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 Friday: The Pinoy Book Drop

This is so late. But. Better late than never.

The Pinoy Book Drop commenced last October 21 and ended October 27, 2013. It's still half a day and one more to go before October ends so I'm trying to catch up on this third installment of the Filipino Friday meme.

Here are the instructions for the Pinoy Book Drop in case you missed it -

1. Pick a book (or two, or three, or yes, four!) that you wish to give away, or that’s okay for you to part with, for one reason or another. Make sure to check the pages for important stuff – anything you may have inserted there and forgotten but you may want to hold on to.

2. Download and print the customized bookplates that you’ll find below these instructions. It doesn’t have to be in color – black and white will work just as fine! Paste or stick one bookplate on a clear page or area of the book/s that you wish to give away. Yes, you can sign your name there, too, if you want.

3. Leave or “drop” the book/s in a public place, or basically any place where people are sure to see them: in a café, in the office, at a restaurant, the gym, it’s up to you. (Well, maybe not inside a bookstore, yeah.) You know where someone is likely to see the book/s and pick it up, yes?

4. Before leaving the book/s where you “dropped” them, take a photo. If you’re leaving two or more books, be sure to take note of the date, time, and place where you left each one. So how is everyone going to know that you have dropped a book somewhere? You can do any of the following:

(a) If you have a Twitter account, just tweet the title of the book, where and when you dropped it, and attach the appropriate photo. If you dropped two or more books, tweet about each title separately.

(b) You can also post about it on Facebook – on your own profile/timeline, if it’s set to public, OR on the Filipino ReaderCon page itself. Same details apply: title of the book, place and date of the drop, and photo. If you’re dropping two or more books, you have the option to include all the books in one go or post about the books individually. It’s up to you.

IMPORTANT: Please use the hashtags #pbdrop and #filreadercon and don’t forget to tag us at @PinoyReaderCon for every tweet!

5. The actual dropping of books will take place for an entire week, from October 21 – 27, but if you have your book/s ready for dropping before then, that’s good too – just go ahead and drop them. We will post another set of instructions for this activity on the third Filipino Friday, October 25th.

6. On the other hand, if you’re one of those who are lucky enough to find a dropped book, we encourage you to tell us all about it, as well! Tweet and Facebook any dropped book that you find – same instructions on using the hashtags #pbdrop and #filreadercon and tagging us at @PinoyReaderCon apply. ;)

And here the books I am dropping at a mall later today -

Wait for my photos tonight to find out where I dropped them!

Filipino Friday (2): Kids and Books

This Filipino Friday, we're being asked to go back to childhood and remember the cherished books that rocked our world.

Specifically, the questions for this Friday's meme are:

What were your favorite books as a kid or while you were growing up? Do you still read children’s books? If you could give your younger self a book to read, what would it be?

I have blogged about books I've read and adored when I was a growing child and an awkward teenager. I've linked those blog entries in the highlighted words in the previous sentence so feel free to click and read the entries. As for the second question, my answer is YES. I still read children's books and young adult novels.

Being a mom with kids (12 and 16), I require myself to read the books and materials written and created for them. I take it as my responsibility as a parent to know the books and reading materials being sold in bookstores and those online. I hold the same accountability in my work as a high school librarian. I review books and resources before acquiring these for the library. I do make a list of the books I want to read so that I can borrow them when it is ready for circulation. The great thing about reading books meant for teenagers is that, I get to know my young readers better. My kids keep on talking about trending books in their school and among their friends, like Diary ng Panget. Physical appearance, self confidence and identity are big issues among teens. One of these days, I shall pick up a copy. At work, I hear about John Green, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, Mitch Albom and Paulo Coelho as favorite authors. Catch 22, Ender's Game, Gaiman's Sandman series, paranormal romance and dystopian literature are the ones being asked for very so often. Genre literature is being read and explored!

My advocacy pushes me further to read books for kids and teens. Every year, as PBBY spearheads the celebration of the National Children's Book Day, I look forward to knowing about new titles published by our authors, illustrators and local publishers. I have the whole year to read up on books written and published by friends in the industry.

As for the last question, I would give my grade school self a copy of Jose Aruego's Juan and the Aswangs and PS I love You by Barbara Conklin for my high school self. The former is a collector's item I wish to share with my own kids while the later is the first book that hooked me to read the Sweet Dreams series back in high school. I'm still a hopeless romantic to this very day.

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.