I admit it, I am a reader. I've had a life-long love affair with books. I always look forward to cuddling with a good book on a cool evening. It's not that I do not like the company of real people, but the characters in books are interesting and their quirks endearing. I admit, too, that the sole purpose of my life is to finish a list of must-read books. At one time, I had a reading list containing 1001 titles. But I realized that in order to achieve that goal, I needed to read 50 books a year for 20 years. So I scrapped that and just started to work on a shorter list with 100 titles. In that list, I've read 20 books. Not entirely bad. Not entirely good either. Still, I make it a point to read at least 20 books a year.
Unfortunately, not a lot of people have this love affair. To qualify, not all Filipinos have this love affair with books. And although books have become more accessible to us online because of the influx of sites offering ebooks, reading books has become passé and has been replaced by activities that offer instant gratification. The current pastime and hobbies of Filipinos (my peers at least) are updating their FB/IG/Twitter accounts, reading fad online articles, watching video clips, or playing online games.
In one news article entitled "Do Pinoys Read at All?" written by Queena Lee-Chua, it was found out that "… reading has slightly declined in our nation. In 2007, only 92 percent of respondents say they read, down two per cent from 2003. The reading of books, comics, newspapers, and magazines has gone down, by seven,13, 14, and 15 percent, respectively." Equally alarming, the article also stated, "Reading non-school books is not a habit for most people,except for some who read before going to sleep. The number of books read in the past year is seven on the average. An average of seven books a year is not too bad, but what is alarming is the median number of books read, which is a low three. This means that even if half the adult population of the Philippines have read three or more non-school books in the past year, the other half have read only at most three, or worse, no book at all."
In that same article it said that, "despite the proliferation of book stores, libraries and publishers in NCR, book readers have decreased by a whopping 31 percent from 95percent in 2003 to 64 per cent in 2007."
I could continue with the numbers, but I shall stop there. The numbers are depressing and depressingly low. Is there a way to change the numbers? My friend Ranz Andri, a self-confessed non-reader, once told me that he envies readers, which is short of saying "I wish I had the passion to read books." Fortunately, it is not too late to be in love with books.
As a reader (and blogger of book reviews) I have found ways to make reading easy for readers and easier for non-readers. We just have to keep in mind 5 things in this speech/article called Reading Lessons.
Firstly, choose a genre that you are comfortable with. You do not have to start reading 'profound' books by Pulitzer Prize winning authors or Nobel Laureates. Start simple. You can begin with YA books, novellas, short stories or even Tagalog romance novels.
Secondly, spend at least one hour a day reading. Instead of wasting time in front of the TV or playing the trending game Flappy Bird, why not choose a comfortable spot in your house or your favorite coffee shop and read. Your one hour could translate to 20-50 pages, depending on your reading pace.
Thirdly, talk to friends who have read a lot and ask for book recommendations. They have their list of favorite books, so they would know what title would suit your taste. This is the perfect way for you to broaden your knowledge of good titles. Plus it pays to read only the good books.
Fourthly, chart your progress. www.goodreads.com is a good venue for you to build your book database, share book reviews and meet other readers. The site also sponsors a yearly book challenge for members.
Lastly, have fun reading. You know you are having fun when you spend the entire morning,afternoon or night reading. There are books that are a chore to read. Do not punish yourself with these kinds of books. (Dostoevsky and Melville have been on my shelf for the longest time.) Instead, find a book that interests you with a story that has the fun factor.
Unless you are a professional editor, you are really not paid to read books. But then again it always pays to read books. As Samuel L. Clemens aka Mark Twain puts it "A person who won't read has no advantage over one who can't read. End.
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