IT'S THE SMALL THINGS

Last week, the first ever Philippine Book Festival was held at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC). A most noble project of the National Book Development Board (NBDB), I was so happy to know that in a tech-clad and overpowered generation, people still buy, and look for books. I grew up in the paper and pen generation, where I would lose myself to flipping pages of books. I spent a lot of my lunch breaks in school in the library perusing through pages of books repeatedly because I found comfort in the familiarity, and a momentary escape from reality. Perhaps this affinity with books also honed my love for writing, and expressing ideas at an early age. To this day, I find so much beauty seeing words strung beautifully together, printed on paper. It brings about an inexplicable feeling of euphoria to me.
It was but a most pleasant surprise and an extreme honor when Savage Mind invited me to do a book signing at the festival last Sunday. It remains surreal that people find interest in and buy my pandemic project tribute love letter to my beloved grand-aunt written for the Bikolnon Book Series. Then again, the indomitable force and guiding influence she was to my life is unparalleled, and being able to share but a tidbit of our relationship and our story with a wider audience is but an honor.
I still feel uneasy calling myself an author simply because I feel like one book does merit, nor turn me into that. But what I am truly excited about is how the love for books is still around because for as long as I live, I will advocate for holding the real thing – reading on an IPad, a tablet or a Kindle just does not do the same thing for me. As voracious readers, we also must do our share in making sure the publishing industry has enough fuel to keep on going and to stay on. Because regardless of the kind, books are wondrous things. They are educational vessels, platforms to escape reality, and mindful tools we want to preserve for generations to come.
Books did not only bring about a love of reading for me, it honed my writing and exposed me to many different perspectives I would otherwise be oblivious to. In reading, I am able to craft my own style when writing, and in exposing myself to the styles of other authors, I gain more confidence with my own voice, and am able to write more fearlessly. In promoting books and its widespread use, we are also encouraging a generation of empowered individuals to come. Let’s keep on reading, let’s keep on going!