Kanto Vol 3, 2018 | Page 60

Q U ILL Literary treasures and intriguing curios await Tradewinds's patrons “Bookstores play an important role in conserving heritage and history by making these factors easily accessible to the general public.” Can you tell us about your regulars? Many of our regular customers are historians and authors of books on Philippine history, among whom we may mention Professor Ricardo T. Jose of the Department of History, University of the Philippines; Professors Michael “Xiao” Chua and Lars Ubaldo of De La Salle University; and Professor Augusto V. de Viana of the University of Santo Tomas. These regular customers of Tradewinds Books always find time to visit the store because, according to them, this is the place that has a good selection of new titles, hard-to-find books and good reference materials, as well as publications for their personal collections. Visit Tradewinds Bookshop at Silahis Center, 744 Real Street, Intramuros, Manila, 1000 Metro Manila. Follow them on Facebook @TradewindsBookshop Do you have any upcoming activities we can look forward to? We join the Manila International Book Fair held once a year. That’s when we promote certain new authors, release our yearly art calendar for the coming year and slash prices on certain items to make room for new publications. You have an impressive collection of books—most of which I’ve never seen in other bookstores. How do you curate your books? We try to keep abreast of all new publications and books, especially those pertaining to the Philippines and Asia, and try to limit our choice of books to promote by selecting those we feel are relevant, factual and unbiased. I noticed that you also sell other items like prints, maps and even the fortune-telling board game Jose Rizal made when he was exiled in Dapitan. What are some unique items customers can find at your store? Aside from books and publications on the Philippines and Asia, Tradewinds Books has expanded its Filipiniana line to include artistic notecards and stationery, calendars, locally produced games, and souvenir items such as flags, magnets and postcards. 58