Solace in the arms of Literature
9/12/2017
Is print media is a dying medium? I think the fuck not.
I never really felt the need to read books when I was younger heck did I even like writing. The first books that got me hooked to reading was Philippine Ghost Stories (PSICOM), that I still have in my library, while the first "novel" I read was Bloody Mary the Novel, also still with me. My first real novel was Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's The Little Prince – a novel my mom have always loved as a maiden. It took me a long time reading another book.
Devastating Ondoy hit the Philippines meaning we were all stuck at home while the streets of Metro Manila are flooded. That's when I tried reading again out of boredom. I finished 2 books in one night: Miss Peregrine's and Adrian's Growing Pains. From then on, I grew fond of reading foreign books and looked down on Filipino literature. My 17-year old ass didn't know shit about anything Fil Lit assuming that it meant wattpad stories turn into books and pocket books that had digital paintings of famous celebrities as a role for their character because no, I wasn't about that life. What got me into reading was a broken heart and a bad taste in reviewing books. I stopped downloading ebooks and started saving up for actual books. My first purchase was Lang Leav (lmao), also my first time to encounter actually published poetry. Now that I think of it, it wasn't so bad it was just shallow and any first timer exposed to poetry would think it's great. No shade, just a scalding tea.
In 2nd year college we had a Filipino Literature class. It was boring until the professor got mad at us for not reading the pieces. It was Nick Joaquin's essay on Filipino culture that got me hooked and from then on I started reciting for class standing points, started to read more literary readings, bought my first Bob Ong books, until I learned to love Fil Lit as it is. I liked that class a lot and my then professor though some of my batchmates don't lol. Anyhoo, I'm already here.
Out of all the novels that I have read, I enoyed Ricky Lee's Para kay B the most. It had all the elements, problems, real life scenarios and stories I didn't know could be told in the form of words. Explicitly yet beautifully told. It still is my favorite to this day. A book should change your life and perception and if it doesn't, it's just a regular book. Recently, I bough another Ricky Lee novel:
My rating: 4 of 5 stars4.5 ratingAlthough it was a good read, I didn't enjoy it as much as I did with Para Kay B. First story was relatable pero wala masyadong depth in my opinion. 2nd to 4th stories had me #shookt lalo na yung last story since I've always imagined life without death when I was a kid.What I liked about the novel is that it gave the answers my younger self was looking for – which in real life, ganun naman talaga. Overall, I enjoyed reading it :)
As a kid, I always wondered what was life if death didn't exist (maybe my grandpa would still be here watching FPJ with me), how god looked like if there was a "god" and why are there so many gods and religion's blackhole, how my 10-year old self would know what depression is at ang early age after talking to your dad's new family & how mom said taking meds for depression is "nakakahiya", or how a person is remembered and forgotten after their passing. All of which I read in a novel. To me, books bring solace to lost souls looking for answers to their questions while developing new questions to ponder on.
Are books dying? I believe not but reading is. (hint: blogging is dead in 2017)
Find me in a nook recommending and writing a 140 character review of Filipino books I've read under a thread; wrapped around with solace in the arms of literature, hiding under a blanket of characters whose hearts are kinder and softer than mine and everyone else's. (A "Looking for Polaris" reference)
0 comments