The ReaderCon Filipino Friday Meme is back!
Introductions. As with every start of a weekly meme, we need to know a bit about you! Talk about your top 3-5 (or more!) favorite books of all time, the genres you read and would never read, the books that surprised you this year. You can also talk about how you became a reader and why you love it so much! And finally, if you were in the ReaderCon last year, talk about your experience too! If you weren’t there, but you’re planning to go this year, then what do you expect for the upcoming ReaderCon?
Hello! My name is Meann and I love to read.
I participated in last year’s Filipino Friday, so for starters, here’s my FF Intro Post from last year: click! The How I Became Reader post is here: click!
Nothing much has changed since then (or I could just be the epitome of a lazy blogger, heh) so I’ll write about the things we didn’t get to write about in the previous FFs.
the genres you read and would never read, the books that surprised you this year
I don’t know about “never” reading any particular genre, but there are those that I do not actively seek out if I don’t have to, like non-fiction. 😀
The book that surprised me this year was…wait, I think I should say the series that surprised me this year so far is Yukio Mishima’s “The Sea of Fertility” cycle.
The first book, “Spring Snow,” was one of my book club’s Book of the Month selections or I really wouldn’t have picked it up otherwise. To be honest, I was intimidated by the book because it was written before I was born (and so was the rest of the series), it’s considered a modern literary classic, and it was originally written in Japanese, which means I’m partially at the mercy of the translator and how good he is. (For the record, Michael Gallagher, you are awesome.) And also there’s that little tidbit in the author’s biography that he committed seppuku (ritual suicide) after he turned in the manuscript of the final book.
The series surprised me because this isn’t my usual fare, and yet I found myself finishing it despite being required to read only the first book. Until now, I can’t quite pinpoint what it was that made me want to finish the series, sometimes even at the expense of other books that I told myself I absolutely had to finish then. Most of the Cycle is bleak, even depressing, and there are big chunks of text on religion, philosophy, and history that do not affect the plot but are mostly there only to reinforce certain themes or ideologies. My pet character didn’t even make it past the first book! So yes, indeed, this was a big surprise to me.
The even bigger surprise is I’d probably read another Mishima book if I can get a copy of one.
if you were in the ReaderCon last year, talk about your experience
Last year’s ReaderCon was rather short but sweet! I had fun meeting the book bloggers who I only know from visiting their blogs, and some local authors who I admire. The panel discussions were very informative, and it was nice to see enthusiastic participants there. It was also gratifying to know that so many people care about Filipino readers and are willing to support events and projects that will promote reading in the country.
On a personal level, after meeting and connecting with the people from the Con last year, I was gradually introduced to many Filipino authors and works. I’ve started to read more local books since then, and have come to appreciate them.
I hope more people will come to this year’s ReaderCon, so spread the word!
United We Read — The 2nd Filipino ReaderCon will be held on August 18th from 8:00am-6:00pm at the Filipinas Heritage Library, Ayala Triangle, Makati City. For more information, visit the official website at filipinoreadercon.wordpress.com.
The Girl Who Read and Other Stories 