By Ruel S. De Vera, Associate Editor
Sunday Inquirer Magazine
HAVING learned to read from comic books, the SRA series (remember those? The Gold ones were awesome) and the Hardy Boys (all-time favorite: “The Mysterious Caravan”), I always enjoyed reading but was not really passionate about it as a child. My parents, both teachers at one point, loved to read and had books everywhere in the house. We had every encyclopedia imaginable, including a retro science encyclopedia, an antebellum Bible Encyclopedia and our top choice, the full-color and lavishly-illustrated Lexicon. There were many books that had quite an impact on me. Edilberto Tiempo’s “To Be Free” helped me discover novels by Filipinos. Nick Joaquin’s “Nora Aunor & Other Profiles” wowed me. Comic books were a passion, be it the oversized “Legion of Super-Heroes” I traded a Michael Jackson cassette for, or the unique high jinks of the Gauls in the Asterix books. They still are.
But one particularly meaningful gift was a copy of James Clavell’s “Whirlwind.” I was in high school and the thick paperback was a gift from a friend, one of the school’s guidance counselors. It was the first grown-up book I owned (not counting the comic books, which are, I declare, grown-up reading as well. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it). I remember feeling all grown up just in the book’s presence. I weighed it in my hand and read it as quickly as I could — which wasn’t very fast considering how complex it was. I still have that very book somewhere in my old room, missing a bunch of pages. I can’t remember actually having finished that book, but I did read and finished a lot of others. I adore books now, can’t help without them, can’t sleep without reading one. In fact, just having a book with me when I’m running errands comforts me, a charm against boredom and idleness.
For more books — life-changing, uplifting or plain entertaining — check out the Sunday Inquirer Magazine’s Summer Reading Issue this Sunday, March 30.
