Readercon Filipino Friday: Week #5

(Go HERE for details & participants of this meme)

This week's question:
What do you hope will happen in the Filipino ReaderCon? What are you expecting from the event?

My answer:
I am bummed that I won't be able to make it to this event.  I would have expected to be enlightened and befriend/network with fellow readers.  I would have hoped that as an outcome of this event, a program that rally/spread the joy of reading would be established ...in individual, community, and national levels.  For example, individually we can lend out books to friends and acquaintances or encourage the love of reading through your blog.  In community, we can do a book drive, set up a book club, or develop a fund for the building of a local library.  And nationally, we can vote into/sustain politicians that value reading and writing.  These are few general examples.  I would expect that as a group we would collaborate thoughts and ideas and come up with something fabulous!  :)

Have a great conference my dear friends.  Please let me know how I can help from way way over here.  ;)

Readercon Filipino Friday: Week 4

(Go HERE for details & participants)

This week's question:
Do you read Filipino literature? If you do, tell us your favorite books by Filipino authors and name a few that you'd like to recommend to fellow readers.  If you don't read much Filipino lit, then tell us why.

My answer:
I don't read much Filipino literature because my main source of books is my local library (here in the U.S.A.) so I'm limited to Filipino lits that make it there.  So far a whopping three books that I can recall:  Butterfly People by Robin Lim (this book was actually a gift from my brother), Tall Story by Candy Gourlay, and Ilustrado by Miguel Syjuco.  All of which I enjoyed.  ~Oh, I also had another book by Bo Sanchez that was given to me by my brother but my aunt borrowed it and haven't seen it since (this was back in March, I think).

This horrid stat is a wake up call to head on over to my Filipino Goodreads group and check out some recommendations and hope some of them are in my library.  And of course now I can get some from those of you answering this meme.  Perhaps if there's a must read then I might invest in purchasing it.  :)

Readercon Filipino Friday: Week 3

It's Friday in the Philippines so I'm posting this now. :)

(go HERE for explanation of what this is)

This week's question:
"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)?"

My answer:
Okay, this question doesn't apply to me since I live in the U.S. but will answer it as it relates to being a book lover in the U.S.  Anyway, I'm queen of frugal so I get most of my book from the library.  Of course, this limits me to what they have but I'm fortunate to have a library that has great selections.  I'm quite content with this set up ... helps my pocketbook and supports the library!  :)

I have noticed quite a bit of bookstores available to the public here.  From large chain bookstores to discount ones.  There use to be a dollar book store in the mall nearby but before I took advantage of it more, it closed!  Now, the bookstore chain, Borders, is closing nationwide ..bummer!  I'm guessing with the advent of electronic readers, some stores are suffering.  Speaking of e-readers, I got myself one this past Christmas but just haven't gotten into it yet.  I love holding a bound book, flipping the crisp (or not) pages, ... just old fashion that way.  Although, I've come to appreciate audiobooks.  I find them quite convenient and functional for my busy schedule.  Anyway, in general, the accessibility of books whether bound or not is considerable here.  So perhaps the ease of access will aid in promoting the young and upcoming generation to a love of reading.

Readercon Filipino Friday: Week 1 & 2

I'm late in joining this meme so I'm playing catch up!  Anyway, there will be a first Filipino Reader Conference in September in the Philippines and so this meme was created as a fun way to get a jump start in getting to know each other before the event.  Although, I won't be attending the function (I live in the U.S.; financial + reasons) I want to do my part to support it.  So head on over to the Readercon website for details on the event and the links to others who are participating in this meme.

Now, here's the Q&A:
Q:  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.

A:  See my August 19 answer below for the first part of this question.  ~I'm a softy so I enjoy books that touch the heart.  So generally those fall into the adult fiction genre... discovering initial favorite authors such as Mitch Albom, Richard Paul Evans, and Nicholas Sparks.  But I didn't want to limit myself so I dabbled into other genres and discovered more wonderful authors such as Lois Lowry, Haruki Murakami, and J.K. Rowling.  Reading about people who take a stand for themselves or others in the cause of humanity became a big plus in my book as well.  I discovered a love for variety!  Though lately, I am finding myself caught up in the contemporary alley and missing out on great books.  But that's alright, I generally learn something from every book I read.  ~Off the top of my head, the best books I read this year are the Harry Potter series.  However, I've also found treasure in Newbery Medal books, tearful moments reading Holocaust subject books, and awe at dystopian novels.  Even a couple or so turned into movie books made my list.  Basically, I've hit some wonderful reads and looking forward to more!  You'll find a few of my favorites in my complete profile if you're interested in a list.  ~See this blog's sidebar for links to other places you can find me.  Hope to see you there too!  :)

Q:  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?

A:  I wasn't one of the fortunate ones that grew up in books so I'm a late bookworm bloomer.  I don't recall being read to as a child.  Perhaps I was read to here and there, but not regularly enough that reading stuck.  However, I did have a good period of time during grade school that I enjoyed reading books.  There was an incentive reading program that encourage me to read and I took advantage of it.  But book reading ended there because I only read required readings during the rest of my school years.  During my young adult and adult years, I read here and there for leisure.  Then, my time finally came last year in February where I just took the plunge and challenged myself to get back to reading so as to be able to join in book conversations with my friends.  Before I knew it, I got the reading bug!  What joy filled me when that happened!!  I felt enrichment in the power of stories and through them I was able to take journeys and was broadening my horizon.  It was an exhilarating feeling and still is!!  So now you'll find me with a book or two or three and even catch me reading if my hands aren't tied. 

That's it!  Thanks for stopping by.  Have a great week! :)