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Update: Hello Students from UST. Thank you for commenting on this article, please click on the like button below the title to share this with your friends. This article was written decades ago, and may still behold truth like many of you discussed below. Copyright to the Manila Chronicles.
Some years ago, a friend of mine observed that in Japan, the bookshop seemed to be the most popular feature of practically every street block. While in the Philippines, instead of bookshop, it was the beauty parlor vying closely with the sari-sari store.
In commiseration, I made the wistful remark that at the turn of the century in London, Virginia Woolf was already making good money doing just book reviews for newspapers and periodicals, and through her highly rarefied novels and short stories, some of which became bestsellers of her lifetime.
Even in those days, a writer as difficult as Woolf had an audience, those who were willing to exchange hard-earned money for her often esoteric experimentation with language and literary forms.
In sad contrast, almost a century after Ms. Woolf was able to support herself with her writing, Filipino writers would starve if he or she depended solely on “literary writing.”
It seems certain now that Filipinos will never become book readers. To paraphrase, George Bernard Shaw, Filipinos will go from being primitives to becoming exhausted as a civilization, without ever having been civilized enough to read books.
Why is this shameful fate of our lot as a nation? There are a few facile reasons that we could cite, we don;t mean sheer poverty either, for even among the richest Filipinos, they hardly read books.
A book, whether a novel, a compilation of poetry, or a collection of essays or short stories, is one of the most demanding forms of intellectual engagement available, a one-on-one relationship and challenge. A book must be met in certain solitude so that the sentences and chapters will seep through the readers consciousness of the reader.
The problem is Filipinos hate solitude. Count the number of Filipinos you know who enjoy being alone, and being in a book. For them, it’s absolutely terrifying.
Reading a book requires time and patience; endurance, if need be. It isn’t over in an hour or two like movies or television shows. And Filipinos with our ningas-cogon tendencies, like our entertainment fast and light, have suitably short attention span.
Furthermore, books deal with ideas, worked out mainly through characters and plots. There is always some horrid symbolism lurking somewhere, and the conflict of one system of thought against another. However for most of us, we prefer our conflicts played out among personalities rather than in ideas–it’s much easier that way and more exciting. Ideas can be so dull.
Another facter could be one reads a book in silence. Solitude na, ideas pa, and then silence? It is too much for average Filipino. It just goes against all cultural traits–the need to move in herds, in exuberance and gaiety, in love songs and dances. Rilke be hung, give Filipino `La Bamba` any day.
A great pity, of course, and dangerous, too, when non-readers like Imelda Marcos (who was never seen reading a book from cover to cover) get positions of power.
How much does Cory Aquino read, does anyone know?
Alas! Perhaps the only Filipino who read assiduously these days are the Marxists with their tones on agrarian reform, Nicaragua on its liberation theology, and the Latin American political novelists. No wonder they’re often ahead in the game.
Still, here’s to the little band of Filipinos who do read, who scrimp and save to buy the expensive pocketbooks of the latest novels from Europe and Latin America, from Japan, from the Philippines. Even rarer than the Filipino reader is the Filipino Writer. But that topic is too sad for words.
-© The Manila Chronicle, 1987
About Kevin Paquet
It's not that Filipinos aren't book lovers, just some of them are. Some Filipinos like to read and some don't. It's just in the person not in the race. And it doesn't mean if you have read many books, you are superior. For me, it's not in how many books you have read but it will be better if you/people read books.
In my own point of view, I think the writer of this article became so certain in assuming that Filipinos will never become book readers that he generalized us too much and did not foresee improvements whereas over the past couple of years, there had been lots of changes in our society including the fact that now, many of us are fond of reading books.
Although the factors mentioned might still be present, we Filipinos manage to find our ways to engage ourselves to books because we know that they are important sources of intellect and morals. We generate ideas from them, apply everything we learn and never depart from what they have instilled in us. That's why I also beg to disagree with the statement "Filipinos will go from being primitives to becoming exhausted as a civilization, without ever having been civilized enough to read books."
The "Filipinos are not book lovers" article convey truths about our generation today. One thing that makes it agreeable is because of advanced technology available in our country. Moreover, I agree with the Filipino traits stated by the author (i.e. ningas-cogon and solitude-hater) which makes the main idea of the article justifiable.
"It isn’t over in an hour or two like movies or television shows. And Filipinos with our ningas-cogon tendencies, like our entertainment fast and light, have suitably short attention span." I can relate with this statement. Most Filipinos would rather watch the movie than read the book and most Filipinos would rather watch Munting Heredera than sit by their study table and quietly read a book. Although I am not saying that ALL Filipinos are like what I just said, I'm just saying that MOST of us are like that.
From the first ten Filipino people I know, only two people really love reading books and two people only read books which are always in the "Best seller" section. I admit, I don't like reading books. Well I tried reading before when friendster and facebook did not exist in my world. I only read books because the teacher required me to (i.e. the velveteen rabbit or the little prince).
Although this stereotyping article is partially true, I know some Filipinos who would rather buy a book than a new t-shirt. In an essay I read, one the reasons why people do not read books is because they are busy with their jobs. Nowadays, people are busy "tweeting" and "liking" in their twitter and Facebook accounts. I see children holding iPads rather than books. I think that people-who-don't-read-books does not apply only in the Philippines but in other countries as well. But I don't want to believe that Filipinos will never read books. I hope that the light I see beyond the tunnel, is the new generation of Filipinos who loves reading books.
It is but agreeable that Filipinos would rather watch a movie than invest money, time and effort on an expensive book which would just eventually become an ornament. But, I still believe that there are still a few who are still interested in flipping those fresh scented pages. I, for one, love books. I like having some time alone in my room reading a book and being in my own world.
We do have personal interests. Some Filipinos like to read and some don't. So, I don't think that Filipinos should be stereotyped as such.
I strongly agree with this article because it is very evident that Filipinos are really not fond of reading books. Although, I found some lines arguable because I can tell that I myself am a reader of books, even not required of academics. I also agree that the reason why Filipinos don't spend time reading is because of their attitudes, cause a lot of Filipinos really are very impatient. It is just sad to know that Filipinos would rather spend time playing DOTA, watching all kinds of adult movies and other application in the computer than sit down in solitude and read a book. Nowadays, a thick book is nothing to a Filipino compared with FHM, Playboy etc. how sad…
If the only Filipino book-lover is as well a writer, he might end up reading his own work.
Maybe, what the writer was refering to were the teens. Because if we say Filipinos, it depends on the age bracket. This article might be applicable to teens since they are the most affected by the booming of the technology. I, myself is also a student and a writer (in my own way), but I sometimes lost my fondness of reading a book. It also depends on the book one is reading. Each one has his own preference based on his background or such.
Maybe, the stereotyping idea is just one of the flaws of this article but believe me, he will be most happy in improving his works.. The important thing is we, as bookworms should not stop reading. For those who are not, give yourself a break. Try to explore and give color to your lives.:)
I agree that Filipinos are not book lovers but it obviously does not mean that Filipinos do not read books. I can say that Filipinos are adventurous in nature. We love the outdoors. We go to different places to try different things. Most of us prefer to work, to eat, and to play. We are fun loving people. We want to experience the reality of a book's content.
Filipinos. Wow. How come they generalize so fast? Lahat na ba 'yan? It was written decades ago! How about now? Have we been looking around lately? I myself have a hard time reading for I have to help at our family business at home. I mean, is there no exception? Does this mean I have to read every single day? I do, as a student. But we can never force people to read. You must, MUST, be interested in what you read. I believe so.
Plus! We "Filipinos" live in a third world country where poverty is everywhere, even in our deepest fears. I mean, do you expect a squatter to read books rather than hustling or doing something to earn money and to keep his or her family alive? Think about it. Maybe this person wrote this (just maybe!) so that we'd buy books that would benefit him. I don't know. It's just my opinion. This is a blog site, not a commercial or advertising site. Right? So yeah, let's think things over.
It is true that most Filipinos wouldn't invest so much in reading a book. Maybe it's because Filipinos do not recognize that books contain knowledge; and knowledge means power. Maybe it goes back during the Spanish colonial period since the Spanish deprived us of knowledge because they knew that once we became knowledgeable, we could have overthrown them much earlier. But, of course, this article was written in '87, much has changed since then, I believe.
I’m not surprised by this. It is all so true that the filipino youth are not so much into reading rich literature and all those beloved classics that used to be devoured a lot by generations past. I remember that in the 2 schools I’d been to in the Philippines, among in my classes, I was the only one who’s able to read those torn, undiscovered children’s classics such as those written by Madeleine L’Engle (A Wrinkle In Time trilogy), Lloyd Alexander (Chronicles of Prydain), C.S. Lewis, Agatha Christie (Poirot mystery series), the Hardy Boys, Watership Down, Aesop’s fables, Pippy Longstockings and all those I sought after that have those Newberry Award labels (because they’re guaranteed to be great stories). When the Harry Potter film phenomenon came on in early 2000s, I saw kids my age with the books in their hands- but often I don’t see them reading. Perhaps some did, but often I felt, they would only pay to read these books when it gets recognised by pop culture. And, unfortunately, those recognised are the only ones that they’d pay mind.
This also became quite an irritation for me when, after four years having read Philip Pullman’s books, the movie came out, and of course, gained the mass audience’s attention to his books. Previously, I’ve recommended some of my friends into reading his books, not because I really like the story, it’s because they were interesting stories worth discussing about. Sigh. They had left me a fool talking to myself (in the form of a diary) to bring about crucial subjects dealing heavy stuff such as religion and human existence. They’re just not interested because, perhaps, it would only matter to read when pop culture validates them. I bet they just started paying mind to my suggestion of reading them when Hollywood brought this up. I’m not even interested in the Twilight series, but I’d sensed some of those who already read so much books their whole life get irritated when newfound fans (after the movie’s being made) get into crazy fanatic mode- and it just gets them dumbdowned.
Well, in a way, I’m half glad that I was the only one who had read those books, because in a way, they’ve made my childhood unique and quite special. Damn, after thinking those years back in elementary school, it’s a crying shame that deep and imaginative reading that would have fuelled them so much creativity and uniqueness into their individual lives had been wasted for Britney Spears and that ilk that is pop culture that made most of the young people thinking the same way (and it’s not even the good way). Guess why I was such a loner.
Whenever I go to the library, there would be heaps of people gathering around in groups on the tables not because they’d be reading, but because they’re for a great deal of gossip. I’m sorry to say but they were such a bored lot, pretending they’re all grown up and thought that reading is quite childish or for a patronising term, nerdy. Influenced by the trash of American pop culture, they’d given me the impression that it’s stupid to even bring up something that fits in the context of learning or knowledge acquisition. Believe it or not, they had been in this stupid groupthink mindset in their formative years, not having thought outside their boxes. I had experienced a great deal of social anxiety and probably a bit of existential crisis on why I couldn’t communicate with the lot of them- and why I feel like an alien. It wasn’t until I moved overseas that I have realised that there was absolutely nothing wrong with me, and that I’m in complete control of my own normal self.
Conformity in the Philippines reallys sucks. Group validation is what’s leaving me the impression of the many filipino youths not willing to read a lot of books. I somehow blame the education system there for not having updated their methods in providing useful knowledge for these children, and thus, prompting them to read more books.
Hi!
Thank you for your long and insightful comment. I have to agree with you in to a certain extend with a lot of the points that you have raised in your response. It is indeed saddening that a lot of people only start reading when the environment around them validates them. Yet after all its’s also good to know that there are a lot of them who eventually realize that reading is fun – like me.
I do agree at some points (re:why Filipinos do not love books) with the author because a midst the era of social networking very few people would love to sit down and read a good books. Often times students who love reading are labelled as “baduy” or nerdy. Just like any other race there are people who love to read and there are those who are busy with something else. Pinoys read books question is what kind of books are they reading? Pocketbook romance that has the same overuse plot with that of soap operas.