ReaderCon 2012 Filipino Friday #4: Books and Friends

Books and Friends. We will have book discussions hosted by several book clubs during the ReaderCon, so to prepare us for that, let’s talk about books and friendships and book clubs. 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? Or if you’re not (yet) a part of a book club, do you have friends who share the same passion for books as you do? Do you have a “bookish” best friend? If yes, tell us about them! How did you become friends? What’s your favorite memory with them?

Before I answer this week’s question, come join me in singing the Garfield and Friends song! Raise your hand if you watched this series when you were a kid! *raises hand*

My reading group is actually one of the clubs that will be participating in the ReaderCon. We’re called The Mysterious Reading Society, and I’ll let the mystery carry on further until they put up the post at the ReaderCon website. 😛 EDIT: The post is up! Learn more about us. 🙂

But yeah, most of the very good and close friends that I have now, I met through my love of books. In particular, I met many of them through the Harry Potter and Twilight fan groups. (Shelve the hate, please. 😛 )

I share the same favorite authors and genres with a handful of these friends, and these eventually became the people that I am now in TMRS with. I am thankful for these 5 people (Leia, Echo, Lianne, Claire, and Ron,) who I spend a lot of time with, both online and IRL, because their company keeps me sane amid the day-to-day craziness of life.

Looking back, I realize that my oldest friends are also fellow bookworms. I spent my Sweet Valley and Sweet Dreams and Nancy Drew and Sherlock Holmes phases with close friends from elementary and high school, and my Harry Potter phase with friends from University. And I began my epic fantasy, The 39 Clues, and science fiction phases with friends from work.

Of course, books aren’t the only things that I share in common with these people, but it’s satisfying to know that I’ve actually shared more adventures in different worlds with them than I initially thought.

*Choose a drink –butterbeer, blue milk, elven wine…blood?– and raise your glass! (Mine has soju because I think the only way I’d be able to drink an entire glass of that is in a fictional setting, haha!)*

Here’s to good friends to share more good books and good memories with!

See you all at the ReaderCon!

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.

Pre-registration for the Con is now open and you might want to participate in The Great Book Swap!

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Previously, on Filipino Friday 2012:
FF 1: Introductions
FF 2: School of Reading
FF 3: Reading Habits and Book Formats

ReaderCon 2012 Filipino Friday #3: 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?

I have to find ways to get decent reading time these days, so I try to read whenever there’s a lull in my daily activities. I usually read during the commute to and from work, at night before I sleep, while waiting in line in banks or government agencies, lunch break at work, while waiting for people to arrive for meetings, during plane rides, and…ummmm…sometimes in the bathroom.

I used to exclusively read print books, but ever since I installed Kindle for PC, I’ve been reading more e-books.

I realized just recently that I am not a monogamous book reader. I take a different book for commutes, a different one to read in the house at night, a different one loaded in my Kindle for PC, and yet another for the…ummm…bathroom.

I don’t really know how I keep up, but I do still manage to remember where I am in the stories and what happened last I read them. I haven’t thought too deeply about why I do this, but I suspect this is an effect of having too many books in my To Read pile.

What about you? How, when, and where do you read?

See you all at the ReaderCon!

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.

Don’t forget to cast your vote for the 1st Filipino Readers Choice Awards. Click here for more details. Also, pre-registration for the Con is now open and you might want to participate in The Great Book Swap!

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Previously, on Filipino Friday 2012:
FF 1: Introductions
FF 2: School of Reading

ReaderCon 2012 Filipino Friday #2: School of Reading

School of Reading. We all started reading somewhere, and more often than not, we were influenced by someone. Who got you into reading? Your parents? A friend? A librarian? One teacher who always lends out his/her books? How helpful was your school in helping your reading habit / fueling your book addiction?

I have my late mother to thank for my love of reading. If I didn’t grow up seeing her reading books, I’m not sure if I would’ve gotten into it at an early age.

Our school library was also a haven for me. I went to a private school during my elementary and high school years, so I was lucky enough to be able to borrow lots of fun and interesting books.

Here’s more about my reading history from my FF post last year:

I used to accompany my Mom to bookstores, where I wandered off to the more age-appropriate sections while she browsed for her Sidney Sheldons and Danielle Steels and Jackie Collinses and Robert Ludlums.

My elementary and high school library cards were well-used. On average, I went through 3 Borrower’s Cards per year (I needed to allot time to studying too! ).

In elementary, my reading list included Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, The Three Investigators, Beverly Cleary books, and Choose Your Own Adventure books. Oh, and Paddington Bear; let’s not forget him because he’s ridiculously adorable.

In high school, I went through the Sweet Valley and Sweet Dreams phase like most teenage girls, but I also started to pick up occasional YA fantasy fare, like E. Nesbit, Zilpha Keatley Snyder, Diane Duane, and Madeleine L’Engle. It was also in high school that I was introduced to the Dragonlance saga, which would ignite my interest in epic fantasies.

In college, I started reading my Mom’s books, and that piqued my interest in general fiction. I also continued to hunt down Dragonlance and Michael Crichton titles. And I read Isaac Asimov short stories in the library in between classes.

Hrmmm…on hindsight, after re-reading the above, I can now see why my current reading list consists mostly of YA and fantasy. 😛

What about you? How did you get into reading? 🙂 Feel free to comment below.

See you all at the ReaderCon!

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.

Don’t forget to cast your vote for the 1st Filipino Readers Choice Awards. Click here for more details.

___
Previously, on Filipino Friday 2012:
FF 1: Introductions

ReaderCon 2012 Filipino Friday #1: Introductions

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.

Readercon Filipino Friday #5: ReaderCon Hopes and Expectations

This meme is hosted by the official Filipino Reader Conference site to promote the 1st ever Filipino Reader Con on September 14th.  That’s on Wednesday!  Yay!

Readercon Filipino Friday #3: Being a reader in the Philippines

 
This meme is hosted by the official Filipino Reader Conference site to promote the 1st ever Filipino Reader Con on September 14th.
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How hard or easy is it to be a book lover in the Philippines? What are some of your frustrations as a Filipino reader? And what are the positive aspects of being a reader in the Philippines?

Being a book lover in the Philippines used to be very difficult. Yes, even more difficult than it is now. Trying to find books a few years ago, especially if they’re published in the US or Europe, used to be a chore. But with the advent of technology, it’s getting easier to buy books online and have them shipped here, and I know a lot of people who do take advantage of this when they can’t find the books they’re looking for in local stores.

My problem is I don’t have the capability to buy books online, so it’s more frustrating for me than most. I have to wait for the local stores to get the books or to wait weeks for the stores to order the books for me. It’s fortunate that stores do have better selections nowadays, so I have yet to be too frustrated to have to resort to asking a relative or friend to buy something online for me. Yet. 😛 Also, the almighty Local Tax imposed on imported books scare me. And corrupt customs officials scare me even more.

Availability issues are especially true for me when it comes to obscure science fiction and fantasy titles.  My only consolation is a certain store tries very hard to maintain a good selection for this genre. (Thank you, Store-That-I-Shall-Not-Name-But-You-Probably-Know-Which for carrying Sanderson titles!)

Sometimes when stores do have what I’m looking for in stock, they would only have one format available, so I either have to shell out too much for a hardbound copy of something I only wanted a paperback of, or to settle for a paperback of something I wanted a hardbound copy of. When I’m really unlucky, they would only have a box set in stock. Then sometimes when they do stock a hard-to-find title, I look at the price tag and find out I can’t afford it.

I can’t entirely blame the stores, though. (Look at what happened to Borders, and that’s a book store giant!) Books are not the foremost form of entertainment in this country, so they have to ensure that their business is viable and that most of their stocks are titles that are sure to sell. I’m still glad we have more options now, but the local stores’ ability to balance availability, variety and affordability seems to still be a hit-and-miss affair.

I came up with a personal strategy to cope with problems that I experience and to ensure that I can somehow get my hands on most of the books I want. I maintain a priority list of old and upcoming releases that I must purchase, either because they’re part of a collection or something that I just have to read as soon as possible. These are the books that I pester the book stores’ customer service personnel about or that I tend to ask fellow readers for “sightings in the wild” for.

I also have a list of books that I would like to read sometime, but are not priorities. These are books that I wouldn’t mind scrounging around in book bargain bins for or wouldn’t mind just borrowing from someone. These are also the books that make me wish the Philippines can afford to put up and maintain many good public libraries, but that’s too much to hope for right now.

I recently learned from friends who have traveled abroad that books are still generally cheaper here, and that’s a relief. It’s also great that local stores are starting to become more adventurous with their marketing strategies, what with the recent series of author events, which benefit both the store and the readers.

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Previously, on Filipino Friday:
FF #1: Introduce Yourself
FF #2: Your reader’s story

Readercon Filipino Friday Meme 2: Your reader’s story

 
This meme is hosted by the official Filipino Reader Conference site to promote the 1st ever Filipino Reader Con on September 14th.
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Your reader’s story: How did you become a reader?

I inherited my love of reading from my Mom, who always had a book at her bedside table. I used to accompany her to bookstores, where I wandered off to the more age-appropriate sections while she browsed for her Sidney Sheldons and Danielle Steels and Jackie Collinses and Robert Ludlums.

My elementary and high school library cards were well-used. On average, I went through 3 Borrower’s Cards per year (I needed to allot time to studying too! 😛 ).

In elementary, my reading list included Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, The Three Investigators, Beverly Cleary books, and Choose Your Own Adventure books. Oh, and Paddington Bear; let’s not forget him because he’s ridiculously adorable.

In high school, I went through the Sweet Valley and Sweet Dreams phase like most teenage girls, but I also started to pick up occasional YA fantasy fare, like E. Nesbit, Zilpha Keatley Snyder, Diane Duane, and Madeleine L’Engle. It was also in high school that I was introduced to the Dragonlance saga, which would ignite my interest in epic fantasies.

In college, I started reading my Mom’s books, and that piqued my interest in general fiction.  I also continued to hunt down Dragonlance and Michael Crichton titles.  And I read Isaac Asimov short stories in the library in between classes.

I never stopped reading since then. I try to pick up a book whenever I have an opportunity to do so, and I try as much as I can to make time to read even when I’m busy. Idle times like long commutes or long waits make for productive reading times for me. 🙂

What I love most about reading is being transported to another place and time. I don’t have the capability to travel much, so books are like my vacations. Charlaine Harris said that books are the cheapest vacations you can buy, and Samantha Sotto said that imagination is one of the few places that Filipinos don’t need a visa, and I wholeheartedly agree with them. If it weren’t for books, life will probably be like living in a boat that’s forever anchored to a port.

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Previously on Filipino Friday:
FF #1: Introduce Yourself

Readercon Filipino Friday Meme 1: Introduce Yourself

 
This meme is hosted by the official Filipino Reader Conference site to promote the 1st ever Filipino Reader Con on September 14th.

 

Introduce Yourself: This being the first topic, let’s all get to know each other better. Tell us what kind of reader you are. What are your favorite genres and books? Who are your favorite authors? Do you have a comfort read? And what’s the best book you’ve read so far this year? You can also include links of where other readers can find you online, such as your book social networking sites, etc.