How hard or easy is it to be a book lover in the Philippines? What are some of your frustrations as a Filipino reader? And what are the positive aspects of being a reader based in the Philippines?
~ Part 3 of ReaderCon Filipino Friday
How hard? It is tough! With more than half of the country’s population under the poverty line, buying books is almost relegated to a luxury. And this is true even if you consider outlets like Booksale and Books4Less where average secondhand novels are priced at 40-120 pesos (1-3 USD).
But for the rest fortunate enough to be able to buy books, there’s the competition from other media like movies and television. Sadly, most people place books (or not at all!) at the very bottom of their entertainment/leisure activity list. Also, many Filipinos are ill-educated and therefore just don’t see value in continuous learning by way of reading.
The result of these regrettable factors? Very, very few Filipinos actually like reading beyond the newspaper or school/work papers. In a society where there’s intense pressure to “fit in”, most young people would not choose to ostracize themselves by being that kid at school who always reads. And how many have you seen in your neighborhood spend their leisure time holding a book instead of a TV remote?
There’s probably no country in the world where it’s socially easy to be a book lover. It’s the fact that the Philippines is a third-world country and that most citizens don’t value reading which further exacerbates the already poor situation.
Continue reading “ReaderCon Filipino Friday #3 – On Being a Bookish Pinoy”
Posted in Editorials |
This is one of those awesomely rare times I finished a book thinking “now this is why I read!”
Book 1 of the Odd Thomas series
Authors like James Patterson, John Grisham and Dean Koontz – I avoided them like the plague. The fact they could churn out book after book each year makes me feel a certain contempt towards them (and their ghost writers). No one should be able to make writing look that easy! I do have Patterson’s “Maximum Ride” and a couple of Grisham novels which I inherited but had not read any of those yet. I would have never considered reading Koontz if not for this interview which I found linked at a Goodreads group.
Although I read (perhaps too much?) religious books, I don’t specifically look for books by Catholic authors for novels. That would be silly. Maybe on books about matters of faith especially non-fiction then I will be a bit choosy on who I read but for novels, the religious disposition of an author will not be the reason for my reading of a story.
But here, for the first time, I am learning that one of the authors in my ignore list is in fact a devout Catholic. Reading that Koontz interview made me really interested to see how he mixes his faith in his novels.
A few days later, I was on Booksale. Looking for something else, “Odd Thomas” inexplicably popped into my head. Found a copy for 97 pesos only. This is one of his highly-rated novels. I thought if I was gonna give this author a chance I might as well allow him to give me his best shot. Went home with the book but only began to read it the following day, Sunday, August 14. * (see footnote)
Continue reading “Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz – Book Review”
Posted in Book Reviews | Tagged Booksale, Catholic, Dean Koontz, James Patterson, John Grisham, Odd Thomas, suspense |
How did you become a reader? What factors influenced you to take it up as a hobby? For instance, was it your mom who read to you every night? Or was it a high school friend who started lending you books? Or maybe it was a really inspiring teacher whom you wanted to emulate. Whatever it was, we hope you tell us all the story of how you became a leisure reader and what it is about reading that you enjoy so much.
~ filipinoreadercon.tumblr.com
Well this could end up like a rehash of the previous post so I will try to refrain from mentioning the boy wizard too much here.
I was a studious boy back in elementary school. Studying hard has been ingrained in me right from my formative years. I don’t remember any particular experience when Mother read to me anything before bed though. I remember reading mostly by myself. No word or concept was beyond my understanding with a dictionary and thesaurus within my reach. Thinking back on it now, I’m amazed by the library Mother built for me. I never badly needed the help of a public library and there was no Wikipedia yet. It’s one of the many things I am thankful for: having a parent who’s also a teacher.
Continue reading “ReaderCon Filipino Friday #2 – My Reader Story”
Posted in Editorials | Tagged astronomy, black hole, Filipino, Filipino Reader Conference, G. K. Chesterton, Harry Potter, meme, Mythology, reading, teacher, writing |
Belated happy birthday Harry and Jo!
I was supposed to publish this exactly July 31st but I had to see the Harry Potter movie again with my sister to celebrate the birthday so that took most of the day. Then other duties had to take the front seat hence the delay.
Click the view the gallery!
The photo gallery showcases my decade-long history with the famous boy wizard. There are photos of my unimpressive small Harry Potter collection as well as Potter-related events in my life.
I hope you enjoy this little bit of tribute to Harry Potter and J. K. Rowling. And with that, I’ll borrow Dumbledore’s words in saying, “Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!”
Posted in Editorials | Tagged collection, Harry Potter, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, image gallery, memorabilia, personal |
The 1st Filipino Reader Conference is currently running a weekly meme every Friday to count down the weeks leading up to the event at SMX Convention Center next month. It will coincide with the first day of the 32nd Manila International Book Fair (MIBF). Anyone can join the meme, “especially those who can’t make it physically to the ReaderCon.” It’s the least I could do to support the work of fellow Pinoy book bloggers since most likely I will not be able to attend MIBF next month.
My answers for Meme #1:
“Being the first topic, let’s all get to know each other better. Tell us what kind of reader you are.”
I’m the slow-reading type and I’ve already lamented this problem before here. I used to read only one book at a time but had developed into a polybookist after starting this blog, which is a good thing for a slow reader. Problem is I now have a knack of not finishing or neglecting books. Even those that really interest me! Not sure why I do this… maybe I do have ADHD (which I’ve been saying like after every 10 posts here!). I have trouble keeping focused for prolonged periods of time. I feel like all the books in my shelf are clamoring for my attention. It’s been an ongoing battle and the books have been winning so far. They threw a party last week. Stephanie Meyer was their guest of horror honor. She’s mad I gave away Twilight.
Continue reading “ReaderCon Filipino Friday : Meme #1″
Posted in Editorials | Tagged astronomy, Filipino, Filipino Reader Conference, Harry Potter, I Had Seen Castles, Manila International Book Fair, meme, reading, The Imitation of Christ, Twilight |
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