I stumbled into the Lagusnilad underpass one rainy afternoon last month, dodging puddles and trying…read moreto cut through from Taft to City Hall. Wasn't even looking for books--just wanted dry feet--but there it was, this cozy little chaos of shelves tucked between the clothing stalls. The smell hit me first: old paper, a bit of dust, and that unmistakable comfort of a real secondhand bookstore. The guy behind the counter (think his name was Aj?) looked up, smiled like he'd been expecting me, and asked what I was in the mood for. No pressure, just genuine curiosity. I ended up spending almost an hour there, flipping through worn paperbacks and hardcovers that felt like they'd lived interesting lives. Found a beat-up but complete set of Garcia Marquez short stories for P250 and a pristine copy of "The Shadow of the Wind" that I'd been hunting forever. Prices were ridiculously fair--nothing over P400--and the selection is surprisingly deep for such a small space: classics, Filipino lit, sci-fi, even some niche non-fiction. They've got everything neatly sorted by genre now (huge improvement from the early days I've heard about), and if something's buried in the back, they'll dig it out without making you feel like you're inconveniencing them. What really sealed it for me was the conversation. We chatted about favorite authors, he recommended a couple of newer Filipino titles I hadn't heard of, and even held a book I wanted for a few days when I realized I didn't have enough cash. Super chill, knowledgeable, and clearly passionate about books--not just selling them. I've been back twice since, and every time it feels like visiting an old friend who happens to run the best hidden bookstore in Manila. If you're anywhere near Intramuros or Taft, duck in--you won't regret it. Absolute gem. Five bright, dusty, book-scented stars.

As a new university library, we need new books with subject coverage on Business Administration…read moreProgram and courses. We need books on every BA books avaiable locally from your bookshop. Please send me list of all books / titles under the course program Business Administration. Under each are courses or subjects with titles of books on them. Kindly send to my email address: dickorense77@gmail.com and deorense@amaes.edu.ph My contact no is 09293172259. Thank you and best regards, Dr. Dick E. Orense, Ed.D.

This is one of my favorite bookstores in the Philippines. I love the aesthetic inside and how it…read morewas laid out especially when they have photo of a woman create with books. It was also bonus that my book, Bridging the Confidence, was available at this location. Definitely a must go if you love book stores.

Bookstore -- more than books! (MANILA Philippines)…read more My two daughters would absolutely love this bookstore if we had one in the U.S. My 10-year old niece who resides in the Philippines introduced me to this store when I told her that I was looking for Sonny Angel merchandise for my adult daughter at home who loves this stuff. Not only did they have them but they had so many different kinds of Pop Mart blind box merchandise meaning you do not know which figure you will receive until you buy one and open the box. The bookstore also carries a good selection of Manga books series which my other daughter would be excited to see. For Yuko Shimizu fans... they sell the mural shirts here too. After all the searching for the Sonny Angel merch I was glad to find them in this bookstore and surprised my child with the plush. Customer service was excellent, they were very friendly and helpful. Great prices! The bookstore is located in the Mitsukoshi BGC in Taguig Metro Manila. Review #3294

I'm probably the only Pinoy I know who hates the concept of Filipino time, and as such, when my…read morefriends and I decide to meet up, I'm often the first to arrive. To kill time, I always, ALWAYS go to the bookstore. It's not difficult for me to wander around a bookstore, find a gem that I can read or leaf through for hours and hours. Before I know it, my phone starts beeping incessantly, flooded with messages from my friends, asking me where the hell I am. Fully Booked in Rockwell has always been one of my favorite bookstores in the metro, partly because I've been going here since it was still called Page One, and located at the ground floor of the mall. The book selection, from the new age section, the cooking section to the graphic novels (if this gives you any indication of what kind of person I am) are always well-stocked. I even enjoy the bestsellers they have on display, which are always timely and unique. The layout of the store is large enough for me to always find a quiet spot to read without being harassed by anything or anyone - except maybe for my cellphone. I should just probably put it on silent mode, I guess.

There are three major bookstores in the Philippines: National Bookstore, Powerbooks and Fully…read moreBooked. National Bookstore is the most comprehensive when it comes to textbooks but Fully Booked is the best with all others. They have a great selection, far more detailed and complete than other bookstores. They also have a lot of rare books and special editions. Aside from their collection, the customer service of Fully Booked is fantastic. The staff is always bright-eyed and well-mannered. They smile with you and easily remember who you are. They also have several services that are unique to Fully Booked branches alone. For one, you can reserve books before they even come out. Once the book becomes available Fully Booked will notify you through text that your book has arrived. You can also have books transferred from one branch to another. If a book is only available in the Fort or even, Cebu, you can have it transferred to the branch nearest you. Another service is if the book that you want is out of stock, you can ask them to replenish their inventory. All these are of no extra cost to you. Also, if the book that you want isn't in their database, you can request them to order it for you also with no extra charge. Most bookstores charge double for this service. Downside, it will usually take them 4 to 8 weeks to get here but that's usually the estimate regardless of where you ask it from. There's also a common misconception that Fully Booked is the more expensive bookstore. People think they charge more for their books, if you scout around though and compare prices you will be surprised to find that more often than not, Fully Booked is the one that sells the book at a lower price. I am speaking of the same quality, the same edition; it's cheaper.

With more and more interest going into the "nerdy" or "geek" culture, comic shops and hobby shops…read morehave arisen to provide specialty shop services to the growing population. So, where would one go for both? One option would be Filbar's, which manages to sell comic books, cards and figurines of superheroes and occasionally favorite fantasy characters from Japanese Anime as well. With these shops scattered all over, one can imagine a network of these subcultures managing to tell each other about the latest small place where one can pick up a comic or a toy or even a card game that caters to their hobbies and interests. This branch of Filbar's in particular is conveniently located inside a mall and looks more like an open stall than an enclosed store thus permitting even girls like me to get in on the trend. The layout and location of the store diminishes any sense of hesitation that uninitiated yet curious passersby may feel and the general interest magazines displayed in the front portion seems to be an effective ploy to get any mall-goer to do the first step: check out the store. With Filbar's around, we can be comfortable showing our curiosity and openness for this new culture.

The resurgence of the old-school activity of listening to vinyl records has had quite a renaissance…read moreamongst Manila's young, trendy (and hipster) crowd. Some kids whose parents (or even grandparents) used to be avid record collectors are lucky since they automatically become the cool recipient of such treasured hand-me-downs. But for the majority, one has to build a record collection from scratch, and that can be quite a heavy burden on the bank account. Enter Bebop Records, a long-standing vinyl record shop in the basement of Makati Cinema Square, which is one of the best-kept secrets the place has to offer. What's great about Bebop Records is that its prices for records, especially second-hand ones, are very affordable. They don't have a lot of the newer, indie stuff and that is a-ok. If you've got a thirst for the second-hand, classic records of our parents, even parents' parents youth, this is the place to be.

Cool guitar store - Filipino made by Ramon Jacinto (RJ) . Limited selection of nylon string…read moreguitars though but I really love the game workmanship and beauty of the mahogany wood and appliqués of the steel string guitars that RJ made.

RJ Guitars is the place to go if you are looking for affordable musical instruments. Last year, I…read morechanced upon RJ's birthday sale in Robinson's Galleria with my girlfriend. They had this promo where every hour, from opening until closing, the discount gets bigger. Since we were there near closing, the discount was already at a whopping 40%. She didn't think twice to fall in line and choose among the instruments propped up against the wall. Although the selection was a bit limited because they were almost closing, they still had a few items that were worth lining up for. The line wasn't that bad, by the way, and the salespeople tried their best to help out everyone even if the store was a bit crowded. In the end, we were able to buy a pretty decent ukulele that was imported from Korea for around 3,000 Pesos. For starter musicians, I suggest putting RJ's birthday on your calendar because the sale definitely worth it.

We stopped by here to look for books for my classes, but I didn't find anything that would be…read moreuseful. What I drooled over were their stock of stationery and pens. Omg their selection of pens is pretty incredible. There were several aisles of different kinds and colors of pens, markers and pencils imaginable. I was so tempted to buy pens 'cause they were so inexpensive, but then I saw the line and I didn't want to wait. It's Christmas time so it's a super busy time in the mall. This bookstore also had lots of toys on the ground floor, and art and school supplies on the 2nd floor.

Nobody was willing to help. Either staff were busy with their task or chatting with other staff…read more Noone offers to help you find things. The cashier was not nice.

Astrovision (also known as Astroplus) is your number one source for legitimate DVDs, music CDs and…read moreaccessories for your music. These days, it's very easy to simply download movies and music, despite the internet speed. Most people prefer to just be patient and wait the couple days for the download to complete, since it's free. Personally, some music CDs are worth getting, since the crisp and sound quality of some artists just sound better off of an original CD than a substandard pirated copy. The same goes for DVDs, as some people who get DVDs off the street are just getting a potato camera quality, compare to the clear copy you'll get from Astrovision. I also quite like their selection of headphones and speakers - they'll carry some of the more affordable brands like Feels, to higher-end brands like Philips and Harman Kardon. The sales people all know their stuff, and they can recommend the best accessory (or music taste) for your needs. Did I mention some of them sing karaoke part-time?

"What's that?" I asked. "Let's go! It looks like a comic…read moreshop," my friend Mica said. We were on our way out of the mall already when we saw the posted for Planet X Comic Shop. We went back to the third level of Glorietta and checked out the store. It was small, but well lit. The staff greeted us immediately and within seconds we found out their names were Jay and Sol. We told them it was our first time to the shop and they said it was obvious as we were oooh-ing and ahhh-ing and drooling over the things we wanted. Mica went crazy over the comics. Remember I said it was a small shop? It is. But they have a good selection of comics. I was interested in this book they had about Marvel and the way they do things. Then I checked the price and knew I wasn't going home with the book that day. "Mica, I need a job," I wailed. "I want this Captain America toy but it's 12K," Mica replied. Jay and Sol assured us that they have sales and everything becomes cheaper for a few days. Well, I can't wait for that day. For now, I'll be checking this shop every time I'm here to see what other new items they have.

In the Makati area, this is the best comic book shop where you can have comics (either new or…read morebackordered) reserved to you on a weekly basis (called a pull list). Customer service is awesome because of Eric, the shop's proprietor. I've been a patron of theirs since 2009 and even though there are other bigger comics shops in Manila, I always go back here. Plus, on every first Saturday of May every year, they are among the local comic book shops in Manila that participate in Free Comic Book Day, where anyone can get a free comic book of they choosing, free of charge, no strings attached.