Me and Books

I've always loved reading. I remember the day I started my love affair with books. It was way back in grade school. I was told by my guidance councilor that I will be picked up late. With all my friends gone , I had no choice but to wait either in the school canteen or at the library. Having spent my day's allowance over lunch, I had no other choice but to go to the library. Initially, I convinced myself to do my homework. But, I soon got bored and decided to leaf through some of the hard bound books. There, I discovered the Nancy Drew Mystery series. I was intrigued that there were more than 30 books in the series. I decided to read the first chapter of Book 1 (The Secret of the Old Clock) and could not put the book down. It was in this state, engrossed in the reading a book, that my mom found me. My mom was a little surprised. I guess she was used to seeing me engaged in some form of art. 

I didn't borrow the book then. But, I went back the next day to continue reading it. Thus, started my obsession in reading. I read mostly mystery, adventure, and fantasy books. I didn't really care much for the romance and historical romance that my older sister was into. In fact, I make it a point to stay away from those types of books as I find them far from entertaining.

It was a little difficult for me to give it up when my college grades started to suffer a little because of too much reading. But, I eventually did. From averaging 4 fiction books a week, I reduced my reading to 0 fiction books in college and 1-4 fiction books per year after college.

When I resigned from work in May 2011 and decided to rest for a month before starting my own business, I again found myself with nothing to do. Then, I remember the hundreds of books that I bought that are left unread and collecting dust on my bedroom shelves. Without thinking, I grabbed one of the books, and started reading. I haven't stopped reading since. 

Now, I make time to read at least 1 chapter a day. Reading keeps me grounded. Reading ignites my passion. Reading fills me with joy. 

Reading has done a lot for me in the past 3 years. And with gratitude, I'd like to acknowledge these books by adding a "LIBRARY" page. For now, it will just be a list of books. But, every now and then I'll be writing book reviews too. I hope by doing so, I would be able to encourage others to start a love affair with books too.

New Blog, Filipino Pride

Today happens to be a non-working holiday here in the Philippines. It's also the day for the Million People March in Luneta. The latter is a gathering of Filipinos hoping to express their outrage against the undenial political corruption evident in the misappropriation and misuse of PDAF. I was set on joining this movement because I am one of the tax paying Filipinos who felt swindled by the Philippine government. Somehow, with this recent scandal, it makes me think that there's truth in the view of most tax paying Filipinos that the government is increasing taxes to fund their lavish lifestyles. I chose not to believe this. Instead, as taught by a private catholic all-girls school, I chose to believe in the inherent goodness of people; politicians included. This is the reason why I wanted to join the gathering.  It's in the hope that a united Philippines against corruption would encourage the inherent goodness in our politicians to take to heart their oath to be of service to the Filipino people.

It saddens me that I am unable to be part of this gathering. As of this writing, I am in the hospital confined for fever and vomiting. I'm hoping that by starting my long overdue blog and dedicating my first post to the success of this event is enough. Long live the resilient Filipino!

Note to reader: This blog is not a political blog. It is a do-it-yourself blog of a nationalistic Filipina. This means that most of the posts would be about arts, crafts, Filipiniana and DIY. But, every now and then, I'd write something that concern the Filipino. Crafted Love is a love for anything that can be crafted. Including crafting the invisible... Filipino Pride.