Fully Booked Katip is a place I regularly pass by whenever I get picked up. My dad comes from the…read morenorth, so I chill at Regis Center while waiting for him. This particular branch is really fun to stay in, because it's hardly ever full. The staff are used to dealing with the "college kid" demographic, and know all the latest Young Adult or Romance hits, and are very responsive when you want to have one ordered from another branch to be picked up or to pre-order a book. It's especially nice to hole up in the back part of the branch or in the couch seat in one corner and just will the hours away. There's fancy stationary and pens available too, if you find yourself short of any. Another thing I love about it is how it's right next to a Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf branch, where you can enjoy your latest book buy with some warm tea and pastries to keep you company.

Fully Booked is the heaven of book lovers! They have great selections of all sorts, and even a…read morego-to for comic books and graphic novels. The store gives a classy and comfortable vibe. Conveniently placed in Katipunan, students, teachers and even parents are the usual customers who drop by at this branch. I personally go to Fully Booked to buy quality art supplies that may not be found in other bookstores. I also find some of their items exclusive that's great for gift shopping. This particular branch may not be big enough to house the particular item(s) you're looking for, but the staff can help you find them at the other bigger branches in the metro. The downside for me is that their items can be pricey and buying from there can make your wallet cry :( However, the place for me can be a good treat-yourself once in a while. It will also help to avail their membership card if you're planning to buy books and supplies there regularly. I will surely drop by Fully Booked once in a while to update myself with cool art stuff and perhaps buy a book as well. :)

National Book Store is one of the largest and most popular bookstore chains out there. Despite the…read moreincrease of trendier bookstores in the Philippines like Power Books and Fully Booked, National Book Store still remains on top. Unlike its counterparts, National Book Store sells books and supplies at very affordable prices. They have a wide selection of cheap and premium items and they are always complete. I have been to other bookstores trying to look for supplies I needed in school, but they are always incomplete. I just hope that other bookstores would finally start offering things that people actually need, rather than selling cute and expensive key chains and stuffed toys that are completely unnecessary. I also like the National Book Store branch in Katip, because it's so big. It has two floors and it will literally take you half an hour to explore the whole place. National Book Store also sells popular bestselling novels. You can pre-order any book online.

Being in the field of education, I never really outgrew shopping for first day of classes…read more Nowadays, it seems hectic and such a struggle because of the crowd, but for me, tyempuhan lang. I love shopping for school supplies - fresh sharpies and white board markers, erasers, colored paper, gel pens, STAMPS. I am obsessed with them. But sometimes, school supply stores don't carry certain items, let alone cute ones. Since I live relatively near National's Bookstore along Katipunan, I feel lucky that I can easily access a wide range of books and materials. PROS: This store is huge and wide! One part for books and the other for school and office supplies - but equally gargantuan in space. This means so much choices and variety;O of the things I like about National Bookstore is that a lot of their wares are affordable. You may get to spend a fortune only after filling up your cart or maybe buying book sets. CONS: It's on the older side so it's not as modernly designed as, say, the Trinoma branch; The attendants are a bit grumpy. We all have our bad days, I guess. TL;DR: I am loyal and a fervent customer of National Bookstore, and this branch cements my devotion to the store.

The Loyola Schools Bookstore has been many an Atenean's knight in shining armor whenever there's a…read moreneed for school supplies and Fully Booked or National Bookstore are too far away and their next class is coming up. It's taken up nearly the entire MVP Basement, and is filled with office and school supplies to keep your schooling needs complete. Other than that, LS Bookstore also offers some Atenean clothing apparel, which makes it a point of interest for fans of UAAP Ateneo teams or just the Ateneo in general. My dad who graduated in the 90s hounds me to buy him the latest hoodies and polo shirts. Other than that, they offer printing services cheaper than those in the Rizal Lib, and they even offer bookbinding services. The iCampus store is an official reseller of Apple products, and they even give an okay discount to students. Surprisingly, the LS Bookstore is also a good place to hang out or do a paper - it's usually quiet, it's fully air conditioned, and there aren't a lot of contenders for the wifi connection in the area.

Loyola Schools Bookstore is definitely my savior! Whenever I pass a final paper on time or I have a…read morepen to answer all of my exams and quizzes, I owe it all to this bookstore. This place has everything. From notebooks to books to smart phones and smart phone cases--this book store is your go-to place. They even sell Ateneo-themed clothing in case you want to wear one while cheering for Ateneo in the UAAP. Loyola Schools Bookstore also has a SMART Communications Center for anyone looking for a new smart phone plan. They also have an Intermatrix branch stationed inside for printing and photocopying services. For all the book-lovers out there, this place also has a collection of the newest and most popular books. They have autobiographies of famous people like One Direction, romantic novels by The New York Times bestselling author John Green, and classical novels that you can read over and over again. In case you're not interested in buying anything, you can just chill and relax with your friends in the couches placed there (HOORAY FOR AIR CONDITIONED PLACES IN ATENEO).

From the founders of Bookay-Ukay, this small place full of books is quite similar to the original…read morestore, with a variety of books, from bestselling authors like Paulo Coelho to not-so-mainstream finds like Chocolat by Joanne Harris. They also have old books you won't find in National Bookstore or Powerbooks anymore, like Sweet Valley High and Nancy Drew. Those books certainly brought me down memory lane. The books are grouped according to categories, though there are no category titles. The books are slightly cheaper than the books you would find in mainstream bookstores, but still more expensive than those you would find in other secondhand bookstores like Booksale. But if you're just near BookFellas or Bookay-Ukay, why not buy from them if you find a book you like, also to support small local businesses like these? I remember buying hard-to-find books from Bookay-Ukay. I would do the same for BookFellas, should I find a book I really like. On my first visit, though, I was just happy browsing. BookFellas is located just beside two food places, Happy Kitchen and Abra Miki ni Nanay. So, when you get hungry after book browsing, you can conveniently eat at any of these places. In my case, I browsed books while waiting for my order.

A fine meal on a low budget, a nice dress at a bargain price, a good book at 1/5 or 1/10 of its…read moreoriginal cost. These are some of our small consolations in this world riddled with inflation. The third consolation, I experienced once when I bought a thick Prentice Hall hardbound book at Chapters and Pages, an unpretentious book sale located in the corridor of the 2nd level of Blue Wave mall. That book would have easily cost me a thousand pesos or probably much more, but at Chapters and Pages, I got it for around 300 pesos. And the catch: The book was still pretty new being its latest edition. It even beat the copy in our university library which was an earlier edition! I also happen to know someone who gets his inspirational books from the same source. Sometimes he has good finds at 30 pesos or so. That price is even less than a dollar! They may be previously owned books but still in good, readable shape. And, I'm sure, for that price, you wouldn't mind tiny pen marks or the smell of shelf dust. Many of us love to window shop. Chapters and Pages has no windows, only shelves, but it is well-worth checking out and circling the small area and scanning the volumes on sale.

UVLA is one of my favorite stores to visit in Cubao Expo. It is one of the many antique shops in…read morethe compound but it has a bit more of a quirky twist to it compared to the rest of the antique shops in Cubao Ex. It is where i bought my skeleton pipe made out of resin. It's got a lot of old toys and collectibles that would make a great addition to your home or the perfect gift to give a special friend. Some items you will find here are collector's items from Disney like music boxes or cartoon figures from their iconic films. Band merchandise can also be found here like Beatles posters, lunchboxes, mugs, and much more. You can also find merchandise with iconic actresses like Marilyn Monroe. The rest of the store features home furniture that will take you to another era and perhaps leave you nostalgic which will make you buy something. Maybe it becomes harder to let go of the thinga here because they are all waiting for someone to take them home and treat them with the proper care they deserve.

The owners call it a "nostalgia store from Cubao X". True to their words, UVLA Store sells…read morepre-loved vintage items; but not exclusively though. The whole shop is an air-conditioned treasure trove of all things old and lovely, and some local artworks and prints thrown in. That's where I got my sticker set designed by Yas Doctor, one of my favorite artists. I like that they put a jar of candy near the entrance so you have something to munch on while spazzing over all the finds you can... well, find. If you're a lover of toy figures from the previous century, you can go there. If you're an avid matchbox collector, they got you covered. The prices, though, depend. They got postcards that you can get for as low as Php 40, or maybe even lower, and then the newer art stuff they offer are priced around Php 100. The sticker set I got was around Php 150, which was well worth it.

I love passing by this Booksale branch every time I'm in the area of Cubao. The fact that it's so…read moreconveniently located nearby Cubao Expo (on the way towards it if you're coming from Farmer's or Gateway) makes it a very tempting stop over before my day drink ventures. Although the book selection is a bit pricier than the branches I frequent, I also noticed that the items here were of newer stock. The children's books are also not as old and worn out as I would have expected but that and the surplus stock they have comes with a price which reaches about Php 70 and above but never more than Php 180. I've bought a few kiddie books here with regret to the price but these purchases have quickly become one of the favorite books of my daughter. I also decided to check out what I like to call "the mahal section" where books range from Php110 to Php200 and found a book that stood out because the sticker on it said it was one of the New York Times Bestseller's List so I bought the book even if it was crazy expensive for my taste (Php 115) especially from an author I've never had before. It was such a good book I couldn't put it down on the MRT ride home and I still do make a special reading time for it para sulit ang basa.

I always knew that Starmall EDSA-Shaw is a good place to hunt for bargain items. But it's only…read morerecently that I discovered Japan Selection on the second floor. At first glance, the store looked like just any ordinary thrift shop selling Japan-made goods. Look closer, or better yet get inside, and you will see that they are more than just the usual stocks of cookware, kitchen gadgets, chopsticks, Lucky (or Pocky) biscuit sticks, and whatnots from the land of the rising sun. They sell second-hand appliances on an 'as is, where is' basis. This means they will test the appliance you want to buy in the store. But if it doesn't work later when you bring it home, you can't claim a refund. They also have pre-owned baby strollers and other baby furniture. Heck, they even have used surfboards. What really lured me to the place was the stacks of original Japanese manga comics, many of them are Naruto. I was giddy because my cousin who's learning how to read and write Japanese can now spice up his studies by reading one of his favorite manga/anime series in its original language. Without hesitation, I grabbed three books to buy. Right across the manga section was the used toy shelves. Here, I found countless Ultraman figures, diecast cars, robots, and baby toys. Clumsy me grazed one of the items on a shelf and it fell with a beautiful percussive sound. When I picked it up, I realized that it was a bamboo baby rattle. I bought it for twenty bucks to use as decoration at home. The only downside to Japan Selections is their dusty, topsy-turvy store. If you suffer from asthma, better stay out.