By Ruel S. De Vera, Associate Editor
Sunday Inquirer Magazine

EVERYONE says reading is dead or dying, the victim of shortened attention spans, TV or the Internet. Others says that reading is merely changing, migrating from the page to the screen. I’ve been asked why I haven’t moved to Amazon’s impressive little Kindle; I say it’s because I don’t just like reading, I like books: old-fashioned, made from dead trees books. It isn’t romantic, it’s just nothing matches the tactile feel of freshly minted books, the smell of the book paper, the sound of those crisp pages. I’m a holdout, and will continue to be so. My living spaces continue to be invaded happily by piles and piles of books; no shelves are enough to contain all my little treasures.

It used to be quaint for others; it’s so 20th century. It seemed that reading had become some kind of secret pleasure, shared only by writers, teachers and the odd person out there. But then J.K. Rowling happened. Then Stepehenie Meyer happened. All of the sudden, reading was cool again for the general population, especially if you’re under fifteen.

The most visible sign of this has always been the Manila International Bookfair. I’ve seen the fair from its old stomping grounds at the SM Megamall Megatrade Hall (cramped and crowded) to the World Trade Center (airy and crowded). This year, the Bookfair has moved to a new location, the SMX exhibition hall on the SM Mall of Asia grounds.

It’s a great venue–and it was packed to the rafters. The booths were bigger this year; we missed some of the smaller, more exotic exhibitors. But the exhibitors who were there came ready. lots of goodies all around. But the prices were just awesome, especially the bargains. I saw people park themselves next to the bargain bins and–no kidding–rifle patiently through the books for hours, eventually emerging with piles of books for buying. I saw entire families with each member holding purchased books. The kids even enjoyed the mascots (even the Oishi guy) and the Cosplay performers.

The twenty percent discount was awesome, too. Reading is alive and very, very well. The Bookfair was proof positive of that. The pages are turning. See you next year, everybody.