Why I'm going to like this book

-


Because I've avoided John Green for a long time...

since everybody seems to be talking about him...

and the thing with authors or books that everyone's talking about...

is that sometimes you want to avoid them...

after all, if a LOT of people like them...

that means they appeal to the masses...

which means that it appeals to a pedestrian taste...

but you don't want to be associated with anything pedestrian...

because you're different, damn it, and you're smart...

you think...

smarter than the hoi polloi...

so you avoid the book/author...

until you can't because...

you're actually curious...

and you end up buying the book...

but at the back of your mind, you think, "There must be something wrong with this book...

and I'm going to find it. And call it out for everyone to see...

or agree with a really smart detractor...

because we smart folk need to stick together...

and distinguish ourselves from the hoi polloi who like this book/author"...

and then it hits you...

you're being an ass again...

and you realize that you've already pre-judged a book...

not based on its merits nor the author's merits...

but because you want a certain status...

which might be entirely in your head...

and that sucks...

because whether you like it or not...

it takes a lot out of the enjoyment in reading...

and maybe you're not as smart as you think you are...

otherwise why would you let other people's voices in your head...

while you're reading a book?...

and maybe to many people, YOU are the hoi polloi...

and what the fuck does it matter anyway...

because when you start to read...

you want it to be just between you and the book...

which doesn't really care about your idea of self-worth.

Comments

Anonymous said…
I got curious when this book made it to the finals of TOB. And then I was given a copy as a gift. And yeah, I think I am going to like it as well.
May 3, 2013 at 1:00 PM
Unknown said…
The Fault in Our Stars is Awesome!!! I'm a book evangelist, so don't mind me. Hahaha :)
October 21, 2013 at 9:05 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Soledad's Sister by Jose Dalisay, Jr.

-
Image
Soledad's Sister  by Jose "Butch" Dalisay is the first Philippine novel to be shortlisted for the distinguished Man Asian Literary Prize  in 2007. I remember reading about the Man Asian at that time and finding out about Dalisay's shortlisted novel. And I recall thinking, "Well, that sounds about right." After all, Butch Dalisay is one of the country's premier writers.This much is evident when you read Soledad's Sister . Way back in college, I was fortunate enough to have Butch Dalisay as one of my professors. The class was an undergrad course on Survey of American Literature, and I remember every single story and poem we took up to this day. I also remember him reading to us one of his essays during class. He had his Mac open on his desk and was reading his essay from the screen. Back then, I was thinking, "This should be boring. But it isn't." And I realized it wasn't boring because I was entranced by his words. The summary...
Read more

Filipino authors with internationally-published books

-
Image
Some of the books from Filipino authors published by intl. publishers. Clockwise from top left: Age of Blight by Kristine Ong Muslim; The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco; The Courageous Princess Vol. 1 by Rod Espinosa; Learning To Fall by Mina Esguerra, Smaller And Smaller Circles by F.H. Batacan; The Last Time I'll Write About You by Dawn Lanuza. It seems an exciting time for Filipino authors. A Filipina YA author was at the Brooklyn Book Festival and other festivals, some Filipino authors just wrapped up panels during the Fil-Am International Book Festival in San Francisco , a few other Fil-Am authors are coming out with new books from a major publisher in the next few months ( literary fiction , young adult , and middle grade ), and another classic author was recently published by Penguin Classics. Not to mention that a few Filipino authors have been pitching at #dvpit and have already found agents . And I'm pretty sure I'm barely scratching the surface her...
Read more

The El Bimbo Variations by Adam David

-
Image
When reading a poetry collection, one of the last things you expect to do is laugh out loud. But, if you were to read Adam David's new edition of The El Bimbo Variations , that is exactly what you'd be doing. My advice: try not to read it in public, unless you're okay with people looking at you weird because your shoulders are suddenly shaking in laughter or you have a snap-happy grin on your face. I first read The El Bimbo Variations back when it was still in pdf format. Four years ago, the poet Adam David gave a talk to one of our high school junior classes during a yearly activity where we expose students to real-life writers. In preparation, he sent us  a copy of his El Bimbo Variations , and told me that we could distribute it to the students so that they'd know his work. We photocopied them for the classes assigned to Adam and, on the day of the talk, I went in and listened to his session where he got riled up about big publishers and their limited repertoire...
Read more