#bookwormsuniteph

Registration goodies for #PRWF2018 / Photo taken by Ella Mae Garcia, 2018

This is a three-day event of which I only went to one day (because adulting duties had to come first). Thankfully, Sunday was an open day for me and I could not contain my excitement upon stepping into Raffles to join the last day of the festival. The weather was very stubborn on this particular day, but I braved the storms and the flapping of my incessant umbrella to get there.

The first panel I went to was called Always Harry: The Relevance of Harry Potter in celebration of Harry Potter’s 20th Anniversary. This panel showed the relevance of our most beloved Harry Potter in today’s modern era. 

Panelist  Inez Ponce De Leon talked about researching in relevance to our love for reading and gaining new knowledge in relation to some thought-provoking questions we might have about the Harry Potter series that no one asks until now. Next, Ms. Cherie Del Rio talked about the differences between Philippine muggle law and wizarding law, focusing on Harry’s trial in the Order of the Phoenix on his account for using underaged magic. And last, but definitely not the least, we had Anne Frances Sangil talk about consumerism and fetishism when it comes to Harry Potter fans, the level of one’s fangirling/fanboying and how it affects today’s society.

These three women were absolutely brilliant! I was hooked from start to finish, and I’ve learned a little something new about our Philippine law especially with Ms. Inez’s talk. It was all very educational, and I never would have guessed that adding Harry to the mix makes it all the more incredible. I also learned that La Salle held electives for JK Rowling and her books and I’m just shook because why have I not heard that before? Overall, it was an incredible talk--but let’s not forget the other fun parts of this panel.

Stickers won for easy trivia in the Always Harry panel / Photo taken by Ella Mae Garcia, 2018

In between each talk, the MC hosted some trivia games and you could not believe my excitement when I heard that because I immediately thought, “This is my moment.” I’ve read the books more times than I can count and binge-watched the movies more than I can count my reading the books. So I can say that I was pretty knowledgeable.

The first easy questions were, naturally, easy. I answered the second question about the Honeydukes sweets that causes one’s to breathe smoke like a dragon and cried out “Harry!” while standing up to answer Pepper Imps to that. I managed to receive some pretty amazing stickers for my first win. The medium questions were ones I missed because they were a little more in-depth than the first ones. But I redeemed myself in the final round of hard questions as the last person to answer the final question of the day: What is Slughorn’s favorite Honeyduke’s sweet?

I’m gonna be honest, I didn’t even let the guy finish his question. I missed the last 5 questions, and was desperate to win one of those prizes (they gave out Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone in the new edition, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them hardcovers and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban illustrated versions). But as soon as I heard Slughorn + favorite sweet, I immediately rose up to snag my chance. And as soon as the words Crystallized pineapples left my lips--I knew I had it in the bag.

And my prize? The Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban illustrated version, of course!

Myself + Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban Illustrated / Photo taken by Ella Mae Garcia, 2018

My luck turned at the very last second, and I have never been more happy in my life when I hugged this large book to my form. It was every Potterhead’s dream--at least a Potterhead that cannot, for the life of her, afford such beautifully intricate books. I cannot thank National Bookstore and Scholastic Asia enough for this wonderful opportunity. 

Buuuut, the fun doesn’t stop there! Because the last panel I went to was perhaps my most anticipated one yet. You may have already learned about Bookworms Unite PH from one of my bookish features last month! If you haven’t already, make sure to check out my Bookworms Unite PH Year 4 Recap.

And lo and behold, a month later, I find out that my favorite bookish, non-profit organization was going to have a panel for this year’s festival. The panel is called  Bookworms Unite!: Establishing an Inclusive YA Community in the Philippines for the Readers, by the Readers run by JM Cabral (@JMCabraal), Hazel Ureta (@staybookish), Shelumiel Delos Santos (@mielsnickety), Inah Peralta (@inahreads), and Bianca Montierro (@UltmtFangirl).

These guys are probably my favorite group of people in the entire world. They created such a fun, loving and inclusive space for YA lovers like myself, and I cannot thank them enough for all the amazing effort they have done for Filipino readers of this particular genre. That’s why the panel is called for the Readers, by the Readers. It’s basically their organization slogan because they truly aim to make a safe space for all Filipino YA lovers. 

From left to right: Stalking Jack the Ripper (given by JM for #BookishWish), These Rebel Waves (received from Bookworms Unite PH Panel), The Science of Breakable Things and Threads of Blue (received from National Bookstore giveaway), Lost Crow Conspiracy  (received from Bookworms Unite PH Panel), The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer and A Court of Thorns and Roses (given by Bianca for #BookishWish) / Photo taken by Ella Mae Garcia, 2018

Their discussion was mainly about how the group was formed, the little meet ups that turned into actual events, and their plans on going forth with the future of Bookworms Unite PH. They are such an incredible group of people, and I still can’t believe I’ve only ever heard about these guys this year. I am glad I did anyway! I went with one my #LadyBirds, Mighta (@MightZerie) and also saw the lovely Avy (@LittleRed_Dress) in this panel, amazing girls that I’ve met from the Bookworms Unite PH Year 4 event last month.

Overall, it was one heck of an incredible experience! I have to thank Bookworms Unite PH for being super incredible and making every moment a memorable one. Here’s a photo of the aftermath of the event. As you can see, everyone got some pretty cool ARC’s thanks to National Bookstore and Penguin Random House. I told you these guys are awesome!

Panel and guests at the Bookworms Unite!:Establishing an Inclusive YA Community in the Philippines for the Readers, by the Readers / Photo from Bookworms Unite PH

This has been one of my favorite events (second only to Bookworms Unite PH Year 4, of course, hehe!) of the year. And all this that happened on my birth month, which it all the more enjoyable and fun. It truly was an incredible day and unforgettable one that I’ll be talking about for many months to come!

UPON ARRIVAL

I was one of the first seven to arrive on the 21st of July in the Rizal Library. I actually almost got lost the whole way into Ateneo, and had actually met Mighta (@MightaZerie) beforehand. We went into it together, and soon we met the rest of our crew. The whole time waiting, I was floored by how easily I connected with the other early birds. Cue selfies I took with the lot!

First two photos on the left: Top is with Ailla (@MioneJeanPotter), Bottom is with Shai (@themeanderingsoul)

Three photos to the right: Top is with Angel (@whimsy_wanders), Bottom left is with Mighta (@MightaZerie) and Bottom right is with Joanna (@JoannaDerpina)

We’ve pretty much called ourselves #LADYBIRDS considering how we were the early birds of the event. And let me tell you, meeting these gals was perhaps (and I’ve said it once on Twitter) one of the best that’s ever happened on BUPH. Getting to meet a group of girls that I instantly connected with through our love of books makes me thank BUPH for creating such a fun-loving event!

Apart from meeting such fantastic ladies, I managed to get some awesome swag from my little registration kit, which you can find some of them surrounding Reign of the Fallen below!

THE GAMES

There were, essentially, three games during this whole event. And, believe it or not, I actually placed a spot in all three of them! 

I joined the first game: Truths and a Lie: YA Edition with Angel and Shai as my teammates. And we easily took one of the first place of two with all our lucky guesses. My first price was Our Dark Duet by V.E. Schwab which was such a lucky pick! 

The second game was Young Adulting: A YA Trivia Game which I teamed up with Mighta and Ailla and placed third on. Now, for the record, these were all pretty lucky guesses too, since we haven’t read nearly half of what they presented. But lucky guesses gets people places sometimes, so hooray! I got Reign of the Fallen by Sarah Glenn Marsh as my second prize of the day.

And the final game was an absolute clincher, because we did a Guess the Cover game and let me tell you, oh boyyyyy, this one was the toughest game of all. The hosts did not make it easy, but somehow, back with the OG team of myself, Angel and Shai, we managed to place fourth by a landslide. I got Rookie on Love by Tavi Gevinson as my final win of the day!

From left to right: Fragile Eternity by Melissa Marr, Don’t Look Back by Jennifer L. Armentrout,  Heart of Glass by Jill Marie Landis, All We Can Do Is Wait by Richard Lawson, The Last Girl On Earth by Alexandra Blogier, Rookie On Love by Tavi Gevinson, Puddin’ by Julie Murphy, Our Dark Duet by V.E. Schwab, and Reign of the Fallen by Sarah Glenn Marsh

BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE

Of course, how can I forget the amazing Book Blind Date that occurred after the whole mayhem of games and fun? I gave out two books for the blind date, and received two back! 

Though if we’re being honest, I got (3) because one of the guests gave me one of the books she got from the blind date pile. I unfortunately forgot her name, and I wish I had gotten it, because she was so generous into giving me my third one, which had a description about the 1800′s, and I could not believe my luck because I love books about the 1800′s!

The books I got for the Book Blind Date are: Heart of Glass by Jill Marie Landis (the 1800′s book, thank you ate girl, I really wish I got your name ahhh), Don’t Look Back by Jennifer L. Armentrout, and Fragile Eternity by Melissa Marr.

These were such fantastic books and I cannot wait to read them!

THE HOSTS

I can’t close up this recap without thanking the generous and awesome-sauce hosts of Bookworms Unite PH: JM (@bookfreakrevelations), Hazel (@staybookish), Inah (@thebibliophileconfessions), Miel (@bookishandawesome) and Bianca (@notoriouslaylow)!

This event would not be possible without all of their amazing effort into allowing bookworms like me gather with other bookworms in a safe and fun environment! I truly cannot thank you guys enough for all your hard work. Y’all are the real MVP! And I can’t wait to see you guys in this year’s Philippine Readers and Writers Festival happening on August 12. Me and my #ladybirds will come along as one of the firsts once more! :’)

From left to right: Miel, JM, Inah, Hazel (insert Bianca omg where u at gurl)

RELAUNCH GIVEAWAY ! the honest to Merlin one y’all have been waiting for

I salute you for reading through that very long and arduous recap. Or if you didn’t read it, that’s also fine, #noshame! But here we are, and to celebrate the relaunch of thebookishgoddess, I have decided to host a little giveaway for all the amazing support I have gotten from my friends (new and old) and old followers here on Tumblr for my little return. This giveaway is to share one of the wonderful books I have gotten from BUPH, so!

ONE (1) lucky bookworm will get a chance to win my ARC copy of THE LAST GIRL ON EARTH BY ALEXANDRA BLOGIER and A BUTTON PIN OF CHIBI HARRY POTTER!

I’m throwing in Harry in there just for a little extra, and to celebrate his upcoming birthday this July 31st! And here’s some fun stuff, this is open INTERNATIONALLY! Also, if you’re underaged, please ask for permission from your parents. I don’t want the coppers coming after me if your parents find out a stranger on the internet sends you stuff, haha!

GIVEAWAY RULES

MUST be following me on Instagram @thebookishgoddess 

EXTRA ENTRY #1: Reblog this post and follow me on Tumblr (@thebookishgoddess)

EXTRA ENTRY #2: Follow me on Twitter (@mdsummcrs) and reblog my giveaway post!

EXTRA ENTRY #3: Check out Instagram details here

Giveaway ends on 8/7 at GMT+8 (a day before my birthday)! Winners will be chosen via random generator. The winner must respond within 48 hours upon contacting them, otherwise their winning spot will be given to another bookworm!

Thanks so much for reading, and see you all very soon! :’)