Jake seems to be awed looking at all the books at Powerbooks Alabang last July.
When I was young, I remember fondly how I love(d) reading books that our Mama(razzi) used to buy from Bookmark Escolta, near her BIR office. My brother, Junnie and I would consider it a treat if we were taken to Bookmark one summer day to browse over the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys collections. We didn't mind riding jeepneys and the blue Love Bus to get to Escolta. All that mattered was getting to Bookmark and being in book heaven. Don't you just love the smell of those crisp pages????
In Bookmark or in any other bookstore for that matter, we would go over the shelves looking for something that would catch our reading fancy. As a kid, I veered towards the Science or Fact books and had Lady Bird Books about insects, dogs, the solar system, the human body, bees, ants, and saints. I also had a few Nancy Drew books which I found quite pricey to collect at that time (about P49.95 back in the early '80s) so I just contented myself by borrowing from the school library.
Later on, I started reading Sweet Dreams and other juvenile stuff. Then I graduated to biographies and have read about the Kennedys, the Windsors, among others. Then added design and self-help books to my preference. Junnie was more into the Guinness Books of World Records and NBA magazines. Now he is into fiction/bestsellers too. (Is that right, Jun?)
So yes, I do love reading - not just hardbound, paperback, and other printed media, but online reading materials as well (blogs, etc.) That explains why I probably have 300:300 vision and perennially wear eyeglasses.
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A few days back, I was in the mall with the boys looking for PC and PS1 games. As they were busily looking, I was also checking out the music mp3s. (Oops piracy...) In fact, I helped myself with one mp3 of Cafe Del Mar collection for P100. Cheap, I thought. And that already contained about 7 or more albums.
While looking some more, I came across a collection of mp3 audio books. They had Dan Brown, Tolkien, Rowling, Tom Clancy, Anne Rice, Covey etc. One mp3 cd contained an audiobook and an e-book and cost a measly P100! That's a small fraction of the actual book cost!
I bought Harry Potter Book 6 and Bill Clinton's My Life for P100 each.
The novelty about this is that we listen to the Harry Potter story every morning on our way to school as it is being read by a man who is talented in changing his voice depending on the character. Your imagination gets stirred. You feel like you're transported to some magical place. It's actually more powerful than watching a movie, at least for me. It feels like we are kids huddled together listening to a storyteller! It has become a new activity to engage in while enroute to school. Amusing really.
And oh, take note, it's fun listening to My Life too. It is read by no less than the former US President himself!
Now to get me an iPod!...
Starting Jake young...
I think that books should be read and not listened to coz that's the way we learned the words and how these are used...but listening to Harry Potter to school every morning is really quite enjoyable, it does make one feel like a child listening to a great storyteller (with British accent pa!)...Now, I think I can do both...find the time to read & if I can't I can always listen to a great story! :)
ReplyDeleteI don't think I started the same way which I regret so much. That is why now that I have Zia, I make sure I just buy her books and other stimulating stuff. At this point, don't want history to repeat itself.
ReplyDeleteAm glad you still remember those days! And we as parents have not regretted we have spent a sum and have given you all those good books.
ReplyDeleteWe are happy that Jake, Kyle and Matt are given this kind of exposure to worth-reading books. Hope you always instill in their young minds that reading is one thing; doing or applying what is read to day to day living is another! Yes? :) :) :)
when i was still in school, i enjoyed reading books - from nancy drew to psyche books. i had a full shelf in my room. unfortunately, my love for it waned when i got older.
ReplyDeletebut believe it or not, oprah's book club encouraged me again to start picking up the books i bought, which i have not read for months (or years!).
bill clinton's bio is on my next to-buy list! nice post, linnor!
like you linnor, i love books since i was in grade school! i had my share of sweet dreams, nancy drew and eventually, fiction by robert ludlum, and even mills and boon during my pubescent years! now, i wish i have more time to read again!
ReplyDeletejake is a cute busy boy........!
HI PAZ!
ReplyDeleteUy pareho tayo! I outgrew the fiction stuff nga lang and just read bios. But after buying and listening to the Harry Potter audiobook, I have a new-found respect for fiction. :).
hi linnor! i love reading myself & i have -7.5/-7.0 vision as a consequence!i used to read under the covers since we had nightly 'lights out' growing up. my parents did the same--buying us books when we were little--we used to have a mini-library in their bedroom--kid's books in the bottom of the shelves and adult ones on the very top!& i remember when i was in grade 4 'twas my 'assignment' to read the children's bible to my younger sister every night--in front of our mom!
ReplyDeletenow b & i go to the library for free books. thnks for a great read, linnor!
i was surrounded by books all through my wonder years! remember when Google didnt exist, we had this 32 volume Encyclopedia Brittanica in my room. You dont know it, but I almost read them cover to cover (covers lang ha,:)
ReplyDeletei've been a bookjunkie since grade school, devouring 2 books in one day, and having like 5 library cards in 1 year, equivalent to 500 books borrowed.
now my sparetime is spent on reading them online, or during flights, i finish one book. i have the condensed books of Reader's Digest too, libre kasi from my subscription.
good the boys love the same books i loved. matthew has been my rightful heir to all my NBA and Guiness collection. I used to be attached to them, but I've lived simply the past years....
HI JOY!
ReplyDeleteReading stimulates our imagination just as it does mine as I imagine you reading under the covers. Cute. Heehee! I actually would prefer giving books to a child more than a toy. :D
HI JUNNIE!
You read the Britannica?! That's why you started wearing glasses quite early when you were in grade 4. Hahaha! The love for reading and writing run in the family. Mamarazzi is to reading as Paparazzi is to writing. Di ba? I'll make sure the kids acquire the special skills even if they are surrounded by electronic toys and such. We are willing recipients of your hand-me-down books pala. :D
it's really good to start 'em young! i still buy books even when i don't have time to read them :P
ReplyDeleteluckily, i still have perfect vision. don't know..just lucky!
Linnor,
ReplyDeletebefore anything else, that photo of Jake facing/against that huge bookshelf filled with colorful books is EXCELLENT!
we read pretty much the same books pala :) nancy drew! :) i still have all my hardbound books of her, i am lucky because Lolo did not make tipid when it came to buying books for me, and by the time i was redy to read all those expensive book, he was retired na with money to spare (and spoil me, hehehe) so yeah, i'm very thankful to my Lolo for that!
now naman I read a lot of John Grisham and mostly Non Fiction books na. Sometimes educational books on my career etc.
galing your photo talaga :) :) :)
HI JOJO!
ReplyDeleteI envy you for having perfect vision! Hahaha! Sometimes when vanity takes the best of me, I entertain the thought of having my eyes go through lasik. :P On second thought, I'm so used to having my glasses with me, even when I sleep sometimes. Hehehe. It's when I'm in the beach that I dread having to wear them instead of those cool shades. La lang. :) You'll soon find time to read your books. :)
HI BEA!
Aw, thanks! I didnt use flash in those two pics and I had to keep my hands really still to keep focus. Apparently it caused a bit of a blur on the shelves. I'm surprised it still came out ok. :)
Your Lolo really doted on you ha. That's sweet. :)
like mother, like son!
ReplyDeletei loved reading science books too..now im more into police stories..and of course, on pregnancy, baby nurturing etc...
and yes, great memory! still remember the price of the books noon ha..
HI ANALYSE!
ReplyDeleteRemembering the price of the books before is probably borne out of frustration for not being able to afford it. Hahaha! :D
i got turned off with reading in general when i went for my mba. nakakasawa magbasa ng one business case after another. i just recently rediscovered my passion for it, starting with light reading like da vinci code, etc.
ReplyDeletei love your photos of jake!
HI VANGIE!
ReplyDeleteI would have recommended the audio book to you if you were still tired of reading. Kakaaliw to listen to stories this time instead of read... :D
hello linnor!
ReplyDeletemy parents used to take us to national bookstore near araneta coliseum when we were young. basta after sunday mass, we would go to the bookstore and would be allowed to choose one book/comic book each. i loved those archie comics and funny komiks, too! do you remeber little lotta/ or dot? or casper? they used to have comic books before di ba? i also read nancy drew and hardy boys books...mostly borrowed from friends. now as a teacher, i have my own collection of children's books, that big truck book that is pictured with jake, i have that in my library! hehehe...i'm saving them all for my kids (sana!)and btw, matilda's name was taken from a fave roald dahl book. :D basa ng basa..it is good for us! :)
HI ANNABANANA!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your early experiences with reading! Yes I do remember Casper, Archie and Dot! I also loved reading Richie Rich. :D
I'm trying to influence my boys now to love reading amidst the constant distraction of the computer, playstation and the television. I hope they appreciate reading the way we do. Hehehe.
Audio books na pirated? Di nga? Hehehe.
ReplyDeleteI love that pic by the way! It's wonderful how you and Jerry share your love of reading with the boys. :)
HI TONI!
ReplyDeleteAy, no kidding! Hahaha! There are audio books na pirated. I plan to buy everything I could get my hands on sana if not for the cost involved. Kaya pakonti-konti lang. P100 per cd and some will have 2 books in one cd pa (like Harry Potter). Kakaaliw to listen to especially when on the road and when my eyes are too stressed to read.