gonzaga’s guide to breaking up. Boy Abunda’s tribute to his mother and Ramon Bautista’s flip side of how to stay a gentleman when breaking up with a girl, are similarly titles coming courtesy of API. At first glance, it may seem to be a diverse selection; but given the ABS provenance, one can glean how the titles are personality/celebrity driven, and yet tap into the zeitgeist of our society today. As Mark Yambot, CEO of API, expounds, “It’s about creating ‘conversations’ with the public via our books. Different sectors will have different concerns and/or interests, and while keeping a steady eye on the business aspect, we try to engage into as many such conversations as possible.”
And beyond the more populist fare mentioned above, API also strives to publish “prestige” titles. The Juan Ponce-Enrile biography and the Patrick Rosas book of makeup and portrait photography are just two examples. Last week saw the launching event of Armida Siguion-Reyna’s book — Armida. And the evening was a potent blend of personalities from the world of politics, society, industry, and of course, entertainment. No surprise there, as Armida is living Philippine cultural history — TV and movie producer, actress of theater and film, champion of the kundiman and traditional Philippine songs and music. It seems there was always a variety of caps Armida would don and turn into a cause we couldn’t resist. Mercurial, persuasive with a “capital P,” and never anything less than entertaining. I was fortunate enough to meet her during the heyday of Reyna Films, got to befriend the family, and was overjoyed to see her book come to reality. Part unfinished memoir, part biography written by Nelson Navarro, edited by daughter Monique, and full of photos and anecdotes; the book is a treasure chest, a slice of history unleashed.
And as was evident during that launch, more than the sum of its parts, the book is not just about one extraordinary woman, but testimony to a family banding together to produce a lasting testament — celebrating a life that has touched so many.
Groping in the Dark
There’s both literal and metaphorical blindness happening in these three wonderful novels. And they’re all great reads to bring to the beach or for a laid back weekend. Enjoy!
The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith (available at National Book Store) Hate to say it, but Cormoran Strike does strike again on this second outing. It’s probably the worst-kept secret of the book business, that Robert Galbraith, the new star of crime fiction, is no other than JK Rowling. And in this installment, Rowling once again displays her gift for intricate plotting, and deftly creating vivid characters. A grumpy, disheveled, crippled detective who is the illegitimate son of an aging rock star, Strike has been one of Galbraith/Rowling’s more sympathetic creations. The wonderful chemistry between Strike and his secretary Robin is also developed further, and there’s a more than interesting plot that revolves around a murdered novelist and his “poison pen.” Blinding talent on display!
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr (available at National Book Store) Set in France during World War II, this novel is marked by a double-helix narrative that converges at the end, and by haunting, beautiful language. In one narrative, Marie-Laure is a blind 12-year-old whose father takes care of the locks at the Paris Natural History Museum. The other narrative concerns orphan Werner in a German coal mine town who dreams of science, and becomes fascinated with the wireless radio. When the Nazi forces occupy France, Marie-Laure and her father travel to Saint-Malo, Brittany, the father entrusted with a priceless diamond that was kept at the museum. The magical quality of this story comes from the very compassionate portrayal of the main characters.
Lost for Words: A Novel by Edward St. Aubyn (available on Amazon.com) At the center of this novel by St. Aubyn is Literature’s Elysian Prize (think Booker); and what emerges is a hysterical look at today’s world of writers, and those who hover around and influence said world — from publishers, to editors and critics. How even this world has become celebrity obsessed gets a right skewering. The vanity of those pursuing the Prize is more than matched by the vanity of those selected to grant the Prize. From dour existential writer, to femme fatale novelist, and your Indian or Aussie out to write the next Great English Novel, they’re all assembled for our entertainment. Hilarious how a cookbook with a smattering of family anecdotes is considered as serious literature. Blindingly funny!
