Reading is something I love but nowadays get very little time to do... Reading for pleasure, that is, and not required texts or essays written by students. So the MIBF was a very welcome breather, in that I got to immerse myself in an idyllic world surrounded by people who are every bit as crazy as (if not crazier than) myself!
It's always a pleasure to meet with people who love the same things you do. You feed off each other's passion, and it can translate not only to good times, but hopefully, also to good deeds that will contribute towards making our country not only a literate one, but a literature-loving one.
Among the many issues raised during the conference was the one of literacy vs. love for reading. In the Philippines, we have a high literacy rate, indeed. But being able to read is very different from choosing to read, for fun!
Some people may think reading is for the elite minority whose intelligence is above the norm. My book club and I beg to differ.
Those of us who have the resources have an obligation to look for our own little ways to "spread the corruption," as Tata jokingly put it.
It's like what I told my preschool students today, when the birthday celebrant gave away one book per classmate instead of the usual loot bags.
5-year-old: Teacher, nasaan yung candy?
Me: Books are even better than candy! Once you eat candy, it's gone forever, but when you read books, you become smarter forever!!!
