To the Stars through Difficulties

Then Sony said something, just under his breath, either to Hai or to just give it to the air, he couldn’t tell. “Why do I feel so terribly sad?” Hai kept very still, pretending to sleep. He told himself if Sony said it again, if he asked for anything else of him, anything in the world, he’d bolt up and tend to it, he’d throw himself at the boy and answer any questions he’d ever had. But Sony…

A moving novel about the lasting weight of a single lie In war-torn Greece during the Holocaust, Nico Krispis is forced to tell a lie that changes his life forever. Manipulated by a Nazi officer, Nico convinces the Jewish families in his town to board trains under the false promise of safety. When he realizes the devastating consequences of his words, the guilt haunts him for the rest of his…

A compelling reexamination of the origins of Western civilisation Challenges the idea that Western civilization developed in isolation. It traces interconnected histories to reveal that Western identity is not a purely European creation but the product of a deeply global past. Geek Rate: 4 out of 5 stars (Sun god Worthy). Instead of portraying the West as a self-contained tradition born solely…

Rizal in context: flawed, curious, and deeply human Jose Rizal as a real, complicated human being rather than a distant national icon. Through short, engaging essays, Ambeth Ocampo digs into everyday details—Rizal’s letters, habits, humor, relationships, and contradictions—to strip away the “heroic overcoat” imposed by textbooks and monuments. Geek Rate: Sky god Worthy (5 out of 5 stars). So…

We present our 2025 list of top TV series. Gold Prize: House of Guinness Geek Score: 4.46/5.00 Measured and confident, the series offers a thoughtful portrait of wealth and tradition where the most consequential battles happen behind closed doors. Rather than relying on spectacle, it draws strength from the performances of Louis Partridge and Anthony Boyle, capturing how influence is…

We present the 2025 Geek Prize list of top 10 best books: Top 10: The Djinn Waits A Hundred Years (Shubnum Khan) Geek Score: 3.49/5.00 The djinn watches the girl extend her hand toward it. It hesitates, coming out of the shadows, considering her outstretched fingers. Slowly, it brings its own to hers. They touch gently. Moving with her father to a once-magnificent seaside mansion, 15-year-old…

Joining Ferdinand Magellan’s voyage around the world? Buy a lot of oranges. Visiting Pompeii and Rome? You need to know the escape routes. Going on a trip via the Titanic? You need more than a life jacket. A guide through our planet’s greatest catastrophes and adventures using the benefits of hindsight and modern science, for the modern time-traveling reader who wants to witness the most…

“Dreams are the kind of things you can—when you need to—borrow and lend out,” I said. I really do overplay these sayings sometimes.“That’s a wonderful idea,” she said. The smile still graced her face.“I don’t have that dream anymore,” she said in parting. “But I still remember every detail. What I saw, the way I felt. I can’t forget it. I probably never will.”Erika Kuritani looked past me,…

“This is a book about history, and about getting things wrong. So naturally, it’s worth pointing out that we often get history very, very wrong.” From why you cannot argue with a MAGA idiot to egomaniacs such as Hitler and that Turkmenistan dictator who instituted a public holiday in honor of melons, this book tells you how humans have really f*cked it all up. Geek Rate: Sky god Worthy (5 out…

“Violence and punishment are necessary in certain situations, but I can’t fathom inflicting pain or terror because you find joy in the immediate practice. You find joy in the retribution, in correcting a wrong or in punishing someone who truly deserves it. I am strengthened by what I do. But I’m not doing it because I get off on seeing someone in pain.“ Grace Bernard meticulously plots revenge…

Panglao Island is home to some of the most stunning beaches, each offering its own charm—from powdery white sand and crystal-clear waters to vibrant marine life perfect for snorkeling and diving. Here’s our geek ranking of Panglao’s beaches for your ideal island getaway. Alona Beach They tried to emulate Boracay’s White Beach with its restaurants, bars, hotels, and coffee shops, but they failed…

Ditch the expensive 1,500 pesos per person cab tour (or the criminally expensive van tours) and ride a motorbike (rent: 400 pesos per day) to experience Bohol’s rustic beauty. So let’s get lost in the countryside, the geek style. Here’s the updated entrance fees as of 2025. Loboc River Lunch PhP 1000 Camugao Falls PhP 100 Blood Compact Shrine Free Heritage Churches Free Bilar Man-Made…

Helios clamped his hands firmly beneath Icarus’s arms, spanning the width of his ribs, so tight that it hurt. But Icarus was frozen, staring at himself in the collage of mirrors.Head thrown back, arms bent and solid, but placed in exactly this way. Arched in exactly this way, he looked fragile and graceful and vulnerable in Helios’s grasp.He looked, for the first time in his life: pretty. Icarus…

Holy sh*t, this Superman is straight up comics version for real A conspiracy threatens to ignite war across nations. With the world watching his every move, Superman must embrace both halves of his identity to become the symbol of unity the earth desperately needs. Geek Rate: Sun god Worthy (4 out of 5 stars). The fact that director James Gunn manages to bring to life the version of Superman…

The fact of it is that it simply remains with you forever, the grief ebbing and flowing with the passage of time, the wound staunched and reopened in turns by the procession of birthdays and Christmases and New Years that somehow continues despite the world having one less person in it to celebrate them. After their deaths, Caroline and Kenny find themselves in a strange and lonely version of…

“They took me outside and people started yelling. Unexpectedly for me, I yelled back to them, “Don’t be afraid of anything!” That was an important moment, the kind when you feel at one with your supporters. They are thinking about you and want to show they are with you. You are thinking about them, and that the regime needs this arrest to frighten them, and you do your utmost to help them not to…

“I’ve learnt somehting from the things I’ve done…cause I’ve taken responsibility for always getting you both into shit.” Moritz is finally free. Upon discovering that Lenny and Dan continue the start-up BonusLife without him, Mo is bent on revenge. A 51 percent takeover of the company is in order. But his drug-dealing past lurks in the shadows, threatening to derail his plans. Geek Rate: Mortal…