World of Books: Alexa + The Philippines

Everyone has their neighborhood bookstore or their local library they call home. Maybe both even. I know I do - in TWO different cities. World of Books if a bi-weekly feature that allows me - and any of YOU - to share the bookstores and libraries you love so much. If you want to be featured on World of Books too, make sure to go HERE and fill out the contact form!

This week on WORLD OF BOOKS, I bring you Alexa. She's going to tell us alllll about the bookstores she loves in the Philippines.

I’m thrilled to be a part of Gaby’s feature, as it gives me a chance to take you to one of my favorite countries: the Philippines. While I was born in the USA, my family moved back to the Philippines in 1998, and I lived here for a very big part of my life. It’s going to be such a joy to be able to share some of my favorite places with you all – including the bookstore where the boy proposed to me!

Powerbooks 

It’s got a great selection of foreign books and magazines, and they’ve recently started to sell school supplies. While I don’t visit it nearly as often as the others, it’s still a pretty nice place to go and relax and grab a book or two, particularly when I’m in the middle of a shopping trip.

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National Bookstore

This used to be my go-to store for school supplies, mostly because it’s got affordable, cute stuff. I also used to go crazy over the scrapbooking stuff in there too! But now, it’s also become an awesome place to find bargain-priced books. Just a few weeks ago, I found a copy of Daughter of Smoke and Bone for 100pesos (which is roughly around $2.50). It’s definitely one store that my family and I frequent often! 

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Fully Booked 

There are multiple branches of this bookstore in the Philippines, but my favorite is the one located on Bonifacio High Street. Why? Well, it’s four floors of books, complete with café, event spaces and a big record area. This was a store I regularly visited for my book fix back in college, and still visit frequently up until this day. The selection of books in this place is honestly amazing, as it’s a mix of books from the US, UK and Australia. Plus, if you can’t find what you want, it’s highly likely they can order the book for you! (This is also where my fiancé proposed to me.) 

(photo source)

Thanks for joining me on my journey to the Philippines! I hope you enjoyed seeing all these places that I frequented back when I was still living here. I’ve been to visit all of them since I got back at the start of August, and it’s been a lot of fun. Hopefully, when you guys have a chance to visit, you’ll take my advice and visit one of them to grab a new book or two!

Do you have a personal connection to a bookstore? If so, I'm sure Alexa and I would love to hear about it in the comments below!