This is kinda late. Better than never. So for this week's meme, we zero in on the
joys and travails of being a reader in the Philippines.
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?
Apparently, it's hard to be a leisure reader here in the Philippines. I only know a few friends and kakilala who include book-buying in their weekly/monthly visit to malls. Sila na ang may budget for books. If you are a book lover in the Philippines and you are
kahit anong book pa yan, makukuha't makukuha mo. You are a denizen of Fully-booked, Power Books, National Bookstore--
the top three bookstores in the country. If you are part of the
hanggang browse/scan ka na lang muna sa favorite books mo sa NBS, Powerbooks at Fully-booked. More or less, nakatabi mo na ako sa Booksale, and you're also hoping na may naligaw na second-hand copy ng book na binibista mo sa Big 3 bookstores. The book prices in these second-hand bookstores fit your budget. Extra money, actually. Kung
ka naman, it's not a big deal that the movie you are watching is based on a book. And that the book is better than the movie adaptation.
One of the joys of being a children's lit reader in the Philippines is the fact that there's a big chance that I can meet the authors of the book I'm reading.
And I can force them to sign my book and have a fan-dominated chit-chat. You also have the
Manila International Book Fair, the National Children's Book Day, the Buwan ng Wika, the SCBWI-Philippines conferences and the Book signing events that these publishing houses are putting up, to sustain your love for books.
Kung presyo naman ang pag-uusapan, I miss the "newsprint price" of Adarna House.
But I do still love their books and their book fair people. We look 'family' to each other. Haha. It's also a good thing that
Lampara Books is publishing the winning stories in the
Palanca Awards Short Story for Children category. Pati na rin yata PBBY runner-ups, because the other day, I saw Becky Bravo's
in
National Bookstore.
Even if I have met a number of authors, illustrators and publishers, I still have frustrations as a reader. Let me enumerate those nega vibes..
1. There's a dearth of novels in the YA fiction category.
2. Publishing houses have yet to publish more books in other Philippine languages. I'm glad Adarna has started(?) the trend. See this one:
3. Only a few school libraries function as haven for book lovers. Only a few politicians, and civic organizations are trying to build more school/public libraries.
4. I know a few people who are dayuhan sa sariling bayan in terms of their reading choices.
5. Some bookstore/shop people do not know how to entice their customers to buy and not just browse. They should attend a seminar/ crash course on basic things about literature in general. They should know the what's-hot in the book scene. They should do book talks. Haha
6. Some parents are still misguided when buying books for their tots. More coloring books, less picture story books. More foreign(sounding) authors, less Filipino authors. Kumusta naman tayo diyan?
How is it exactly that you are able to meet the authors?
ReplyDeleteLike your frustration list (especially #3) ..these would frustrate me too!
Way back in College, our teacher would invite an author/illustrator or both (plus the publisher) to our Children's lit class. I also befriend them in facebook, (and read their blogs) and I get to receive updates on their whereabouts (e.g. book launching, book signing, conference).
ReplyDeleteThank you Jinky for dropping by. Oh, you're from the US. Joining a local SCBWI will open a lot of doors.
Funny post! :P I also mentioned the lack of Filipino YA books in my post. I really don't know why authors aren't writing YA books when there's demand for them. Whenever foreign blog friends ask for Filipino YA recommendations, I can only mention Tall Story by Candy Gourlay. I'd love to read Filipino YA novels similar to the US or UK ones that are available today.
ReplyDeleteI give children's books to my inaanak every Christmas and birthday and I usually purchase books by Filipino authors. I love that most of them have both English and Filipino text.
Chachic, so true. There are other Filipino YA novels out there. Enrique El Negro, Owl Friends, The Secret, etc. But Tall Story, by far, is the most exciting Filipino novel I've read. It's on a par with the Newberys I've devoured.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad that you are patronizing books by local authors. Hail Philippine Children's Lit!
Ako rin ay isang hamak na dayuhan sa sariling bayan.
ReplyDeleteGreat post!