ReaderCon Filipino Friday: The Compilation

This is me trying to make up for the past 2 Filipino Fridays I missed plus answering this week's current Filipino Friday.:) Bear with me if this turns out into a long-ish post; it's a three-in-one.

Prompt for Week 2: 

How did you become a reader? What influenced you to take up reading as a hobby?...What is it about reading that you enjoy so much?

I blame my mother, as I suppose most of us do. The story I fondly tell is of my mother taking me to Greenhills when I was three and, as we got down from the car, she was excitedly telling me that she would buy me a book. How do I know I was three? Because my mom says that's how old I was when I started reading. Anyway, my mom was gabbing away about buying me that book, and I distinctly remember thinking, "What's a book?" I had no idea what it was, but basing solely on my mother's excitement, I figured it'd be a good thing. And so she bought me two books, Little Red Riding Hood and Cinderella. Beginning that night, she read me one or the other, though I asked from Red Riding Hood more. I probably couldn't relate to Cinderella yet, though I did love her ball gown. And eventually, I memorized the first page of Red Riding Hood. I know this because I remember joining my mother as she read it to me. But I wasn't really reading the words yet. Until I did. 

And the rest is history.

The irony is, as I was growing up, my mom would get mad at me because she couldn't understand why I spent my money on books and never on clothes or bags or jewelry. A few times I was tempted to tell her, "Well, it's your fault."

I enjoy many things about reading. I love that I live many lives through what I read. I love that I get disturbed and shaken by some things I read. I love that I learn new things. I love that I can talk to people about things I read and find a connection with them because we've read the same thing. I love that I do not have to pretend to be anyone else when I am reading.

Prompt for Week 3:

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 in the Philippines?

Let's start with the last question: great thing about being a book-lover from my beloved archipelago? Cheap books. Yep, cheap, as in less-than-a-dollar books. Of course, I'm referring to the books in the copious second-hand bookshops found all over our metro. In the past, I used to make a hobby of going to different second-hand bookshops hunting for a good but cheap copy of a novel I wanted. I wasn't as good at this hobby as some of my other book friends, though. I've been able to nearly complete the Dr. Seuss books for my kids, most of which I bought for less than $3. So yeah, that's a pretty cool thing to have.

Frustrations? You know, the word "frustration" connotes a powerlessness, so on that count, I guess I refuse to be frustrated. Instead, I'll talk about the things I hope to work on changing, such as: 

• getting a wider variety of reading material from local writers (e.g., more novels, more YA lit, and graphic novels becoming more mainstream) 
• publishers and writers becoming more aware of readers, what readers are interested in, and how readers can help them
• publishers, writers, and readers working together to market Filipino works more, both locally and internationally

I'll stick with this list first because if these things are accomplished, then by golly, this Filipino reader will be one happy guppy. And as for the last question, to be honest, I think if you're a lover of anything, it doesn't matter how hard or easy it is. You'll still love it no matter what.

Prompt for Week 4:

Do you read Filipino literature? If you do, tell us your favorite books by Filipino authors and name a few that you'd like to recommend to fellow readers. If you don't read much Filipino lit, then tell us why.

If you asked me this question a couple of years ago, my answer would've been no. I read what was required and no more. And I would have to explain it by saying that my reading material has always been English books and my educational background has always leaned towards Anglo-American lit. To paraphrase my friend, I'm a very good colonial. But after I had been blogging for a year, I read a few accusations against Filipino readers and I realized that I was very guilty. Since then, I've been trying to read more Filipino authors and have discovered that I had been missing out on a lot.

For instance, I never read Nick Joaquin, except for the few short stories we were required to read in school. But when I was working, my friend lent me a compilation of his myth and fairy tale retellings. They were originally published as children's stories, but the compilation I read, entitled Joaquinesquerie: Myth a la Mod, was styled as a short story collection. I meant only to browse through it to look for a story to use in my students' exam, but oh my Lord, I read through the entire thing because every story there was fantastic! To date, those are some of the best short stories I have read.

Then there's that wonderful murder mystery, Smaller and Smaller Circles by F.B. Batacan. It's intelligent, it's exciting, and it's short. The main characters are two priests from the university where I used to work. It would've made for a nice series with those priests solving mystery after mystery. Sort of like Father Brown, but a tandem. And without much of the philosophizing.

There's also Ricky Lee's Para Kay B, which is written in Taglish (a mix of Filipino and English). I thought I'd have a hard time going through it. But I didn't have a hard time reading it at all, perhaps because for many of us, Taglish is our mother tongue. And I found the story fascinating and hilarious. 

And then there are also the various Speculative Fiction anthologies which I've been introduced to via writers I've met in talks or online. Recently, our book club discussed Philippine Speculative Fiction 6, which has this year's Palanca Award winner for Short Story in English, "The Big Man" by Asterio Gutierrez.

I could name others, but I think that'll have to be for another post or a series of posts or (gasp!) actual book reviews (I know, I know. I haven't done one here in a while.). Otherwise, this post is in danger of becoming ridiculously long.

But let me say one last thing and this time, I'm not just talking as a reader but also as a publishing professional. A lot of Filipino literature is beautiful and should be read by as wide a public as possible. But if you notice, a lot of the books I mentioned above are not easily accessible. Which, to me, is a sad, sad shame. How wonderful would it be if someone were to read this post, decide to get the books I mentioned, and find that they're just a click away? That's what I'd like to do. Help make them so easy to access that people who want to read them can. People from anywhere in the world.

Ok, that's enough about my agenda. And now I have successfully caught up with Filipino Friday. My last chance to actually make it on a Friday is next week, the last Friday before the ReaderCon. You are going to the 1st Filipino ReaderCon, aren't you? You should.:) If you can't make it to SMX, then follow @PinoyReaderCon, and drop by Twitter on Sept. 14 from 1-6 PM. We'll be there, too.:) Get a chance to talk with fellow Filipino book geeks like you.