Filipino Friday (5): What do Readers Want?

It's the last Friday of Filipino Friday 2013 and these are the questions of the day:

What’s your favorite genre/reading material?
Who is your favorite author (local or foreign)?
What kinds of books would you like to see more of from local authors or publishers?
What is your favorite book from a Filipino author?

I prefer reading speculative fiction, fantasy especially. But in my line of work, I have learned to read genres I do not like. Reading has allowed me to accommodate and tolerate different world views and constructs. This is a humbling experience and it's awesome. Knowledge is out there. My respect for the reality and expertise of others grow in every reading journey. Of late, I find myself reading essays and non-fiction. This interest was actually spurred by reading fiction the past few years. Sometimes I think about the thin line that divide fiction from non-fiction. A crafty writer can turn fiction into reality and non-fiction into something wonderful and magical.

This is why I love Gaiman. And Rowling. I've started reading Nicholas Carr's The Shallows this week. His storytelling skill is amazing!

Among friends in the local Children's Literature industry, I hold Augie Rivera, Dr. Luis Gatmaitan and Rhandee Garlitos with great respect for their integrity, prolific writing and passionate advocacy to promote the industry. I am charmed by the works of Robert Magnuson, Jomike Tejido and Russell Molina. I am grateful that every year, the anthology, Philippine Speculative Fiction by the Lit Critters core group is published. Dean Alfar's short story, The Kite of Stars, is my definitive Pinoy speculative fiction. I await for Trese 6 by Budjette Tan and Kajo Baldisimo. Still, it has been an interesting experience scouting and picking up new Filipiniana published by local publishers. Eliza Victoria's A Bottle of Storm Clouds surprised me. Bebang Siy's It's a Mens World had me in stitches. Allan Derain's Ang Banal na Aklat ng mga Kumag made me reflect on the morals of myths.

As far as children's books and young adult literature in the country is concerned, I wish to see more of the later and a continued growth of the former. Format is not an issue personally, but print is still important especially for beginning readers. Why? The answer to that question is for another blog post.

My all time favorite book by a Filipino author is Manila, My Manila by Nick Joaquin. I lost my copy years ago and learned recently that the book is out of print.

Filipino Friday (4): This is Still Reading Right?

This Filipino Friday, the questions that must be answered are:

Do you read (or have at least tried to read) books in other formats aside from print? How was your experience with these different book formats?

Yes, I do read books in electronic format. In fact, my decision to buy an iPhone was prompted by reading on mobility. I just have to read to while away the time at the doctor's clinic; in the FX terminal; in long lines at the grocery store; or when I'm stuck in traffic going to work and back home. I find these gaps as precious reading time. Books come in handy, but, the iPhone is, handier.

In the library where I work, I have set up an e-reader and e-book collection. We have four Kindles for circulation. Each Kindle  has an assigned Dewey Decimal Classification group or division. 800 (Literature) and 900 (History) are both grouped with Fiction. I like the ease of book acquisition in a Kindle. Amazon sure knows what good service is all about. It even has a way of knowing what I order so it recommends titles very so often. I spend time, a lot of time, analyzing the content of Amazon's recommendations. So this means, I read a lot online too! I check reviews of recommended e-books not only in Amazon but also in blogs of book reviewers. With my knowledge of the library's readers' profile, preference and the school's curriculum, I decide which ones to buy. The budget for e-books has been prepared over the summer.

So, if you think librarians simply sit behind the desk all day, think again. There's a lot of cognitive activity going on behind a librarian's desk. I hope to set up a digital library collection soon but studying on a suitable app is an investment on time and money.

This year, I've read The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, The Magicians, Peaches for Father Francis, Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore, The Fault in Our Stars and a host of paranormal, erotic romance on my iPhone's and Mac's Kindle. Nothing changed for me, as far as the reading experience is concerned, except that, the sensory experience of smelling paper and feeling its texture was diminished. For deep reading that require analysis and synthesis, like non-fiction reads I do for my paper presentations, I still go for the printed format. I need to take notes, physically and manually to remember important sentences, phrases and paragraphs. Such writing from these non-fiction reads I go back to when I prepare my citations and when I actually compose a conference paper or an academic article.

I think what the digital age require of us, readers and book lovers all, is the knowledge of how to read and why we read. Purpose and function. Reading from a variety of formats can be taught and  learned but the reason for reading and the application of reading in real life is a wisdom that grows and develop over time.

Filipino Friday The Pinoy Book Drop: Where did I drop 'em?

Dropped at the Pancake House, Festival  Mall, Alabang

Dropped at the Activity center of Pavilion Mall, Binan, Laguna

Filipino Fridays (1): Hello, Reader!

Filipino Fridays is back! This year, it begins with a question: What Kind of a Reader Are you?

Definitely a Book Lover. I think I fall under Free Range: The All-the-Timer!

Please include attribution to Laura E. Kelly with this graphic. (Click to view at original large size.)



Visit Laura-e-Kelly.com for more about books, reading, and authors.

Filipino Friday: Books and Friends

Books and Friends: Are you a part of a book club? If yes, what made you join one? What’s your favorite activity that you have with them? If you’re not a part of one, will you consider joining one? Why or why not?

This Friday meme topic is all about books and friends. This is such a wonderful topic to write about. I am more excited to share this meme with the rest of the bloggers involved in Filipino Friday because, books and friends have made Filipino Friday possible. We may not know each other personally, but the meme has connected us in more ways than one through books and reading. Yes, we all are avid readers and book lovers. The window to friendship, if not, goodwill and mutual respect, is very much open. That's why, this meme reminds me of books I love and fond memories of friendship.

When I was in sixth grade, I read the Hardy Boys series and its female counterpart, Nancy Drew. I read Encyclopedia Brown and the Bobsey Twins. My seatmate in class, Amado Bonifacio Alto, happened to have read the same series, except for Nancy Drew and Bobsey Twins. He also read poetry. How "geekily" cool is that?! I was even surprised how he knew about science books and encyclopedias.  Our reading fodder was textbooks. Our trips to the school library was close to null. I read because my mom brought home books. So, to discover another soul with the same reading insterest as mine was a delight. I was not alone in my strangeness.

JK Rowling's letter and autographed photo. Collector's item, I say!

In high school, I was friends with readers. We were a group of four but we all belonged to one big barkada of six to eight girls. We read romance books from Sweet Dreams series to Sweet Valley High to Harlequin Romance series. Even the Pinoy romance books were part of our book exchanges: Gilda Olvidado, Helen Meriz, Nerisa Cabral, up to Liwayway's Laro sa Baga. Yes, that was my introduction to Pinoy erotica. Our tastes gradually expanded to foreign titles. I shared with my high school classmates the Newberry winners, Judy Blume, SE Hinton and Katherine Patterson. By fourth year high school, we got hooked on Erich Segal's Love Story, Jonathan Livingstone Seagull, The Little Prince to name a few. Among friends who read, I felt I belonged.

I am a reader. I am not alone.

Looking back, I wish we had more opportunities to read books in different genre and formats. I wished we had an adult reader to guide us. I regret not reading enough non-fiction, essays and poetry during high school. Freshman year in college surprised me with reading lists in the different content areas. I was in a shock. I recovered by finding solace and comfort in between the shelves and stacks of books at the Philippine Normal University Library. I kept up but missed my high school reading buddies. In time, I discovered dead writers make good friends too. Jane Austen wrote classy chic lit. Emily Dickinson's lyric poetry is so emo. Nick Joaquin knew early on that magic and reality can exist in one plane. No wonder I love JK Rowling so much.

So, to answer the question, I did not belong to any book club when I was in high school and in college. But, I reiterate, my friends during those precocious years were readers too.

My friend, Mona Dy. She will kill me for posting this. LOL

As far as this meme is concerned, I am glad to have done 1) moderation of a book club in school and 2) being a good friend to a voracious reader, Mona Dy, who gives me books as gifts once or twice a year.

Moderating a book club of young boys had been memorable since one activity we did was to write JK Rowling a letter. She replied. Well, her publisher, Scholastic made that possible. My friend Mona, to this day is a reading companion whom I share books I've read over coffee and long conversations about life in general. There are literacy groups I hold dear to my heart as well, namely, PBBY, KUTING and the LitCritters. The people in these groups are writers and literacy advocates whose  passion for reading have gone beyond book swapping and exchanges of reading adventures. I continuously learn a lot from them.

There's a long list of NGOs out there that set up libraries and reading centers all over the islands. Behind these NGOs are book lovers and readers who wish to share the gifts of literacy. I think the challenge for all book lovers and book clubs is this: to influence and inspire others who are outside their bubble to read. In a country like ours, where public libraries are challenged institutions, book clubs can bridge the gap between the readers who have limited access to books.

Filipino Friday: Reading Habits and Book Formats

Reading Habits and Book Formats
Where and how do you read? Can you read anywhere and everywhere, or do you need a certain place/mood/state of mind to get reading? Do you read more in the morning or at night or any minute that you can? Where and how do you usually read? Are you exclusively for print, or do you go for ebooks more than print? Have you ever tried audiobooks?

 It's Filipino Friday once again! This time, joiners are asked to look at their reading habits. Here's my take.

Reading happens all the time and for different reasons. We read signs to find our way. We read faces of people and their actions to understand unspoken social cues and underlying messages they could not speak of. We read because we're bored. We read to learn. We read to unlearn. We read because we want to impress. We read because we wish to be free.

Reading is part of the four communication art skills. The three being, listening, speaking and writing. All four integrate and are integral to comprehension, knowledge creation and survival. What makes reading a book extra special for me is that, I develop a personal relationship with the author and the creators of the book when I engage in it. Books I've read and loved are friends. Thank you to the team who dreamed of creating and producing such good friends.

So, I really get disappointed for badly created books. Sayang. What would have been a wonderful communion of ideas and experiences would never be. But then again, I remind myself, as a librarian, one tenet of readers' services is "Every book a reader. Every reader a book." And I have to respect and observe that law.

As far as my own reading choices go, I like reading both print and digital formats. I am still loyal to the printed book though, especially because I'm a school librarian and my advocacy is very much immersed in literacy development among young people. While digital natives of this generation can seamlessly operate on technological gadgets to read and learn, they need to develop the basic and fundamental literacy skills (from word recognition and vocabulary, comprehension and context building, study skills to work skills) Reading printed books can do that. These literacy skills are essential in learning more complicated skills and the new literacy - media literacy, digital literacy, information literacy, cultural literacy, family literacy, etc.

What's amazing is, the reading and learning of fundamental literacy skills and new literacy can happen simultaneously. It is thus important that all types of reading formats, genre and kinds are made available for the ardent reader.

Filipino Friday 2012: Introduction

This was supposedly a post for yesterday. Time is just not enough for blogging these days and tech problems delayed my updates in the blog. Despite it all, here goes my post for this year's Filipino Friday.

There are two books that surprised me this year: the 50 Shades of Grey Trilogy and the Trese series.

EL James' trilogy is surprising because, it did not go through the traditional process of publication. It started out online as fan fiction. The material found its way to ebook publishing and then finally to print publication. This is how publishing has changed. Thanks to technology. Word of caution: the process did not guarantee quality content nor literary value.

Now I go to Trese. Oh. My. God. The storyline is engaging. The storytelling, more so. The illustrations lend enough visual metaphor for the reader to fill the imagination with wonderment. Combining the tales and "alamat" of the past with the everyday stories any Pinoy encounters is a fantastic concept. Looking forward to the next issue of Trese!

I know this entry is very brief as I am merely stealing some blogging time. I'm hoping to do a more extensive review on Trese soon as it deserves more than a paragraph of hurried impressions. And of course, a better written Filipino Friday entry next week.

Filipino Friday: On to ReaderCon!

September 9 - What do you hope will happen in the Filipino ReaderCon? What are you expecting from the event?

First of all, as reader, literacy advocate and President of the Philippine Board on Books for Young People, I wish the organizers of the Filipino ReaderCon a successful convention. As a reader I am happy to find readers who, like me, are still in love with the written word. As literacy advocate and PBBY President, I hope that the efforts and ideals of the organizers won't go to waste; that this ReaderCon won't turn into a one hit wonder. In my years in the industry and in the advocacy of literacy, I have seen many literacy campaigns and initiatives fizzle out. Some crashed and burned and a few died a natural death.

I have great expectations on the ReaderCon but not on the event itself. I would like to see the aftermath. I expect to see greater influence of readers affecting and effecting others who need conversion. If not this, then greater effort on the readers part to turn their love, their passion, into a mission. Celebrating reading is wonderful. Making a non-reader read or providing reading materials to those in need of it the most is another. But yes. The advocacy begins with a recognition that reading must be highlighted and celebrated among those who've discovered it's magic and power so that they could, hopefully, share this discovery to others.

May the ReaderCon be an event that would narrow the great divide between those who have books and those who have no books at all. May it be a celebration of reading, not so much as a privilege but as a right for all. May it continue to have sponsors who, acting collectively with the organizers of the ReaderCon, set up another convention next year for readers of all ages.

Bumasa at lumaya!

Filipino Friday: Filipiniana

September 2 - Do you read Filipino literature? If yes, what are some books by Filipino authors that you can recommend to fellow readers?

This Friday's meme made me look back at the Filipiniana reviews I have posted in this blog. To answer the questions, I went back to the blog archives and exhumed quite a number of book reviews. I'm a school librarian thus, my orientation leans heavily on Philippine Children's and Young Adult Literature. Some noteworthy links from the recommended reads I made in the PBBY website is also included in the link list.

I hope that, you, the reader, would patiently click the links and see for yourself the wonderful Filipianan materials we have out there for kids and teens. Here goes --

Ang Pambihirang Buhok ni Lola by Rene Villanueva

Elias and His Trees by Augie Rivera

Rosang Taba by Dean Alfar

Bruhaha! Bruhihi! by Ompong Remigio

The Boy Who Touched Heavenby Iris Gem Li

PBBY: Recommended Reads

Back in 2005, I even attempted to create a bibliography of Filipiniana for Children.

Books about the Handicapped and Special Children

Subject Index for Filipiniana for Children Annotated Bibliography

Annotated Bibliography: A Work in Progress

Having done this meme, I realized how few my reviews of Filipiniana for Children and Young Adult have been over the six years of blogging. I should do more of this.

Filipino Friday: The Pinoy Book Reader

August 26 - How hard or easy is it to be a book lover in the Philippines? What are some of your frustrations as a Filipino reader (e.g. availability of books)? What are positive aspects of being a reader based in the Philippines (e.g. book prices are lower here than they are abroad)?

As far as my experience goes, access and availability of books has always been easy for me because I work in a library and I have good connections in the publishing industry. The nature of my work has allowed me easier access to books I want to read in print and online formats.

What I am frustrated about is the divide that exist between those who have access to and those who do not have access to books and reading materials. It seems, in this day and age, despite the advances in technology, reading and materials are available only to those who can afford it. Perhaps, it is time, with the ReaderCon marching around the corner, to consider translating a hobby into an advocacy.

I love books and reading so much that I would like to share this love to others. And this love stretches outside my family home and the reading communities I belong to. By actively participating in projects that foster the love of reading and the establishment of school libraries and literacy centers, my frustration turns to satisfaction. A Pinoy Book Reader can make a bit of a difference.

Filipino Friday: Reading as a Hobby

August 19 - How did you become a reader? What factors influenced you to take up reading as a hobby and why do you enjoy it so much?

I became a reader because my grandmother told me stories. I became a reader because my mother read to me. Books and writing materials were always available at home. We were not rich, but my parents made it sure that I grew up reading. Thanks to the reading genes as well! My parents and teachers didn't have a difficult time teaching me how to read and making me love it.

In my case, when it comes to reading, nature agreed to my parents' desire to nurture a reader for life.

Peers were also a great influence in my reading habits. In grade school, I remember a classmate who was so fond of dinosaurs I showed her the dino books my mom borrowed for me in the library where she worked. By sixth grade, I was using references and non-fiction books for my projects and assignments courtesy of mom's library. It was at that time when I met Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys. To my surprise, a boy in class is a Hardy Boys fan as well! These books were the only books I borrow from our school library. In high school, more reading friends surfaced and we had mini-book talk sessions during recess and lunch. It was such a great joy to have friends whom I could share insights and feelings on books I have read. At that time, there were no blogs so I had to wait for days to connect and communicate with friends who read.

Now, as an adult, I keep in close proximity reader friends and a reading community. I also try my best to pass on to my children this love and culture for reading. I think I am successful with my daughter. My son, who is fourteen is turning out to be a challenge. I will blog on this next time since teenagers these days have different reading styles and varying tastes!

At the start of the year, a dear friend gave me a gift. She gave me a copy of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. It's my favorite read so far for 2011.

Filipino Friday Meme Topics

So that I will always remember.

The topics are:

August 12 - Introduction. Tell us everything that we need to know about you as a Filipino reader. You can talk about the genres that you read, your favorite authors, your comfort reads and your best books of 2011. You can also include links of where other readers can find you online: blog, Twitter, Goodreads, Shelfari, etc.

August 19 - How did you become a reader? What factors influenced you to take up reading as a hobby and why do you enjoy it so much?

August 26 - How hard or easy is it to be a book lover in the Philippines? What are some of your frustrations as a Filipino reader (e.g. availability of books)? What are positive aspects of being a reader based in the Philippines (e.g. book prices are lower here than they are abroad)?

September 2 - Do you read Filipino literature? If yes, what are some books by Filipino authors that you can recommend to fellow readers?

September 9 - What do you hope will happen in the Filipino ReaderCon? What are you expecting from the event?

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