Volume 2 of The Digest of Philippine Genre Stories was delivered to our store a few days ago and with the rain in the background, I thought today was a perfect time to do some reading.

It was an afternoon well-spent. We have to congratulate Kenneth (the editor and creator of the magazine) for getting over the second issue hurdle (which can sometimes be more difficult than getting over the first one) and giving us another digest of entertaining short stories by Filipino writers.

You’ll find that some things have changed from the first, but all the good things mentioned in our first post about the digest were kept intact: author profiles, comments from the authors on the writing process, a writing contest, etc. (One thing I did miss from the first one though was the front-to-back cover art spread since this volume has the art entirely on the front cover. Not a big deal, I just thought the cover art looked very nice as a full spread.) My favorite story this time was a mystery in a Philippine fairy tale/mythological setting called “Beneath the Acacia,” by Celestine G. Trinidad. I liked it because I thought it was funny and I enjoy mysteries.

It has to be said that we also love the magazine’s “sincerity.” The magazine truly does exist to showcase local talent, to give us an affordable and entertaining read, and ultimately to contribute to the effort to get Filipinos to read. As someone who has delved into the risky, romantic, and rewarding business of bookselling, this is something I understand and appreciate.

We have a feeling that the digest is going to be around for a while now that it actually has sponsors! Don’t worry, the ad pages will not take away from your reading enjoyment. The digest is available at Booktopia for P100. It’s very handy so you can put it in your purse or fold it into your pocket and whip it out anytime you need an enjoyable read.