Filipino Reader Con 1

I tip my hat to the organizers and volunteers who made the event happen (I know, it's not an easy task and it requires a lot of heart and guts--and food to pull this one off), and the sponsors who showed up and at least recognize the strength of book bloggers. It was a substantial start for a group that formed online, and I see a lot of potentials (from the publisher's point of view) to sell your product, be it personal or collective/collaborative. I agree with Carl Joe's views on the producer/consumer hybrid in the literary market since I think it is also related to the narrowing gap or boundary between the writer and the reader, the journalist and the blogger. To some this gap is actually non existent, as others believe that if you want to be a good writer you must be a good reader (or voracious reader) first. This equation I think attempts to shrink that "academic" gap.

Guest panelists and their stories were interesting, and it's easy to see that they are indeed more popular online, and abroad. For book club admins, stories on how they started their group is equally useful if you plan to build your own group.

I like Tata's stories with Ex Libris given the apparent exclusivity of her group but still able to provide scholarships to college students. How I wish I was able to join her group during my college days even if I have to master first the elvish language. =P

Overall, it was a good start. But I wish to know more people since the time was not enough for me (I came in late) and as expected (since some of them already knew each other), majority of the people flocked within their group. Luckily, somebody from Scholastic gave a seat and that was a good start to exchange ideas, backgrounds, contact details, and opinions.  It was also a good opportunity to finally meet my kababayan/kasimanwa Chris who just planed in from Kalibo.