Readings-In-Place

Here are some pleasurable reads to enjoy while you ride out your Covid19-imposed social distancing:

As San Francisco Bay Area residents are ordered to shelter-in-place, our publisher Mona Lisa Yuchengco writes her personal take on the current situation in "Love (and Life) In the Time of Coronavirus."

England-based writer Joy Watford introduces the creative, enterprising women who set up a publishing house in Manila called Gantala Press. Read about its vision and mission in "Gantala Press: Bringing Out Women Writers from the Margins."

And speaking of women writers, Rafaelito V. Sy profiles Grace Talusan whose book, The Body Papers, has been tagged an Editor's Choice by the New York Times. "Grace Talusan's Book of Healing and Empowerment" tells us why it is so deserving.

PF Correspondent Myles Garcia digs up another morsel in the overextended saga of Imelda Marcos, this time vis a vis the American heiress Doris Duke in "Imelda's Debt, Which Keeps on Growing."

Here's a new recipe from creative foodie Voltaire Gungab for the Happy Home Cook: Roasted Eggplant Soup with Lime Oil. 

In case you missed these stories:

He gave his wife CPR as she died after contracting coronavirus. Officials won’t test him.
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-03-17/wife-cpr-died-coronavirus-test

Just For Kids: A Comic Exploring The New Coronavirus
https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2020/02/28/809580453/just-for-kids-a-comic-exploring-the-new-coronavirus?fbclid=IwAR1zmlXmQtdMCMqhjnJAXHDakXkIh30FKye4Na4I3jwaq63HAETry8gAtPM

Island Women Rise: The Triumphs and Struggles Of Filipino-American Artists
https://hypebae.com/2020/3/ruby-ibarra-klassy-rocky-rivera-faith-santilla-filipino-american-hip-hop-artists-female-empowerment-immigrants-interview?utm_term=Autofeed&utm_campaign=facebook_post&utm_medium=social&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwAR3Qxe5o_YUS7Z5Ujcwy4vQWbDQQephmDOJZaptVzb4KVpSj-d_LaHmZUmY#Echobox=1583698187

A Warrior Is Born: How Carmen Rosales, The Queen of Philippine Cinema, Became a Guerrilla Fighter and Sharpshooter
https://www.esquiremag.ph/long-reads/features/carmen-rosales-a00304-20200303-lfrm?ref=article_featured

The Darker Life of Juan Luna: A Tale of Jealousy and Murder
https://www.esquiremag.ph/long-reads/features/life-of-juan-luna-a00293-20190618-lfrm?utm_source=Facebook-Esquire&utm_medium=Ownshare&utm_campaign=20200303-fbnp-long-reads-life-of-juan-luna-a00293-20190618-lfrm-fbold&fbclid=IwAR3OFN4_6beoPMoKiWJOOxf_Bp_wr_vZnSazJ9pA6CFF4YaOfQJtOOw1bR8

For Video of the Week, Fil-Am singer Cedrice captures the last spot in the blind auditions on “The Voice.”

Trauma and Survival

We commemorate once again Bataan Day, honoring those who survived and those who did not make it during the Bataan Death March of 1942. Here is an excerpt from a book entitled Cadet, Soldier, Guerrilla Fighter written by a Death March survivor and US Army Bronze Star awardee Antonio A. Nieva. "Death of An Army" tells the story of those days of extreme hardship and desperation. 

A fitting Read Again is Jon Melegrito's narrative on the first time he joined the re-enactment of the Bataan Death March in New Mexico to honor is late father, Gregorio, and other survivors. 
http://www.positivelyfilipino.com/magazine/re-enacting-the-bataan-death-march-a-personal-journey

Surviving trauma of a different kind is the underlying theme of Fil-Am author Grace Talusan's memoir, The Body Papers, winner of the 2017 Restless Books Prize for New Immigrant Writing. Patty Enrado, herself a novelist, reviews the book.

And, ICYMI, here are links to interesting stories from other publications:

Filipinos Are Beginning To See The Ugly Side Of Chinese Investments
https://www.forbes.com/sites/panosmourdoukoutas/2019/03/21/filipinos-are-beginning-to-see-the-ugly-side-of-chinese-investments/?fbclid=IwAR3IyFe5wkXR6PE-VmH8S24A5xC-ImtvZwezNv5oynvAUHoSIIn8eahJwOI#1bf8b57054f0

Marawi still a ghost town 2 years after siege ended
https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1101741/marawi-still-a-ghost-town-2-years-after-siege-ended?fbclid=IwAR0gUm-dr2oxcsNbnRAe6B7mGiINeFyMXLGirbpqCY0WKHGM1HdJSiB9VWY

The gene doctor will see you now
https://www.up.edu.ph/index.php/the-gene-doctor-will-see-you-now/?fbclid=IwAR2z6d2BiJrQwTF3GNiwXmC57C2s9Dzxxj22tE5L3kpj_k6YsTlsm4zjf34

Why I Fight 
https://www.philstar.com/lifestyle/sunday-life/2019/03/24/1903779/why-i-fight?fbclid=IwAR0Q3h3u_cet6fTWf0eTJMLqudm4RE4MxUTSSa2vJ47AMernvgdhZfaoyWw

Enjoy Pork Humba, our Happy Home Cook recipe this week from regular contributor, Rene Astudillo.

And our Video of the Week is Janina Vela (who has about 600,000 followers) talking about the books that have changed her life or, at the very least, her thinking. A bit long but a fascinating episode from an impressive Filipino millennial.