My Passion, My First Love

When I was in Kindergarten, a tita (aunt) of mine kept me going to her house because they had a library. She wanted me to be in love with her books and so I did. I frequented her house, and started out with Dr. Seuss' books. Soon, all her Dr. Seuss' books I have already read. After that, I read Enid Blyton's Choose Your Own Story. Nancy Drew also filled her shelves, and so I upgraded to Nancy Drew. I started with The Secret of the Red Gate Farm when I was in Grade 4, and from then on, I moved to Hardy Boys. Until now, all Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys and other book collections I have had when I was a kid, I still kept. I am hoping my kids will value them too.

Most of my friends read Sweet Valley, from the Kids, Twins, the Sweet Valley High, until I upgraded to Sweet Valley University. Most Sweet Valley University Series I read when I was in high school, until I found myself reading Sidney Sheldon's novels in college. It was an obsession I had with Sidney Sheldon, I can devour the whole book in 2-3 hours, without eating, standing up and disobeying Mom for an errand. Fact: I read all his novels, up to his last written book. Danielle Steel, yes, I also read her books, thanks to my best friend's elder sister who had a collection. I had a friend who encouraged me to read John Grisham and I also fell in love with his writings, Robert Ludlum also is a wonderful writer for me. I found myself admiring Og Mandino, John Steinbeck, Chaim Potok, and other writers whose books deserved to be read.

When I got married, my brother-in-law gave my son a Harry Potter set, up to the fourth book. Everyone in the office knew how crazy I was over Harry Potter, and when my boss went to America, he bought me the fifth one. My sixth book was a printed copy, and as I have posted befored, my bestfriend Z, gave me the 7th book she bought in London. I read these books nobody knows how many times, but that's how crazy I am over JK Rowling's Harry Potter. One crazy fact: One of our dogs is named Hagrid.

Now, of course, what could be next in my line of favorites is this series:

I have been reading them twice or thrice or I dunno how many times, but yes, I did. I have all the copies, thanks to Sinta who gave me the first three, and the fourth my brother-in-law in Iloilo bought from NBS because all stocks were sold out here in Gensan.

I love reading, and this is my passion, my first love. From the workbooks, and the texbooks and newspapers and the magazine we do, I read them with a passion and they give me lots of wisdom and the lessons they bring, I have learned.

I have books still in pendency. With my work here as an editor, my eyes are tired when I get home and I have to rest them, so these babies still need time to be given justice to. Soon, yes, very soon.


I have been wanting to finish The Godfather by Mario Puzo, but time does not permit me yet, now, I am reading Paulo Coelho's The Witch of Portobello, I just finished The Alchemist, and the lesson of humility in that book is inspiring.

The book that struck me so much is The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery, of course who cannot be struckwith those powerful words. Always one of my favorites:

"It's only through the heart that one can see rightly, what is essential is invisible to the eye."

Let me ask you this, what's your favorite book?

Comments

Anonymous said…
I love John Grisham books. I have ALL his books. The frustrated lawyer in me, I guess.
But my favorite would be Bob Ong. Not only because he's pinoy, but also because he really nails it down on what's really important. You know, the stuff that really matters. The message might be presented in hilarious anecdotes, but it's there. Simple. Plain. Funny. Very Filipino. Very Rico.
Anonymous said…
I love being surrounded by books! Welcome to the club of having pending readables. =) I'm not reading Coelho much. I just tried The Alchemist and liked it. Happy reading!
Mai da Paypay said…
i love books. period. sheng, one of my goals in life is to read one book per week. obviously...medyo behind na ako by 30,234,235 books. haha! :-P
Jeanny said…
favorite...ah a lot.

I love paolo coelho's Veronika decides to die. I will soon (hopefully) start reading By the river pedra I sat down and wept and I love alchemist too.

Sophie Kinsella is a favorite, also Mary Higgins Clark hay dami pa...heheheh
iluvgreen said…
i love paolo coelho too and mitch albom, i also like hope for the flowers, i bought follow your heart in addition to my andrew matthew collection. who doesn't love books?
Anonymous said…
Oh, I love books too! Actually I'm doing an inventory of my books right now, and it is my dream to have a house with a library. I started in grade school with Nancy Drew--the original hardbound copies with cloth covers. I also have several Hardy Boys, Goose Bumps and Sweet Valley Junior High books. In college I started collecting Stephen King, Michael Crichton, Dean Koontz, and Robin Cook. I have read a couple of John Grishams and Og Mandinos, as well.

Harry Potter?I'm addicted. I have read and reread every book and I often ace Harry Potter trivia quizzes! Since I got busy with work (been working for just about 2 an a half years straight) I haven't been able to collect much. Like you, I can read a 300-page novel in one sitting. But right now, I guess I'm on an average of one book a month.

I saw the movie billboard of Twilight along EDSA and it said that the Twilight books are the hottest since Harry Potter. Because of being too busy I didn't have any idea about it. Last weekend I scoured the Makati area to buy the first book in paperback but they were all sold out. Too bad.

But I'm persistent. I have to get myself a copy of that.

My favorite? It's so hard to pick! But maybe I'd go for Misery by Stephen King. Runners-up: Memoirs of A Geisha (Arthur Golden) and Sphere (Michael Crichton)
RedLan said…
GRABE, AT THE EARLY AGE... opps sorry naka caps lock. am working at the same time. back then, nagbabasa ka na ng mga pang nobelang libro. nakabasa ako ng sweet valley high na yan, tapos sidney sheldon's books. i like sid kasi mapicture out mo yung mga scenes na parang you are watching lang. mahilig ka talaga magbasa. ako wala na talagang time. hai
Anonymous said…
i love anne rice.

the little price is a classic. i also liked the stories of john steinbeck, specially of mice and men.
Anonymous said…
I love reading. I believe that it can empower us. I've done a post on reading sheng. Hope ou can read it: http://kumarenggrace.i.ph/blogs/kumarenggrace/2008/06/27/around-the-world-in-eighty-days/.

I started with the Sweet Valley series (from kids, to teens, to high, to college) and progressed to Sweet Dreams! I know some women are know these. :)

The books that have made an impact are Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and the Mount of Monte Cristo. And I too love Harry Potter!

Happy weekend sheng!
Michelle said…
Hi Sheng,

Grabe…You’re a certified bookworm.

I have a collection of Hardy Boys too but haven’t read them all because my mom always interrupts me whenever I read it (when I was young). And now that I’m married, I bring them with me but haven’t had time to read because my kids won’t allow me.

I’m not really into reading books as I dozed off while reading especially those thick books with small letters. But I can read them if the story is interesting (especially if it is romance novel). I love to read the charmed series, Bob Ong books, Hardy Boys and some romance books that I forgot the title because I just borrow them from friends.

I recently completed the “Who moved my cheese?” by Dr. Spencer Johnson and find it very enlightening in facing changes in our lives. And I’m looking forward for the famous Twilight series (ask hubby to buy me this..hehehe)
Michael Peligro said…
Cliff Notes! Cliff Notes! Nothing beats the comprehensiveness of Cliff Notes! Ayayay! Sisbumbay! Take the tinpan in your hand and plunk it over my head...ouch!
Anonymous said…
I love The Godfather---it's like my bible, hehehe! Actually, casting all things illegal aside in that book, the Don has is an excellent business model, right? Would you believe that we have three sets of Lord of the Rings (early paperback, movie cover, hardbound---and I'm thinking of getting the big one with lots of illustrations)? My family is a bit book-crazy, and during our annual Baguio trip, we set half a day for searching second-hand books, and we usually get so many hardbound stuff that our luggage gets so much heavier on our way back. We once unwittingly bought a hardbound Clancy novel a year after we bought the very novel.
pamatayhomesick said…
"pathfinder" by james p cooper.

ito yung first time kong natapos basahin na book..favorite ko rin.;)
Heart of Rachel said…
You have a nice collection of books.

When I was young, my parents bought me a lot of Nancy Drew books. I still have those Nancy Drew hardbound books until now. I noticed that now Nancy Drew books often come in paperback copies.

I enjoyed reading Twilight. I was able to borrow my niece's copy. I also borrowed her copy of New Moon which I'm currently reading.

I also love The Little Prince. It's one of my favorite books.
JavaQueen said…
Sheng..... guess what I got in the mail today????

Can you guess?!!!! OMG, I nearly fell over- I LOVE THE HANDMADE BOOKMARK SO MUCH. Nothing means more to me than someone creating something with their own imagination and being kind enough to give it to ... me??? OH, That is the coolest clear leaf in the center and I love that you wrote out my blog name on there too- I will cherish this, it will make me happy every single time I open up my current book that I'm reading when I see it!
I cannot thank you enough for being so thoughtful. My gosh, I'm just absolutely loving it and it brightened up my whole night when I saw a letter there for me!!!

Thank you from the bottom of my heart!
xoxoxo
Anne
Anonymous said…
I love books too. But I was exposed to komiks first. I started with Wakasan and Lagim then progress to Marvel and DC. After that, MAD, Spy vs. Spy and Asterix the Gaul. I got lots of paper-bound books on mystery, mysticism, detective and "action". But as I grow older, I prefer "realistic" books pertaining to history, phylosophy and science.
Anonymous said…
I started with Bobbsey twins, then progressed to Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys. By the time I was in Grade 6, I've finished all the Nancy Drew's in the library so I started reading Sweet Dreams and even tried more serious stuff like 'Madame Bovary'. Sidney Sheldon and I got acquainted sometime in high school. In college, I almost flunked my freshman year because I read more pocketbooks and Stephen King novels than my textbooks haha! When I read 'Jurassic Park' in my senior year, I thought to myself, "This would make a good movie. By Steven Spielberg."

I read everything from 'Interview With The Vampire' to 'Pride and Prejudice' to 'Harry Potter' to 'A Walk to Remember' to 'The Godfather' to 'Da Vinci Code'. 'Like Water For Chocolate' remains a strong favourite.

These days, I'm hooked on CSI-type books like those written by Patricia Cornwell and Jeffrey Deaver. Stories involving doctors continue to fascinate me.

Sometimes, I cheat a bit by reading Readers' Digest condensed books in order to save time! ;)
Kayni said…
I am and will always be a Harry Potter fan. I still haven't found the book that will replace Harry. Like you, I have a few books still waiting to be read. It's a bit silly, but I have been getting into the chick flick books. Two of the books I recently read and liked are Jemima J and Hissy Fit. They're both about single women dealing with the struggles of age, love, and relationships. I found myself relating to the books' stories.
Alice said…
Thanks for sharing your passion for books and reading! I'm thrilled at the sight of many books and you also have the Twilight series which is my one of favourites as well. I've read Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist and Veronika Decides to Die. There are mixed reviews about them by others but I like them both.
sunny said…
whoa! u got a lot of books there!!!! am not a book addict but i love to read sometimes,hehehehe!
hmmm, iv read almost all of Coelho's work
iv been an albom fanatic too
...but my fave authrs are nolan,irving, hemmgway,heheheheh!
miss_dibly said…
LOve love love Paolo Coelho's and Mitch ALbom's works.. :)

you have a huge collection of books! (just like my sis')
princess_dyanie said…
when I was in grade school to HS - sweet valley

College: Paolo Coelho and Mitch Albom

Now: Joyce Meyer :)
Anonymous said…
huwaw, that is such a difficult Q sheng! ;-)
i'm a kid at heart so Harry Potter and the CS Lewis will always have a place on my shelves, but i love relaxing with a good romance, i.e., McNaught, Garwood, etc ;-)
Toni said…
Why hello there fellow bookworm! :)

One of my dreams is to have a room full of my books. A cozy library with a comfy couch, a blanket, and a coffee table for my snacks. Ah, bliss!

How can I choose just one book?! So hard, so hard. I love Veronika Decides to Die, The Time-Traveler's Wife, The Trouble with Thirteen, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, the Sloppy Firsts series, the Twilight series (esp. Eclipse), Realm of Possibility... oh I can go on and on!

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