2. Confessions of a BOOKaholic

When I was a kid, my dad used to read me fairy tales before going to bed. I would not be content with just one story but I would always ask him for a second story every night. And every night, my dad would say, “The second story starts tomorrow. Time for bed.” I still miss my dad.

In grade school, I discovered ... the library! I had never seen so many books in my life and then I learned I could borrow these books. That was the highlight of first grade.

My next move was to make friends with the librarian in high school so that I would be the first one to borrow brand new books before they were even released in circulation. Because this was International School Manila, we had a steady supply of new books from the States. I loved getting a new borrower's card all the time because I borrowed so many books.

 
Deciding to become an English major in UP Diliman was a no brainer. This time, I turned to the classics. I read Shakespeare, Homer, Dante Alighieri, John Milton, Tennyson, and Dostoevsky. That was just the starter list.

 
Getting a teaching assistantship to graduate school in Clark University, Massachusetts was such a lucky break. This time, my area of concentration was American literature from Hawthorne to Robert Frost to Carson McCullers who was the subject of my thesis paper.

The point is, reading has always been part of my life. But take note, you don't have to be an English major to become a reader.

 
I always like to share this little anecdote with my students. When I spent a year in the States with my sister in Arizona, I finished reading 120 novels. How did I get this number? I counted all the books I borrowed from the printouts I got from the public library at the end of the year. That was my accomplishment for that year.

 
These days I don't have as much time to read but during the weekend, I can still finish two novels in one day if I skip my household chores. But get this, reading is not about speed. It's just that I have so many books to read that I am always in a bit of a rush to finish a book.

Last weekend I started counting the books in the shelves of my bedroom but gave up because there were too many, I finally finished counting my books last night and I got a nice number – a thousand and one books. The number changes all the time because I donate the ones I have read to the APC library and I buy new and used books every weekend at Power Books and Book Sale. 

My book collection is a mix of academic and trade books. I have two sets of self help books. I have two dozen books on getting organized and getting rid of clutter. These books are now contributing to the clutter in my bedroom.

 
I also have quite a collection of surviving a breakup books like He's Just Not That Into You of which I got myself two copies.. Well, guess what, those books didn't help me forget my ex. Moving on...

 
Chic lit is a fun and easy read because it's a version of a woman's fairy tale. I love happy endings, even one with my ex who was here on vacation during our term break. Yup, I am still recovering...

 
But the bulk of my collection is mystery novels. I love reading a good mystery especially ones that you can't put down until 3 in the morning. I read in Inquirer that mystery novels are good for keeping the mind sharp so that's food for thought.

 
Let me just say that reading is good for your mind. You enhance your vocabulary and you improve your writing. You read good authors and learn from their writing styles and then you discover your own style. Did I tell you reading was fun? It is.

 
I always try to encourage my students to read. It's a tough sell with all the new technologies and games vying for their attention. But with e-books, there is a chance that reading will become more accessible to students.

Reading is my passion. As my favorite Geek t-shirt says, “The book was better.”