FILIPINO BOOKS, A thread that lists books on Filipino culture Options

[nenabunena]

Finding good, accurate, & dependable books on Filipino culture is difficult to come by because unlike English books where you can find a wealth of reviews & information on the internet, Filipino books are rare & usually unseen, even within Philippine society. So let's all help make each others lives easier by listing the books we all would recommend & why, & where to find them if possible.

So here is a a thread in which everyone can share Filipino books they would like to recommend, as well as post some summary & reviews to help all of us sift through & spread knowledge on Filipino culture. For the New Year, I have made a resolution: to spread Filipino knowledge via gift giving, & these gifts would all represent Filipino culture in 1 way or another, with each gift suitable for the individual recipient.

Also, don't forget to state if it's in English or Filipino, & for literature like Rizal, state which version is the best.


The very 1st book I would like to recommend is William Henry Scott's BARANGAY

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

This book presents a sixteenth-century Philippine ethnography based on contemporaneous sources. It does not attempt to reconstruct that society by consideration of present Philippine societies, or of features believed to be common to all Austronesian peoples. Nor does it seek similarities with neighboring cultures in Southeast Asia, though the raw data presented should be of use to scholars who might wish to do so. Rather, it seeks to answer the question: What did the Spaniards actually say about the Filipino people when they first met them? It is hoped that the answer to that question will permit Filipino readers today to pay a vicarious visit to the land of their ancestors four centuries ago.

Part 1 describes Visayan culture in eight chapters on physical appearance, food and farming, trades and commerce, religion, literature and entertainment, natural science, social organization, and warfare. Part 2 surveys the rest of the archipelago from south to north.

This book is essential as it's well researched, & easy to digest, in other words, it's for mass-consumption. It's primary focus are the Bisayans, followed by both the Tagalogs & the Mindanaoans.

Here is 1 review of Scott's book:

No review of mine would do justice to this groundbreaking book.

The author, Dr. William Henry Scott, taught my Asian Civilizations class decades ago. In his lifetime as a former Episcopalian missionary turned historian whose immersion in all things Filipino put the native-born to shame, he systematically chipped away at the misguided, knee-jerk notions and outright lies about Philippine history with an unprecedented scholarly approach that was informed by archaeology, linguistics and other disciplines.

I remember how roundly Prof. Scott criticized Zaide for the fake Code of Kalantiao the latter felt he needed to invent. The truth is much more fascinating, as the book shows, based as it is on a lifetime of painstaking research and work.

For a learned book, Barangay is an easy, entertaining read (for me, anyway) and should be required reading for all people of Filipino descent. It both informs and (even if Scott didn't set out to do so) empowers the Filipino, especially those among us who are tired of being beaten down by the prejudice and racism of the ignorant.

For someone who originally came to the Philippines ostensibly to convert people to his beliefs, Scott ended up offering a labor of love to his adopted people that celebrated who they truly are.

I cannot stress how vital this book is, every Filipino household should have this, for both parents & children alike. It is time for us to be aware of our roots & time for all of us to be a little more pro-active in spreading knowledge & genuine love for Filipino history & culture. How can you say that you love being Filipino when you have no drive or incentive to know more about yourself, your culture, your ancestors, & your neighbors?

This post has been edited by nenabunena: Jan 15 2012, 09:53 AM

[AnybodyKiller]

Thanks!

I've been looking for some good books for a long time!


EDIT:
Ordered the first one

We already have a Tagalog-English dictionary.

The third one is 40 dollars cheapest one I can find online. I may just go to a library for that one.

This post has been edited by AnybodyKiller: Jan 15 2012, 03:39 PM

[nenabunena]

Thanks!

I've been looking for some good books for a long time!


EDIT:
Ordered the first one

We already have a Tagalog-English dictionary.

The third one is 40 dollars cheapest one I can find online. I may just go to a library for that one.

If it's too expensive, I buy the 2nd hand instead. I have a Tagalog -English dictionary as well but it's hard to find good Tagalog dictionaries so I bought this version above, but I'll probably get it on March, I'm having my package sent over via Balikbayan box to save shipping cost.

There are others I'd like to recommend but I'll leave it as is for some posters to contribute. Have you read Rizal's work? There are various versions, I'd like to know which is the best. The newest english version was released by Penguin classics. Both Noli & Fili were required readings in school but I passed by schoolworkd via reading the comic version instead, lol! I'd recommend the komiks too, especially for the kids if you want to get them interested in Filipino history. Anyway, if we had someone here who has read various versions of both Noli & Fili, perhaps they could recommend which is the best one to have (except the original Spanish version that is).

This post has been edited by nenabunena: Jan 15 2012, 04:53 PM

[AnybodyKiller]

If it's too expensive, I buy the 2nd hand instead. I have a Tagalog -English dictionary as well but it's hard to find good Tagalog dictionaries so I bought this version above, but I'll probably get it on March, I'm having my package sent over via Balikbayan box to save shipping cost.

There are others I'd like to recommend but I'll leave it as is for some posters to contribute. Have you read Rizal's work? There are various versions, I'd like to know which is the best. The newest english version was released by Penguin classics. Both Noli & Fili were required readings in school but I passed by schoolworkd via reading the comic version instead, lol! I'd recommend the komiks too, especially for the kids if you want to get them interested in Filipino history. Anyway, if we had someone here who has read various versions of both Noli & Fili, perhaps they could recommend which is the best one to have (except the original Spanish version that is).

I read Noli Me Tangere a few years back. I have yet to read Fili. Lol! They have comic versions? I never knew that. I might have to get those for my nephews and nieces for their birthdays! I used to do that too as a kid, watch the movie instead of reading the book.

One book I was recommended and read in high school was "Dogeaters" by Jessica Hagedom. It was a good book, but it didn't live up to the "life changing" recommendation it got from our Asian/Pacific Islander after school club teacher. Some of the characters (Joey Sands) and events seemed a little surreal. A lot of people I've met said they really enjoyed it also though.

This post has been edited by AnybodyKiller: Jan 15 2012, 06:23 PM

[nenabunena]

I read Noli Me Tangere a few years back. I have yet to read Fili. Lol! They have comic versions? I never knew that. I might have to get those for my nephews and nieces for their birthdays! I used to do that too as a kid, watch the movie instead of reading the book.

One book I was recommended and read in high school was "Dogeaters" by Jessica Hagedom. It was a good book, but it didn't live up to the "life changing" recommendation it got from our Asian/Pacific Islander after school club teacher. Some of the characters (Joey Sands) and events seemed a little surreal. A lot of people I've met said they really enjoyed it also though.

LOL! Yep! We have komik versions of Noli & Fili, there's even an Ibong Adarna & Lapu-Lapu komik! Though I passed my Ibong Adarna with 100% flying colors with no komik! Very proud of that!

There's an english & tagalog version of both Noli & Fili!

I still have my komiks actually!

Here's the english version of Noli on Amazon: Noli Komiks



Here's El Fili on Amazon, also english version: El Fili Komiks



But I also recommend buying the Tagalog version for those who would like to practice reading & expanding their Tagalog, comics would make a good avenue for this! Both versions above have their Tagalog versions on Amazon as well!

PS. Here's what the Penguin Classic Noli & Fili looks like:



Thank you for recommending 'Dogeaters! Never heard of it before! I put it on my wishlist for my next buying spree batch!

Here's the Amazon link to Dogeaters btw: Amazon

^^^Mura lang noh?

Book Description:

Jessica Hagedorn has transformed her bestselling novel about the Philippines during the reign of Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos into an equally powerful theatrical piece that is a multi-layered tour de force. As Harold Bloom writes, "Hagedorn expresses the conflicts experienced by Asian immigrants caught between cultures . . . she takes aim at racism in the U.S. and develops in her dramas the themes of displacement and the search for belonging."

Jessica Hagedorn is a performance artist, poet, novelist and playwright, born and raised in the Philippines. Her novels include Dogeaters (Penguin 1990) which was nominated for a National Book Award and The Gangster of Love (Penguin 1996); a short story collection, Danger and Beauty (City Lights 2002).

Editorial Reviews:

From Publishers Weekly
This novel, set in the politically volatile Philippines of the recent past, offers the diverse impressions of a well-to-do Manilan schoolgirl, a DJ/male prostitute and the Philippines's candid First Lady, among others. "Although in many respects a thinly disguised roman a clef, the book succeeds on the strength of its characterization," said PW. "Hagedorn's unflinching view of Manila . . . is leavened by ironic, often humorous observations."
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.


From Library Journal
This jazzy, sardonic novel depicts the nightmare world that was the Philippines of the Marcoses. Its terrain is familiar to us from the writings of Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Manuel Puig: a lush, fantastical, overheated landscape, where the fractured lives of the poor are rendered palatable solely by dreams. Rich and poor, everyone sells something here; everyone has a price. The common dream of a myriad group of characters--bored teenagers, timid shop girls, male prostitutes on the make--is that hollowest of all modern apotheoses, "stardom." A visiting filmmaker, a German degenerate, buys the services of a pretty boy, who soliloquizes: "I'll have it all worked out, soon. I know I will. I have to. I'll hit the jackpot with one of these guys. Leave town. Get lucky . . . . Soon." This is a novel about the death of the good life of the soul: of all virtue, meaning, and hope. Exceptionally well written and emotionally wrenching. Recommended.
- David Keymer, SUNY Inst. of Technology, Utica
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

This post has been edited by nenabunena: Jan 17 2012, 09:48 AM