Filipino Friday 2014, Week 1: Surprise, Reader!

Long time, no blog! Last post was one and a half years ago, but will try to be active for Filipino Readercon 2014's -

Hello, it’s the first week of Filipino Fridays 2014! Whether it’s your first time to participate or not, tell us a bit about yourself. More specifically, tell us about your favorite book discoveries for this year. Any author you started reading this year that you can’t get enough of? A book you didn’t think you’d like, but you ended up liking/loving? Any book series that you just have to get your hands on? Have you discovered anything new from Filipino authors this year?

Favorite Book Discoveries for 2014

The Rosales Saga by F. Sionil Jose

I don't read Filipino books much, so to address that deficiency I joined the read-along of this famous series at our book club Flips Flipping Pages (FFP). I read Sionil Jose's "Ermita" last year and liked the historical aspect but disliked the preachy tone at the end, so I didn't expect to enjoy these. I have yet to finish the last book but I am awed by the beauty and truth of Sionil Jose's words. He reminds me of the works of Colombian author Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

Locke & Key by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez

This was last year's best read by Honey, another FFP member. I did not enjoy Hill's "Heart-Shaped Box" but decided to give this comic book series a try on her recommendation. A blend of mystery, fantasy, horror and suspense, I devoured this series.

Author I Can't Get Enough Of

TJ Klune from Dreamspinner Press. I read an anthology dedicated to him and his fiance Eric Arvin (another MM romance author) and got curious. I started with "Bear, Otter, and the Kid", the novel he is most known for, and had to read the next one, "Who We Are", immediately after, and the one after that, "The Art of Breathing". I like the intelligence of Klune's characters, and their acceptance of their weaknesses.

Book/s I Didn't Think I'd Like But Ended Up Liking/Loving

See "Favorite Book Discoveries" above. :)

Book Series I Have to Get My Hands On

I'm looking forward to reading
- "Edge of Eternity", the last book in Ken Follett's The Century Trilogy, and
- "The Blood of Olympus", the last book in Rick Riordan's The Heroes of Olympus series.

I'm waiting for the conclusion to Justin Cronin's The Passage Trilogy, "The City of Mirrors", scheduled for release next year.

New Discovery from Filipino Authors

"Alternative Alamat", edited by Paolo Chikiamco. I love mythology, and I'm currently enjoying the different takes on our own gods and legends and beliefs.

Filipino Friday 2: School of Reading

Another late post :P; this week's topic is 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?
 


My parents are not readers (unless it's the Bible for mother, and a newspaper for father), but I will forever be thankful that they encouraged the reader in me. It was my father who first taught me to read using this book (on the right), and posters and flashcards he made himself.



Some of my earliest and fondest memories of books were of A Child's First Library of Learning. I remember looking forward to the arrival of each volume every month, since my mother bought the series volume per volume from my nursery school teacher, Mrs. Lansangan. Mrs. Lansangan was the person who convinced my parents to enroll me in school at the young age of 4 years, so I have many things to be thankful to her for.

the 24 volumes of A Child's First Library of Learning

Another teacher stands out in my memory for turning me into even more of a literature lover - Mrs. Oblepias, one of my English teachers in high school. Because of her I read and loved "The Iliad" by Homer, "Julius Caesar" by William Shakespeare, and "Les Miserables" by Victor Hugo.

 

late 5th to early 6th century Iliad manuscript

From grade school to high school to college, the library was my favorite hangout. I am especially fond of my university's (old) Rizal Library, where I felt I had my own world inside my cubicle, with treasures in the shelves waiting for me to discover them.

Filipino Friday 1: Introductions

In a month's time it will be the 2nd Filipino ReaderCon.

I was unable to attend the first one last year due to hospital duty, and am unsure I can attend this year due to clinic duty, so I was happy to learn that I can still participate through the Filipino Friday meme.

This week's topic is 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?

Firstly, I am Cecille, a doctor of internal, or adult, medicine. Because I almost always get asked after having studied thick tomes of medical books - no, I have not tired of reading. I was a reader first before I became a doctor. :)

My Favorite Books of All Time 
I have had many favorite books throughout the years, but the books that I have and will still read over and over, the ones that I would like stranded with me on a desert island, are...

"The Lord of the Rings" by J.R.R. Tolkien

I remember a high school friend reciting the poem - "...One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them..." - from memory to me, but I first picked up the novel for myself in the year the first film in Peter Jackson's adaptation was released. And each served to enhance my love for both.

"The Stand" by Stephen King

    

I am a fan of Stephen King, but of all his works this is my absolute favorite. I love its post-apocalyptic setting, and its epic tone. But as with all his works, it is his characterization that I love the most.

My Favorite Genres

 History, both fiction and non-fiction, especially about ancient civilizations, the 19th century, and the two world wars, Mystery, Fantasy, and combinations of the above

I Avoid Reading... 

I will probably read anything, but will not pick these up on my own - Sports Fiction, Techno-Thrillers, Westerns.

Book That Surprised Me This Year

"Lamb" by Christopher Moore (click for my review)

 

I became a reader when... 

Ever since I can remember I have always loved reading, and I have to thank my parents for encouraging me by treating me to books whenever I did well in school.

1-year-old me "reading"

I love reading...
for many reasons, but primarily because it introduces me to different people, brings me to different places, and transports me to different times.