ReaderCon 2012 Filipino Friday #1: Introductions

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It's Filipino ReaderCon time again. And that means the return of ReaderCon Filipino Fridays! Once more, the great and varied Filipino reading community is preparing to come together for the ReaderCon. In preparation for that, we have the Filipino Friday meme where a few of us can get to know each other.

Which is the topic for this year's first ReaderCon Filipino Friday.
Introductions. As with every start of a weekly meme, we need to know a bit about you! Talk about your top 3-5 (or more!) favorite books of all time, the genres you read and would never read, the books that surprised you this year. You can also talk about how you became a reader and why you love it so much! And finally, if you were in the ReaderCon last year, talk about your experience too! If you weren’t there, but you’re planning to go this year, then what do you expect for the upcoming ReaderCon?

All right, then...

Favorite books:
  • To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee - all-time favorite, even if Flannery O'Connor calls it "a children's book," in not quite a flattering manner. I used to read it every year and fought to include it in the junior curriculum when I used to teach in high school.
  • The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood - because I love how she made the story-within-a-story-within-a-story work by keeping all the narratives interesting. And I loved how her prose sounded more like poetry.
  • Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen - I'm a sucker for the classic marriage plot. And of love stories that begin at cross-purposes. And, basically, I love Jane Austen.

Genres I read: Generally everything. I do have a preference, though, for classics, literary fiction, fantasy, mystery, and occasionally young adult.

Genres I don't read: Nothing much. I used to avoid non-fiction, but ever since I started blogging nearly four years ago, I've taken a liking to it. I don't like self-help, but I have read a few. I prefer to try a book first before I diss it.

Books that surprised me this year:
  • American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis - because for its topic, I did not expect to find it funny. But I did.
  • The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides - It was just damned beautiful.
  • The Magicians by Lev Grossman - I was surprised that I took an active dislike towards it.

How I became a reader: My mother. She read to me every night she could when I was 3-4 years old.

Why do I love reading so much? I could give a million different reasons that better people have already elaborated on. But can one ever satisfactorily explain why one loves someone? Or something? One loves because one loves. And reading is already too much a part of me that it's difficult for me to separate it from myself and analyze why I love it.

Last year's ReaderCon...

My. How do I talk about last year's experience? Only that it was a dream that many of us cherished for a long while. And then it happened. Or we made it happen. 

Granted, it was small. Granted, it wasn't perfect. But many of us worked together, on the strength of a common passion. 

More than anything, it made me feel that we could do what we had always wanted to do: give Filipino readers the acknowledgement that they deserve. Call out to other Filipino readers. Foster reading in the country. I thought it was beautiful, and it made me happy. But then I'm obviously biased. 

I don't expect this coming ReaderCon to be perfect, though the organizers will do their best to approach perfection. What I do hope, because I'm too close to the matter to expect anything, is that this ReaderCon will yet be another step--a bigger step--towards creating the perception and the reality that the Philippines is nation of readers.

So, if you're reading this, I hope you join Filipino Fridays. And I hope to see you, in one way or another, in this year's Filipino ReaderCon.

Comments

Jinky said…
I've got to get to To Kill a Mockingbird! Oh, I get easily distracted and forget to focus on the great books! Thanks for the reminder. --Like you "surprised me" section ..I like the passion that your comments convey ..and that is that you're a exceptional reader. --Have fun at the Con and please say hello for me.
July 22, 2012 at 1:54 AM
Anonymous said…
Yay! We'll be reading The Virgin Suicides, and your comment makes me look forward to it. :D
July 23, 2012 at 11:04 AM
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