Sunday, November 11, 2018

Reading Books Makes Me a Writer

"Reading with an open mind and an open heart is transformative." - Hong Kong-Bestselling author Cheryl Strayed

National Reading Month


The Department of Education (DepEd) issued DepEd Memorandum No. 175, s. 2018, declaring November as the 2018 National Reading Month. This NRM aims "to promote love for reading, and to celebrate the diversity of learners and culture through reading."

This year's theme is Pagbasa: Susi sa Magandang Kinabukasan. NRM culmination is highlighted by the nationwide story reading on November 27 of every year by virtue of Republic Act No. 10556 as "Araw ng Pagbasa". All schools in elementary and secondary in the country would observe this a regular working holiday.

How Books Transform Me Into a Writer


I have read several books from several known and unknown authors of various themes, categories and genre either fiction or real experiences.

My love of books came to being when I was a kid, particularly when I was in Grade II. One morning, my father told me to get dress for we had to go to the municipal hall.

"What we shall do there?" I asked myself.

"Hurry up. We have to go now," reminded my father.

"Yes, I'm coming," I replied.

We arrived at the municipal hall and went up to the second floor. We entered to one of the rooms there. A woman with an office uniform, standing at the reception table, greeted us. My father greeted her back and told her that he brought me to borrow books.

I was held aback for I had no idea on what to do with the books. I was not used of reading books. In school we just read books when we were told by our teacher to read them as our textbooks. But reading them occasionally or by leisure or entertainment I had never done.

Well, I had no choice. I went straight to the bookshelves stocked with big volumes of Encyclopedia books of various editions. I took three volumes. The librarian was surprised on how I could read them all for I had only given two days to return the books. Anyway, I brought those books home.

Since it was Friday, I got two extra days to finish reading the books until Monday. I didn't actually read them from cover to cover. I just scrutinized them, looked at the color pictures, read only the titles, the subtitles without understanding the contents thereof.

Monday came, I borrowed another set of books. That time they were about literary works of famous writers, poets, and playwright. I loved "seeing" their works especially their style of writing, particularly those poems.

From the experience, I started writing poem in our local dialect and also writing fiction short story.

I was very grateful for my late father of "opening the opportunity" to me to be a writer someday. Books have led the way to the world of letters and to world of literary.

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