Filipino Reader Fridays: Introduction

Yeah. It's my first time to participate in a blogging event. I seldom (have the enough kasipagan to ) blog. I am more of a reader,I guess. But for the love of books, I will try to participate in the Filipino Reader Conference. And the task for this week is to introduce myself as a reader.

Warning, I'll be code-switching ha, para mas natural ang dating.

I was already a college freshman when I seriously followed the advice of my high school teachers to read. Before college, hindi ko alam na kailangan ko pala talagang magbasa nang magbasa. (I stopped blaming my parents and teachers for not exposing me/us to literature.) Buti na lang may creative writing class na nagpamukha sa akin na 

if you are not a good reader, you can't be a good writer.

 I was shamefaced during the time na winoworkshop 'yong piece ko. Ang sarap ma-eject sa kinauupuan ko. Eye opener. True story.

From then on, I started my catch-up reading . Saan ako magsisimula? Siyempre, ano ba ang una kong na-miss? 

This experience is one of the reasons kung bakit nag-shift ako from BSEd-English to BEEd-English. Salamat sa English 11 prof ko na si T. Lalaine, now president of Kuting, for letting us read a lot of children's lit. Sa klaseng 'yon, nakilala ko ang Little Prince, si Twink Macaraig at ang kanyang kuwentong What is Serendipity?, si John Steinbeck at si Harry Potter ( on a more personal level) dahil sa literary analysis na involved ang 3 nobelang 'yon. After that sem, nagsimula na ang effect ng 

I discovered that reading is an inexpensive hobby because we have the cozy UP-Diliman libraries and the ever-dependable second-hand bookstores like Booksale. Ang una kong binasa after English 11 ay The Bridges of Madison County by Robert James Waller because T. Lalaine mentioned that it's a good read. Akala ko novel for children. Haha. But I still liked the book and as a matter of fact, I plan to say the lines--

"In a universe of ambiguity, this kind of certainty comes only once, and never again, no matter how many lifetimes you live."

--sa magiging Francesca Johnson ko.

The next sem, I enrolled in the Children's Lit class of THE T. Portia Padilla. Golden Age ito ng college life ko dahil dito ko na-establish ang fact na Children's Lit fan na nga ako. The summer prior to this sem, I discovered the radio program Wan Dey, Isang Araw in 

. This program is hosted by THE Palanca Hall of Fame Awardee Dr. Luis "Tito Dok" Gatmaitan. In the program, they feature a pre-recorded storytelling of locally published books for children and Tito Dok interviews the author of the featured story. Do'n ko unang narining si Sir Rene Villanueva at ang kanyang (ang aking paboritong) Unang Baboy sa Langit. Kaya naman no'ng ma-invite si Tito Doc sa class namin, feeling ko pre-Nirvana moment ko na. Super thanks to our very passionate prof for all those greet-and-meet-and-interact-with-
your-favorite-authors-and-illutrators moments. At siyempre sa walang sawang pagpapahiram ng kanyang mga libro for our annotation.

Going back to the task this week, I am proud to say that I am one voracious Children's lit reader. I can easily spot the good reads whenever I scan the books in the shelves of my favorite tambayan--the second-hand bookstores. I read a lot of Newberys and Caldecotts and all those that should have won those awards like Tuck Everlasting.

I love the works of Katherine Paterson, Madeleine L'Engle, Lois Lowry, E.L. Konigsburg and Gary Paulsen to name a few.

In terms of illustration, walang papantay sa magic ni David Wiesner.

Sa local scene naman (na first love ko), hindi mawawala ang Tuwing Sabado ni Russell Molina, ang mga libro nina Grace Chong, Tito Doc, Rhandee Garlitos, Ompong Remigio at ng marami pang iba.

Ngayon, in love ako sa Hunger Games ni Suzanne Collins na babasahin namin sa school book club namin. Hindi pa rin ako maka-get over sa mas pinalalim na understanding sa The Story of Ferdinand (dahil nabasa ko ang pre-publication history niya.)

Wow. Reading has never been this good.

At present, I am moderating a school book club--The Bookmunchers.