[The Filipino ReaderCon 2012: Filipino Friday # 5] Celebrating the Best

Tomorrow, August 18, is the much-awaited 2nd Filipino Reader Conference at the Filipinas Heritage Library in Makati City! Cheers to the organizers for putting this up!

Sadly for me, though, I’ll miss it for the second year in a row (I was not even aware of the first one because I was not yet book blogging at the time) because I have classes and other school-related commitments. Perhaps next year, I’ll be able to fly from Cebu to Manila.

Still, that does not mean I cannot show my support. I have done so through my participation in the event’s Filipino Friday. I purposely missed last Friday’s meme because there was not much I could share on the topic, Books and Friends. I am not a member of any book clubs, although I tried with The Filipino Group in Goodreads but by then, so much was already going on within my family, my close cousin died, I suddenly got very sick, and I just had to unplug for a long while, so when I got back online, I just did not have the guts anymore to virtually face my reading buddy for The Canterbury Tales.

I am trying to overcome my anxieties of becoming a member of a book club, such as not being able to finish the featured book of the month on time or according to schedule. But I appreciate the beauty behind a book club--the ability for one to freely and honestly share his or her thoughts on any type of literature and still be respected for his or her opinions. So yes, I would still consider joining a book club in the future.

For now, for today’s Filipino Fridays, we are going to talk about my favorite books this year so far. And believe me, most of them are by Filipino writers. This year, I discovered the thrilling pleasure of reading graphic novels. Oh, the conspiracies! I have read “The Mythology Class” by Arnold Arre and “Skyworld (Volume 1 and 2)” by Mervin Ignacio and Ian Sta. Maria. A lot of old short stories, poems, and plays by Filipino writers are also in my list of favorites, such as those by Amador Daguio, Edith Tiempo, and Estrella Alfon. I am now picking up award-winning children’s stories by Filipino writers as well, such as The Night Monkeys by Lakambini Sitoy, and I’m loving them! I’m also reading the well-recommended Salamanca by Dean Francis Alfar. 

An amazing page off The Mythology Class by Arnold Arre

Great illustration by Joel Chua for Lakambini Sitoy's The Night Monkeys

A captivating page off Skyworld Volume 2 by Mervin Ignacio and Ian Sta. Maria

I recently started an event (open to those who want to participate) on featuring writings from the Philippine regions, starting with stories by Ilocano writers. Then it hit me: the more I read homegrown stories, the more I become proud of myself as a Filipino, which is why I encourage Filipino book bloggers to also spare at least an hour or two in a week reading works by Filipino writers. For sure you’ll discover a gold mine of great stories and the ones we heard from our parents and grandparents are just chips of gold.


- Nancy -

Filipino Fridays is the meme of the ReaderCon 2012.

The 2nd Filipino ReaderCon: United We Read is tomorrow, August 18, 2012 at the Filipinas Heritage Library, Makati City to be held in partnership with Filipinas Heritage Library and National Book Development Board. The event is sponsored by Scholastic, McDonald’s, Flipreads, Anvil Publishing, Hachette Philippines, Amici Philippines, OMF Literature, Adarna House, and Lampara Books.

Click here for more details.