Out of her rich imagination she drew forth tales of bold princesses and cowardly kings, spurned suitors and ardent lovers, fearless young men and heartless queens. Every conceivable place of enchantment was Lola Basyang’s domain.The First “Kuwento ni Lola Basyang “ appeared in the Tagalog magazine Liwayway in 1925. Its author, Severino Reyes, was the founder and editor of Liwayway as well as a pioneering figure in Tagalog theater. Mr. Reyes wrote more that 400 stories under the pen name Lola Basyang.Tahanan Books has gathered together a literary dream team to produce this landmark collection of twelve tales. Poet and literary critic Bienvenido Lumbera sifted through hundreds of manuscripts to select the best of Reyes’ tales. Acclaimed author and publisher Gilda Cordero-Fernando delivered the original English translation and renowned children’s book illustrator Albert Gamos rendered over 30 unforgettable illustrations.Tahanan’s anthology introduces Lola Basyang to a new generation of readers in English. Open this book, sit at her feet, and let the magic begin.

    But Excel knows that his family is far from normal. His mother, Maxima, was once a Filipina B-movie action star who now makes her living scamming men online. The old man they live with is not his grandfather, but Maxima’s lifelong martial arts trainer. And years ago, on Excel’s tenth birthday, Maxima revealed a secret that he must keep forever. “We are ‘TNT’—tago ng tago,” she told him, “hiding and hiding.” Excel is undocumented—and one accidental slip could uproot his entire life.Casting aside the paranoia and secrecy of his childhood, Excel takes a leap, joining Sab on a journey south to a ramshackle desert town called Hello City. Populated by drifters, old hippies, and washed-up techies—and existing outside the normal constructs of American society—Hello City offers Excel a chance to forge his own path for the first time. But after so many years of trying to be invisible, who does he want to become? And is it possible to put down roots in a country that has always considered you an outsider?

    As he stumbles through this haze of depression and drugs, he must find a way to cover the biggest story of the year, the presidential election. Armed with only his demented mind and dark sense of humor, Spider embarks on an adventure of political cynicism, horrific sex, and unwelcome celebrity that culminates in a shocking and ruinous ending.

    Marks the seasons of the author's life, her early writing, her work as active media practitioner, and her religio-spiritual writing.

    forces battle to possess the Philippine Islands, the Karangalan family hides with their neighbors in a cramped cellar, where they glean hope from the family stories and folktales they tell each other. These stories of love, survival, and family blend the supernatural with the rich, little known history of the Philippines, the centuries of Spanish colonization, the power of the Catholic church, and the colorful worlds of the Spanish, Mestizo, and Filipino cultures.As the villagers tell their stories in the darkened cellar below, Holthe masterfully weaves in the stories of three brave Filipinos--a teenage brother and sister and a guerilla fighter--as they become caught in the battle against the vicious Japanese forces above ground.Inspired by her father's firsthand accounts of this period, Tess Uriza Holthe brings to magical and terrifying life a story of the hope and courage needed to survive in wartime.

    Told in the voice of its protagonist, Noel Ilustre Bulaong, the narrative travels through familiar social and literary territory: the coconut groves of Bulaong's childhood, Manila's hovels, the Diliman Commune, "UG" safehouse, martial law prisons, and the homes and offices of the petty-bourgeoisie. It is a story of false horizons, of betrayal, compromise, and guilt, and not incidentally of the contemporary middle-class Filipino's migration from the village to the metropolis to the outside world.

    Here are exiles, emigrants, and wanderers uprooting their families from the Philippines to begin new lives in the Middle East, the United States, and elsewhere—and, sometimes, turning back again. A pharmacist living in New York smuggles drugs to his ailing father in Manila, only to discover alarming truths about his family and his past. In Bahrain, a Filipina teacher drawn to a special pupil finds, to her surprise, that she is questioning her own marriage. A college student leans on her brother, a laborer in Saudi Arabia, to support her writing ambitions, without realizing that his is the life truly made for fiction. And in the title story, a journalist and a nurse face an unspeakable trauma amidst the political turmoil of the Philippines in the 1970s and ’80s.In the Country speaks to the heart of everyone who has ever searched for a place to call home. From teachers to housemaids, from mothers to sons, Alvar’s powerful debut collection explores the universal experiences of loss, displacement, and the longing to connect across borders both real and imagined. Deeply compassionate and richly felt, In the Country marks the emergence of a formidable new writer.

    Pushing her boundaries with more challenging technical poetry writing, she hopes her readership would appreciate Daylight Dialogues as much as they did Midnight Monologues.Paperback is already available in Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines and has reached the Best seller's list.

    The author's characteristic wit and insight are again evident in this collection of lectures and conference papers written between the years 1993-1998 and delivered in different schools and gatherings in the country and abroad.

    And no amount of wishes will ever bring her back. Just when they thought she left too soon without saying goodbye, James found out in her diary that she has been preparing for her death all along. This is a story about moving on, living through, and letting go. For in a world of broken promises and unanswered prayers, there will always be that tinge of hope that will make them believe in life again.

    Recognized by industry insiders in the Philippines as “the man perfect to write this book,” the author has been at the helm of various publications, from Manila Standard’s The Good Life, for which he was lifestyle editor for seven years, to Manila Bulletin’s Sense&Style, in which he is the current editor-in-chief. He began practically as the “other editor” of Lifestyle Asia back when it was blazing the trail for glossy magazines in the early nineties. Blurring the distinction between instruction and inspiration, WHWN boldly takes the reader along the author’s adventures and misadventures in the publishing world. With a foreword by ruthless editor and bestselling author Jullie Yap Daza and with vignettes from the country’s top editors and writers, never has any book on writing in the Philippines been such a pleasure to read that it makes you want to “write here write now.”

    In large bowl, mix together college junior and secret crush.2. Gradually add in crush's best bud.3. Stir until best bud’s secret is revealed.4. Let mixture rest in a sleepy provincial town.5. Bake under the blazing summer sun until golden brown (be careful, batter might burn).Tania’s summer is more than she can handle! Her cooking career comes to a screeching halt before it can even take off. Then, best friends Rob and Mateo enter the picture. Can she figure out her feelings for them, AND get the internship credits she needs to make it to senior year?

    On a clear day in winter, the battered corpse of Crispin Salvador is pulled from the Hudson River—taken from the world is the controversial lion of Philippine literature. Gone, too, is the only manuscript of his final book, a work meant to rescue him from obscurity by exposing the crimes of the Filipino ruling families. Miguel, his student and only remaining friend, sets out for Manila to investigate.To understand the death, Miguel scours the life, piecing together Salvador’s story through his poetry, interviews, novels, polemics, and memoirs. The result is a rich and dramatic family saga of four generations, tracing 150 years of Philippine history forged under the Spanish, the Americans, and the Filipinos themselves. Finally, we are surprised to learn that this story belongs to young Miguel as much as to his lost mentor, and we are treated to an unhindered view of a society caught between reckless decay and hopeful progress.Exuberant and wise, wildly funny and deeply moving, Ilustrado explores the hidden truths that haunt every family. It is a daring and inventive debut by a new writer of astonishing talent.

    Now, he takes the role of the eminent icon of caffeine culture in his new book; Too Much Coffee Man's Parade of Tirade. Fill your cup with dark satire and drink deep from these thoughtful, award-winning comics. Witness TMCM's secret origin! Marvel as our hero battles corporate oppression! Experience the anxiety of the author as he claws his way to the top! Gawk at Joel as he throws up on his girlfriend's door step! And revel in Too Much Coffee Man's wisdom; If you can't be happy naturally, be unnaturally happy.This book collects eight Too Much Coffee Man comic books and many newspaper strips, as well as new material. It's a complete book. All the characters are motivated. All the cliffhangers are resolved. All the plot threads are tied up. And all the jokes have punchlines.

    Because of this we have no memory of ourselves: we remember only the last deluge, the last seismic upheaval. Two friends are hired by Marcos to rewrite Philippine history. Their mission: to make it appear that Marcos was destined to rule the country in perpetuity. Working from an office called Agency for the Scientific Investigation of the Absurd, they embark on a journey that will take them across a surreal panorama of Philippine politics and history, and in the process question all their morals and beliefs. This landscape includes mythological sultans, mercenaries, the Beatles, messianic Amerasian rock stars, faith healers, spies, torturers, sycophants, social climbers, sugar barons, millenarian vigilantes, generals and communists--the dizzying farrago of lovers and sinners who populate the country's incredible story. By the end of their project--and this breathtaking novel--the reader emerges from a world that is at once familiar and unbelievable. It's what real life might look like if both heaven and hell were crammed into it, and all its creatures were let loose.