Update: 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.
-Ā© The Manila Chronicle, 1987
fortunately…i’m a book lover
during my free time si kamahalang book ang kasama ko instead na pumunta sa kung saan-saan.time of relaxation rin ang reading
thank you for dropping sa blog ko and it’s an honor
god bless…
Hi,
I totally disagree, because Filipino’s love books. Once you know how to read, you simply can’t stop. Reading is essential for life. It’s a tool for survival. If you’re on the road, you know where to go or to ride because you see “karatulas” or other signs. Businessmen, lawyers, journalist, typical man and other Filipino’s love to read. Businessmen reads business column, lawyers read the headlines as well as the journalist, what do a typical man read? One of the best example I can give are tricycle drivers because you always see one equipped with a tabloid newspaper. Don’t get me wrong but They read Tabloids not because of the bad things in there but because it’s what there understanding, intellect and education can comprehend. In our local Talipapa, in one of the stores you can see on the display are Tagalog romantic pocketbook. How can I prove that Filipino’s love to read? It’s because they still display it. If nobody buys the books, why won’t they change the display in a more interesting toys instead. For almost seven years I live here in our subdivision, I once ask the saleslady how many times do they have new arrival of books and she told me once a week. It only tell us that Filipino’s love to read. Kid’s love to read, simply because they love stories, they read with you until they can read alone. Other kid’s starts with loving comics to deeper books.Teens say, “We don’t love to read” then why do they have magazines, mangga, comics, novel at home and they even collect or subscribe. Another example of teens gone mad on readings are the international best-selling book made for teens namely “Twilight”. I can understand bookworms getting hook with Bella and Eduard but believe it or not a boy classmate of mine who don’t read thick books even collected series of books by Stephanie Meyer.You just need to base it on your interest. Old people love to read newspapers. Filipino’s love to read they just need to know what best fits them. So, I conclude that I, a Filipino citizen Am a book lover as well as other Filipino’s around the world. You? What kind of reader are you?
Ms. Francisco, I would understand your hurt feelings. But your response betrays all the more how pathetic the situation is. Pocketbooks? Comics? Tabloid magazines? Are these the kind of reading materials that promote ideas over personalities? Sad to say, the answer is NO.
What do pocketbooks promote, especially the romance pocketbooks? For Filipinas to wait for this "knight-in-shining-armour" to save them from poverty? What do they learn from it? It's either to snag a "matandang mayamang madaling mamatay" or to marry a foreigner in the hopes of escaping destitution. Pathetic.
What do comics promote? Creativity notwithstanding, they only promote escapism. Who are the heroes in Pinoy comics? Darna? Her power is derived from a stone, not from deep within. Captain Barbell? Again, his power is derived from an external source – the "barbell." That's a cause for worry, if power is derived from external sources, not from within.
And you mentioned Manga (please check your spelling) –it's an import from Japan. Our artists did not even create it.
On the whole, the point of the blog is to underscore the level of Filipino culture with regards to reading, education, and literary appreciation. I hate to say this but I have to agree with the blogger that the level would require so much improvement.
Lastly, out of concern, I advise you to use your reason than emotion if you want to win an argument. I know you felt hurt by the assertion. But it was not about an attack at Filipino culture or to you as a Filipino – it was a well-meaning criticism meant to make people aware of something, to coax them to change it. Mature people would understand that, and won't take it negatively.
PS. Kindly check your grammar too. Reading might help, but you need to write more to improve it. Read and write more!!!
Upon reading this article, many thoughts came across my mind. Ofcourse, reading is a very important factor in man's education. Reading will enable us to gain more knowledge and be able to expand our vocabulary. Even before we went to a big school, our parents were already teaching us how to read. They used those books with large letters and colorful pictures. Through those books, we were able to build our foundation and background in reading. That's how important reading is to humans.
According to this article, Filipinos are not performing very well when in comes to reading books. Personally, I know that this is not true. However, many situations and instances make me think that somehow what this article is saying is true. First instance is when I observe students after school. When I go to the library, I don't see a big number of students there, but when I go to internet shops, malls, bars, and other places that teenagers go, I see a lot of them joyfully doing what they want. When they are asked why, they would simply say that reading books would be boring. For them, those who are reading books are just for nerds and those who are "uncool" for them. They will say that they don't need to read books anymore because they have internets anyway. That's the mindset of teenagers now a days. Which leads me to another problem why filipinos don't read books. Maybe another reason is because they are so overwhelmed with technology. Instead of holding books, they prefer to hold and use laptops, gameboys, ipods, celphones, psp's and other gadgets which are very big distractions in our education. Sad, but mostly true, those are the some of the reasons why some filipinos do not read books anymore.
Although I said that this article is true, there is also a part of me that thinks that filipinos are not really like this. This is because I know and I believe that somehow, filipinos still would like and love to read books. I mean only some are not book lovers. Infact, almost everyone wants to read. The only problem is our poverty. Because of poverty, not everyone in the Philippines are able to study and learn how to read. Deep inside them, they really want to read, only they did not have the chance to learn. It is again sad that those who know how to read do not use their skills to learn more, while those who do not know how to read are more passionate if they onnly have the money to educate themselves.
I know that someday, filipinos will also realize the importance of reading books. They will soon realize that reading can be the solution to the many problems of this country.
I agree with the article for I myself do not like to read books. If ever I read a book, I would only read a sentence or so and get bored, I would eventually stop reading from that point.
"Out of concern", people have their own opinions and you must so kindly repect said opinions. Ms. Memoria, you are a hypocrite. You have said, "to win an argument from reason rather than emotion" when clearly you are making personal attacks towards the debater. "Mature people would understand that, and won't take it negatively". Mature people would also focus on the argument rather than the person. Please do not criticize others but rather rebuttle their argument.
To continue the discussion..
Comics are derived from ideas also. What is the product of creativity? Innovation rather than escapism. Darna's power is derived from a stone and Captain Barbell's power from a barbell, both external sources, which can suggest the power of inventions and innovation.
From these so called rubbish pocketbooks, comics, and tabloids can be obtained an understanding of morals. What is good and bad? What is socially acceptable? what are big spectrum hopes and aspirations? Sure, they might not be formal writing,considered informal and less refined, but it still shows that there is at least some attraction to literary value of print sources rather than electronic media.
I do agree that Filipino culture needs to be enhanced. I feel that many people in the Philippines are deprived of print media due to economical circumstances. Books these days are expensive, $5 for a new paperback and up to $20 dollars for a small hardback. Cutting hair at a beauty salon is less time consuming; it takes less time to cut hair to write a book, get it published and sell it. Japan of course has more bookstores; Japan is more urbanized, densly populated, and technologically advanced. Books are more easily accessed because they are better off in Japan. Some children need to support their families working and do not have a chance to go to school and read books. Although this article seemed personally negative towards Filipinos, having a generalization as a title and making furthur assumptions of filipinos in the argument, it was a very well written piece with a well developed argument. The critique may touch people personally and affect the person enough to motivate change in today's society.
Well, I have to agree with some points of the article. For me filipinos are just lazy in reading books. Some of us, Filipinos, do read books but they do not understand some vocabulary words that's why they tend to stop reading it. But, I believe that some Filipinos too are book lovers. It's just that most of the Filipinos prefer watching movies rather than reading books. One good example of this is TWILIGHT. But don't you know that the book of twilight is more comprehensive than the movie. Some details are missing in the movie. So for me, reading books is a good habit.
@anna memoria..
you know,i just wanna contradict everything that you just wrote in your comment..Foremost,this article is about Filipinos not being bookworms or not reading too much because for one, i am an avid book reader and I love books (especially the twilight saga :)).What you said on your comment seems like you're degrading the filipinos and they're personality.It's like you, are cursing your own personal race and culture..I think you shouldn't say that filipinos,we,are pathetic just because not many reads books! Do you not consider the other good qualities of filipinos? One example is being hospitable..Maybe we can't be bookworms like other nations but can they be as hospitable as us?There are still many kind of qualities that makes filipinos better than other cultures.And if reading so much would promote to being a better kind of human being,why are some people who reads a lot particularly those americans have a bad attitude especially towards respecting elders?Now, do you say they are better than us filipinos who are known for respecting our elders?
I'm afraid your you have stereotyped Filipinos alot already.
Obviously, you haven't taken filipino literature subjects. Try the PanPil series at UP Diliman.
You sir, failed at your "article".
If you are addressing the blog writer, then please take a close look at the copyright footnote at the end of the post.
hi. goodafternoon everyone! š First of all, i want to greet my master Emuelson Erce who already commented about this article i believe in everything he says and what can i say? He's my idol. For me, in my mind i think that thank you and Godbless! š
I certainly agree with this article since I seldom see Filipinos read books. We prefer watching television or going to the mall rather than reading books. We are also too busy with either our work or our school requirements. We rely on the internet or other technological devices whenever we need to research or find details about something. We feel like reading books takes a lot of time because whenever we can’t understand a word we still need to look it up in the dictionary. We, Filipinos also hate silence and isolation; we like to talk a lot and interact with other people. Reading books would require us to sit in a corner and focus on the book we’re reading.
But reading books gives a lot of benefits. For example, books can help enrich our vocabulary. The words that we find too difficult to understand can add up to our vocabulary. Books can also broaden up our ideas and imagination. Reading books require picturing the actions taking place in the text. I believe that it is not too late for us, Filipinos, to start reading books.
Hello!
I'm happy to say that I am one of those few Filipinos who are fond of reading. And I'm proud of that. I know some people might strike it as BORING and stuff, but I don't really care about what they say. I mean, in a world like we have now, fast-paced and full of people who sometimes can't enjoy the luxury of relaxation, I appreciate the time I can spend alone.
Curled up in corner, warmed by a blanket while the rain fell outside, and a good book that can keep me occupied for the next few hours, or maybe make me feel like I'm in two different places at the same time. Those are the times that can make me feel relaxed and giddy at the same time. Well, you know what I mean. :)))
And I'm grateful for those FEW Filipino writers, like Bob Ong. It simply means it's still possible for Filipinos to be BOOK LOVERS. Not that I believe it's impossible, it's just that this article IS right. We don't appreciate reading much the way other peoples do.
And it's hard to accept that it's true. From what I've experienced, fewer people are discovering the sheer excitement in browsing the books in a store, the curiosity while reading it, and the sadness that a good story has come to an end. And sometimes, one wonders, "What would have happened if this happened? Would the story still end up the same?"
That's all. Thanks. :))
These are my thoughts. :)) Any violent reactions, just reply.
Krizzia Camille R. Gojar
1ASN2
Based on the date when the article was published in 1987 not all Filipinos were privileged to be educated. Perhaps many of them were forced to tend to jobs that allowed them to earn money for their families. So not all of them were geared towards buying books and reading them. The article tackles a limited point of view of a certain individual who believes that Filipinos lack the interest to read books.
In this time and age when most Filipinos already have the access to different literary genres. It seems offensive for this writer to generalize Filipinos to be non-book lovers. I also understand that when one writes he or she talks about personal dealings but somehow it could have been fair if the writer has been open to the other side of the story.
Obviously, the article is very effective because the article seems controversial at this time and stirs criticisms from readers.
ah I totally agree with that one! However, I would like to count myself as a Pinay Bookworm. I do buy books frequently and since NBS opened in out town I got their card. Sadly though, I have noticed that NBS is never packed and more and more kids these days are glued to a PC screen either playing DOTA or surfing. No one appreciated the fine art of writing.
My English Lit teacher is a Palanca awardee and he introduced me to the fine art of Pinoy literature. There are a lot of really good Pinoy writers out there but alas, readership is scarce, right? Only a handful of Pinoy’s read books these days and if they do read, they don’t bother to read books from Nick Joaquin and others. I find myself guilty on the second count, too. I admit that I have read hundreds of international books but only a few written by Pinoys.
Perhaps school has played a part in the disinterest of Filipinos in the art of reading. Perhaps our parents play a part for us loving books. We really don’t know.
Sadly, the truth is that no one bothers to read anymore. And more and more people watch the boob tube for teleseryes and fantaseryes.
Ah! that was a pretty long comment. I like this article, though.. Xlinks? Sure! Just add my link, msg me, then I’ll link you up.
I’m so happy that a teen like you is still interested in books, there are only a few of us (errrmmm I’m not really a teen…lol) bookworms left.
It is in fact contemptible, but I find myself agreeing somehow to the writer. Most Filipinos are truly unaware of this diversion or sickness rather. Most of teens my age are not into reading and they actually come clean to it that they are aware of this awful hobby that they would rather do anything apart from reading. There's another side though. If you come to think of it, maybe it's just the bibliophobia. Some are not into reading heavy but into reading magazines like Reader's Digest, Newsweek and Time, just like me. Some read newspapers religiously… It's just a matter of preference. It doesn't always have to be a book, for me.
Some I actually do know are PhD-ing already and when I asked one of them to read a book she simply replied, "No time to read." The fact that she is in her mastership already meant a lot of readings already especially in her field which is Science. The fact is, she don't hate reading, apparently she just have a lot of books in line to read.
One more thing I did notice is that Filipinos, especially the youth, are only into reading books which are contemporary or presently popular and less appreciating older works by great writers. I'm not saying it is anyway bad though.
I have colleagues who are bookworms. It's just lopsided to tell that there are none left. Laughs. Just go to Starbucks, Coffee Bean, Seattle's Best you'll see bunch of them. More so in Powerbooks, Books for less, Fully Booked, National Bookstore and just around Recto!
In our fast changing world, business entities like these promote and attract readers sometimes in invisible ways. Like creating an atmosphere to attract readers. In 1987, when this blog was written, globalization was not so much of a wide spread that's why….
In the ultimatum, no one can ever say whether Filipinos are really book lovers or not. The matter that we must look upon is that we must be aware to ourselves that book is not a trend that come and go or we put out of our lifestyle… It is an essential part of our life. Let's say yes Filipinos are not book lovers, and so what? Filipinos are not bookworms, so what? As long as we know that we Filipinos read and never put it out of your lifestyle then we know that we are on the right track.
FYI. Mr. Emuelson Erce is my one and only MASTER.. i agree to everything that he says about this article. please do support him. Thank you and GOD BLESS. tccc mwa mwa :*
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hakhak
antagal na niang artikol ah?
hakhak
elyens
XXXxx
eyy…I don’t see my link sa blogroll mo…anyway msg me when it’s up! thanks!
The article was written more than ten years ago. Perhaps, that`s no longer true today. But I really don`t know for sure… What I do know is that there are more books available in the market that are affordable – thanks to Bookshop and other stores that sell second-hand books. Yay!
In a way yes, but there are other media where they get informed. The internet is one, you don’t only read information, you watch them as you get entertained.
@kamotenista – good to hear that there are still a couple of book readers out there, I’ve thought that I’m one of the very few XD
@Zriz of betterthanezrah – did you see it now?
@rimewire – oo nga, mejo matagal na nga ito.. hehe.
hello!
sure, xlinks. let me know if u’ve added me and i’ll do the same. thanks a lot. nice blog.
@lindsay – so, there you go, I’ve added you, kindly add me too.
ps: it’ll take a bit time for the page to update
hi there! i couldn’t find my link here. pls let me know if u’ve already linked me and will do the same. thanks! š
i agree but not all namn
@amelia belocura – yes, I’m one of those who does reads š
hmmmm. onga naman. tsssssssssssk.,
pero ako booklover ako. weee XP
Consider me as part of the small percentage of Filipinos who do actually love to read. I don’t know who I’d be right now if it weren’t for books.
Honest to goodness bookworm! š
@Dresdendoll – the reader count is increasing nga talaga, hehe.
@shaihyie – buti naman book lover ka hehe
books are the best .. kung tutoosin mas gusto ko pa mag basa kesa manoOd nang movie ahahha
Let’s find a way to promote book reading among the people.
@aiiya – talaga lang aiiya hah? hehe
yes, its pretty true. stats showing pinoys who read are declining. and we must do something about it.
nice blog design anyway, link ex?
i agree with some parts of the article, because nowadays especially the youth are quite enjoying reading books like Harry Potter, Twilight, and other fiction books and they can finish reading it from cover to cover but the only thing is they are ll fiction books(or maybe a novel also). but some filipinos are still book lovers
Upon reading the selection the main gist that I was gravitating towards to was the opinion of the author stating that the Philippines as a nation are not readers, this statement is something I highly disagree with, mainly because I can attest otherwise to most opinions stated.
We Filipinos in my opinion are wide readers. We have countless artists especially in the literary field. The statement wherein the author poses a thought to as why Filipinos are not readers due to the fact that we have short attention spans is highly debatable. One other statement that bothered me is the argument that it is because of our culture that we do not read, to me this is funny. Culture should not be blamed for the problems of society; rather it should be respected and given high regard because itās something that we have that is unique.
I do however agree on the closing statement. The fact that majority of our populace is living below the poverty line is one of the major reasons why Filipinos do not read they would rather invest money on businesses that require small fees and boom easily such as beauty parlors and sari-sari stores to feed their hungry stomachs, not on books that feed our hungry minds. I would like however to point out that even the impoverished Filipinos still read mass materials such as newspapers and the comics that go along with it, here we can see that just given the chance a Filipino would read; granted the materials.
gnda…..naks i appreciate the person who made this
Why do you say that filipinos are not having been civilize to read books??
Ang baba naman ang tingin mo sa mga filipino…………………
hi………….Filipinos are addicted in tv’s/movies but not in books…………………bye………………
As a person who doesn't love reading books, I agree to the idea that Filipinos are not book lovers. I will say that 70% of the population don't love reading books and the remaining 30% are the bookworms. Not only am I who doesn't love reading books but I also know other persons who find reading as tedious, as a waste of time. Why will they spend their time reading books if they can find something much better or entertaining to do like going out somewhere together with their peers? In the malls, I always find a small number of people in the "books" section whenever I go to a bookstore. And today, where will you find a lot of people?- in the department store, timezone, cinemas, salons, and computer shops loaded with undergrads, perhaps, male students. With the innovation of many scientific know-hows, or something like computer programs, reading will be left out when it comes to entertainment.
I must admit that this article is quite true because nowadays Filipinos are more into computers than books as a means of entertainment. They prefer watching videos or listening to their favorite band than reading a book by some native author. When I was walking inside a mall with my friends, a book caught my attention. The book was named: "Precious Hearts Romances", its about different kinds of love stories written in the past. Then I told them that this book is quite interesting, they replied: "Yuck! Diba yan yung mga binabasa ng mga katulong?" or "Yuck! Those are the books that maids are reading". From that moment it gave me an idea that some look at books in a very low level. That book is still a book, readable,meaningful and unique.
They compare these kinds of books to the big ones like Harry Potter, Twilight and many more. Well those big books are novels and these are small pocket-sized books are short stories. So my point is that books are meant to be read by all no matter what's your status in the society. Whether if you are rich, poor or in the middle, we should be still reading books. Books are much more interesting as movies. Why? Because movies only have a certain time limit, for me in books, if there is ink on the paper there is still a story going on. The most common problem Filipinos face today is illiteracy where some doesn't know read at all. They spend time looking for scraps to sell for food than going to school.
I believe that’s what you call a sweeping generalization.
Do your research before you come up with pathetic assumptions like that.
@Kae – hope there won’t be any misunderstanding.
ahm, the article isn’t written by me, I just posted it here
Filipinos read. Maybe not your novels and academic essays of the West but more like the newspapers, tabloids, komiks, and magazines of local publishing industry in the Philippines. Why then do we have so many versions of tabloids, sold to the masses at hundred-thousands of copies daily?
We are also partly very vocal – centres like the neighborhood stores, beauty parlor, barber shop, and the like end up as places where people gather to hear the latest gossip, the funniest jokes, first or second or third-hand accounts of the most glitzy events, politics, opinions, even the latest lottery winning combination…it is a heritage of our culture – story-telling, interactive with each story changing realtive to the audience.
That’s why we have a Lola Basyang who told tales with a moral lesson. Often with children gathered round, rapt. Later on, the same children will be parents who will pass on the same stories, maybe with a few alterations to serve their purpose, share them to their children. Sadly though, there may not be that many parents who remember, or even bother to share this rich folklore to the young, especially with many among us finding work and living in foreign lands.
But we do read. Not the way that is deemed by Western or foreign standards, no. But we read just the same. One proof is how effective signs are in the Philippines, and how powerful graffiti could be. Just imagine a non-rerader take a jeepney ride off to someplace…with the many contortions or the routes jeepneys ply…it would be impossible to get to your destination if one didn’t read!
As to Filipino writers, there is quite an impressive list. The sad part would be the lack of support from local government, and patronage from fellow citizens.
Internet is also changing the way people read and write. Somehow we are in very interesting times and because we can read in at least two languages, it would be equally interesting to see how these languages develop over time.
anung filipino novel ba ang magandang basahin na para sa mga teenagers? ung mejo modern na novel ha na para sa teenagers.
Naku, wala talaga ako alam dyan, di kasi ako nagbabasa ng mga aklat eh, haha.
try to read the books of paolo coelho and mitch albom
it’s very inspiring to read but you need a lot more patience to finish one book:)
Hey! I agree! Filipinos should read more books. I lived in Singapore for 2 years and now I’m back in Pinas. One thing I really miss most is the library! In SG, every community has got their own Community Library filled with a wide range of references.. everybody goes there! Everything’s updated! Like, newspapers, fiction books, non-fiction books.. they have a chinese books section, malay books section.. children’s section. And they also have audio-visual references.. which you can also borrow! The library there is so welcoming and open and FRIENDLY for everybody. What’s great about it is these government owned libraries are very rich with the updated fiction novels! HAHA. like, the twilight series?? yea.. you cant even find a local library here in Pinas who has ‘The’ Twilight series. Membership only costs SGD 5.00 if i remember correctly. In public places like train stations, you can see people reading a book while waiting for the train to arrive. Even Singapore, a place known for high-technology gadgets and high quality of living still hasn’t forgotten reading good books as an important part in learning. That being said, i think its up to the government to instill in the filipino youth and to all filipinos for that matter.. the culture of reading. It’s where everything starts. Name me a financially successful and influencial person today who doesnt love reading books. Hahaie. It’s my dream for us filipinos to have great libraries available for everyone everywhere.. regardless of social status.
I’m so lucky to have grown up in a home where my parents really encourage us to read books. When i was young, my mom bought a lot of encyclopedias and story books.. until now, my love for books and reading has never ceased.=)
[email protected]
4th year kah ??
yan din topic nmen ee .
s english. .
ciao
topic din naman yan ehh’ isa syang essayist, fictionnist tsaka cloumnist., kahit na book lover ako sang ayon ako sa sinasabi Arlene bAbst Vokey…… e2 pla fs koh.. [email protected]… hehe
topic din po nmin yan ngayon. 4th nrin ako. somewhat true and somewhat false. hehehe.
naku nmn. sana nilagay mo ung insight mo. haha
This essay is in my English Literature book. haha. And it’s so funny how this essay speaks the truth about the library thing-y.
When I read the first line of this essay, what popped into my mind was nobita of Doraemon because isn’t it that he always reads comic books and sa next na kanto, may library that is owned by Damulag? haha. :))
..hmmm!!
gReetings 2 ol…
our teacher ask us give our opinions regarding to the essay written by Arlene Babst- Vokey… and this is my opinion:
..i’m a filipina, 15 years of age and i really find reading very helpful to everyone…because through reading you’ll be able to know more and it helps a lot in expanding your vocabulary….
… so..i don’t agree with ms. arlene..
hope you’ll respect my opinions..
thank you and God Bless You all
i completely agree!
It is quite alarming that filipinos are neither fund of reading good books nor find time to read them. Usually, they would allot their time in surfing the net, texting and with other business related matters than find time to sit down and read a book. Well, i cannot deny the fact that children or teenagers especially boys are not really book fanatics. Usually, girls are the ones who like reading books. Gender differences is not really the topic here, the real point is that almost everyday, the numbers of filipino readers are diminishing because of many social factors and it is a serious matters. I think they are wasting God’s gift of literacy. Even the powerful ones and the leaders are not that worthy of emulation because they do not show love for reading. Sadly, reading has been becoming a lost art for the Filipino Nation and the only way to save it is to use the art itself. in short, have/develop a passion for reading. It wouldn’t make you less of a man anyway if you read. actually the more you read, the more knowledgeable you become. I am actually a book lover that’s why i feel sorry for those who miss the chance of exploring a new world beyond the covers of a book, the pleasure of imagining letters becoming an image or a scene and the excitement whenever the story is in its climax. well, these are the things you missed and only by reading books you could fulfill them. so change now and revive the lost art of reading! Grab a Book now!
i will honestly say that i am not a book lover but then at times i do read because i’m curious about certain things. i also tend to read because whenever i hear about people talk about a popular book, i get curious and so i buy the book and read to see whether the book is worth the price and the time. i agree that nowadays, people will not be seen reading for certain reasons, maybe it’s because they’re too lazy to read one or they’re not interested but i do hope that people will never forget to visit bookstores and to go see for themselves books that may change their lives in such a way that when they read it, it will give them good lessons in life.
I agree.
People should at least try to read books when they have some free time. I'm not trying to force them to read, I'm just suggesting that they try it. When they do, there may be a chance that they'll become addicted to books.
I would probably agree with the author of this article. A lot of Filipinos do not have time to read or do not even have the slightest interest in reading a book. Probably because they find it boring and so “uncool”. Nowadays, Filipino teenagers are more into clubbing, partying and malling,that reading already becomes a “nerdy” activity for us. When we read, we do not belong to the popular group, when we spend most of our time reading a book, we miss the fun and excitement of being a teenager. When we read, we often hear other people make awful comments about us as if we were aliens and that we have our own world. And because of a lot of technological advancements, Filipinos would rather spend their time playing psp, texting or playing computer games instead of staying in one corner and reading a book. But while other people are busy clubbing and enjoying the night life, the people who do read might not have been socializing with others, but atleast they learn more from the other average teenagers. They are those who would be able to get good jobs in the future and those who would be more aware of the things happening around us. Even though youāre a āgimikeraā, you cannot say that you know everything because even by reading a book, you would be able to travel to different places through your imagination and you would even know more about yourselves and others. Indeed, reading is an activity that is taken for granted in our country today. A lot of people do not even read newspapers because they see it as an activity for older people. It is not bad to go to parties and socialize especially with teenagers like us, but I guess we really should take time to read for our own good because reading would really bring a lot of positive effects on us and to others as well.:) ..okay ang haba.SARRY.:/
This article is proven true nowadays even if it was written many years ago. I, myself even experienced the things mentioned in the article. First, the latest technology impedes most of us Filipinos to read news articles, novels, poems, and short stories, since in just one click in the computer, we have at once our needed article or story. Second is our action of pretending that we lack of time. We admit that we canāt read a chapter from a book in just an hour but we can do a lot of things in an hour. Third is our hate for being lonely. We do not want to be alone and lonely with our book. We want to have happy and noisy moments with others such as having parties and chatting all along. Fourth, we are happier to see and watch films rather than reading and understanding series of thoughts. Lastly, we donāt really appreciate works of other Filipinos but read other nationalitiesā works. But I am not pertaining to the whole bunch of Filipinos, there are still some who loves reading. J
i do believe that Filipinos read.
it’s just that the material that we usually pay attention to, are not those that are worth it. say for an example, a common Pinoy would give more time reading the tabloid featuring the famous actress or actor of that time, ghost stories, classic pocket books, and horoscopes than reading the article about current global economic events, good novels, informative articles or a patriotic essay.
We are more interested to fiction, stories that are not true and far from reality.
We don’t want boring or dull moments of reading. we want instant understanding of the selection we read. We seldom like thoughts or compositions that require much thinking to be understood.
We are indeed lazy when it comes to matters of thinking. and eventually, we end up losing passion for things of more sense and value. We always settle for less, that one which requires also for less work and effort. And that is, ladies and gentleman, the Filipino reader.
-1CA3
MAN!this blog is like slap to my face…am I that bad??!im not a fan of reading…i can’t remember any book that i’ve finished reading…Well!except my textbooks which are required to be read…XC…though i try so bad to concentrate and be able to finally read a book until its ending(and with my patience no wonder why im not a book lover) it’s just that i can’t help it…I’ve read twilight,purpose driven life,Da vinci code and Tuesday’s with Morry sadly i did’nt finish any of these books its either i’ll ask someone to tell me its story…or i’ll just end up waiting for its movie adaptation(hahahah!im really a movie person).
Its not that i hate reading…its just that something in me thinks its boring…sad…and yAH!too much silence kills me!!but if i have to read something i won’t hesitate to do it. I feel like its more of an obligation than a hobby.
This blog made me think that maybe i should start reading more and off course arrive to its ending. I should be able to appreciate the imperceptible benefits it gives. To sum it all up, personally, i would agree to this thought but its something that needs action and change for the better.
I do agree with the said statements regarding about the topic “filipinos are not book lovers.” Yes, it’s true that there are lots of filipino book lovers, but if we gather all of the filipinos and group them into two as one is for book lovers and the other one is for non-book lovers. Which group do you think will have the most number? Obviously, the second group will have the greatest number. Perhaps, it’s due to poverty as said above but it could also be the nature of us… Pinoys.
Thanks for reading my comment… GODbless us all! =)
hi…,
i just wanna reflect on what this article conveys to us.,
yes it is true not all filipinos like books,perhaps most pinoys will just read if they are told to by their teachers(thats why bookstores and libraries are not often crowded). but still there is a small lot that wants to read and is eager to learn more, i praise those person because they never limit their sight to one window,they look at the other windows,
also,i want to react on the last paragraph of the article. true,the filipino reader is somehow still surviving, the filipino writer,for me still stands,i want to tell this because im a literature student, the passion for writing doesn’t disappear that’s why there are the likes of Bob Ong. there will still be writers publishing works,writing, to get noticed and to inspire the country and it’s people. still i’m sad to face the truth that most of our countrymen are too lazy to stand up read a book or better:go to the library,or spend their money on buying books rather than having ‘inuman times’ with their ‘pare’s with reading they’re not wasting money because for me it is money WELL SPENT..
I thank the author of this article for bringing to us this topic which is essential to keeping us in mind of our countrymen’s ways…i just hope that many filipinos will take this article as something to read not something to look at one glance then dispose of it.^^
I think, Filipino are not book lovers.
Actually, I could not see many filipino read books. And some of people even do not know the bestsellers.
Yes, may be some will say ‘I am a book lover.’ However, if we think in whole, probably, most of all people are ‘NOT’ book lovers.
I completely agree with the author, that Filipinos tend to go to the mall,mingle with friends, watch tv than to read a book. Rarely I can see someone very fascinated in buying or reading books which I think is erroneous. Reading books will help us acquire knowledge that will help us in our daily conversation. I know for a fact that being a voracious reader will help you in conversing anything under the sun. Just one suggestion for not so interested in reading books or anything.. Try to find topics that will interest you until reading will become a daily habit.
“The Problem is Filipinos hate solitude”
Kudos to this phrase! Filipinos are socially inclined people, we want to be surrounded by friends, family, peers, etc. We love the feeling of having a company thus our attention is misleaded to other things. We’d rather go out with our friends than stay home alone, reading books. Filipinos read, but in a limited subject. For instance, we’d rather read the Twilight series over Literary pieces, magazines over textbooks. One more thing is that, Filipino’s interest are diverted to other things.. things like new technologies. We’d rather text than read books, surf the net rather than read books. Like for instance, Filipino students would rather use the world wide web in researching rather than take time to read books, copy-paste rather than read and comprehend.
There are a lot of things we could get from reading, so hopefully, Filipinos would later on learn to love reading and get something valuable from it. š
Masyado nang matanda yung article. Hindi na yun katanggap tanggap sa panahon ngayon! sabi nga ng friend ko na si emyfer,” madaming nangyayare sa loob ng 10years.” At saka lahat ng nakilala ko’ng tao sa tinagal tagal ko sa mundong ito lahat sila mahilig magbasa ng books! Hindi ko talaga matanggap yung sa article! kasi sobrang book lover ako! Nakaka-inis na makabasa ng ganung article. *SIGH* 10yrs old na article… Sobrang hindi na katanggap tanggap yung nilalaman.
bida nanaman ako dito. ahaha!
pero diba? tama naman me?! ahaha! madaming nangyayare sa loob ng 10years. siguro nung pinublish yan.. ang chochode ng books. i mean DI KAINTE-INTERESADO yung book. parang ewan lang. haha!
tsaka mas nakakaattract yung NAKIKITA natin yung motion na nagaganap sa istorya diba?
If I’m not mistaken, this article was written 10years ago. So, I STRONGLY DISGAGREE. A lot may happen during that 10 years, right? Books of the present date actually pulls back the enthusiasm of the Filipino youth of today to read fictious and non-fictious books. Bestseller “Twilight” is an example.. If the Filipinos during that time weren’t bookworms, LET US BE THE CHANGE OF THIS SOCIETY. READ BOOKS!
It is true that Filipinos don’t read. The reasons given are also true. But then couldn’t it also be that reading wasn’t really a part of our culture? Just like how the Filipinos are more interested in soap operas, making ourselves look nice (thus the parlors) and music? It’s unnoticable, but then whenever we take up Philippine culture literature always comes last. Over 300 years of conquest should explain that. How on earth are we supposed to get ourselves more interested in books and reading when the ones who take it upon themselves to teach us don’t want to (save for the Americans, of course, bless them for that)? I guess we’re more into the arts involving visible media and performing rather than we are with the arts that involve us having to be alone, to digest what a bunch of words mean–which was a reason cited in the article. I’m not saying it’s ok that we don’t read as much, because we should. If only there were enough text books in the public school classroom for everyone. That would help greatly. Emphasis on literature would spark an interest. Libraries would be more useful and the talented Filipino writers would get more credit. If only we could find a way to get everyone to read!… But then, come to think of it, we also have to think about global warming, the upcoming elections, the charter change that might stop that, A(H1N1), etc! I would worship a leader who could solve all these problems and then tackle the issue on Filipinos not being book lovers. I wonder what sort of miracle we should ask for then. š
I’m fond of reading books, but not that I read tons of books already.It’s pretty sad to hear that FILIPINOS (though not only US), are just setting aside the importance of the “ART of READING”. I agree with some points like “FILIPINOS HARDLY TAKE TIME TO READ BECAUSE OF OUR SHORT ATTENTION SPAN”. This is because we’re not trained to do so. Well, in reading a book, it doesn’t mean you should finish reading it in one sitting. You can always continue reading it until your done. BUT it doesn’t mean too that you’re going to forget about understanding what you’re reading, because that’s the essence of it. You’re reading because you’re going to get something from that book.
It’s true that most Filipinos do not read at all. I also agree to the fact that the act of “Reading” is way off to the typical Filipino attitude of being impulsive and impatient. But there are does, just like me, who does read and true there is a part of me that tells me to sway of reading…but I strive not to listen to that accursed whisper. Because for me, reading a book is a necessity that can only be achieved through some of the most difficult practice a Filipino could do. But in return, we will be able to learn a side that could never be achieved just by being jolly all the time. We Filipinos need to learn to seat back and relax and try to understand things like ideas.
It was by the help of a book (or something like that, I couldn’t really remember, sorry) that started the revolution during the Spanish era.
that’s definitely disappointing. there are many filipino writers and great personalities and it made me think before that most filipinos really love to read books. now i guess this has just always hidden the fact that we are really not book lovers. it is really flattering to know and realize that filipinos have good social values and that we are so friendly but it seems that this has always been the reason why we hate solitude. of the myriad facts and reasons that explain why filipinos dont love books, it could be ony one thing which can solve this shame, passion to learn. if rwe eally love to learn and discover new things then we better read books because they are more reliable and its could be a great way for pleasure. perhaps we’re just beaten by procrastination or anxiety in doing so, but i think we could still find ourselves enjoying the business once we get started doing this. that’s helpful, i think.
i don’t agree.. maybe not all Filipinos read as frequently as others do, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that they do not love or rather like books.. especially now. many people read books. for example teens, they may not read informative books but THEY READ. they read young adult books. people would rather read something they can relate to, rather than reading something they have no interest in.. so in my opinion the statement Filipinos are not book lovers is inappropriate.. also this article was written in 1987. we are now in 2009.. many things have changed in the past 22 years. maybe the number of Filipino book lovers have increased.
For my own opinion, Filipinos do read books and we even treasure them because "we are book lovers".
But sad to say most of the Filipino people spend much of their time on non-educational readings. Magazines, Fictional Stories, Romantic Novels, Tabloids, and so on.
Well as you can see, reading these things is more interesting than the books we used at our school. I am sure that most of us do enjoy reading science fictions and love stories because they can easily catch our attention. The can give us excitement for what to expect next as the story unravels. Honestly speaking, I also do enjoy these kinds of readings.
We cannot deny that some Filipinos are lazy and spend much of their time doing nothing, but if they do something, expect that they'll be reading these things. As I repeat, they are far more interesting and this is what we enjoy more.
As far as I can see, we do love books. But sometimes I also feel reading school books are somehow boring. It makes our head ache for spending much of our time thinking and thinking just to understand what we are reading. But don't you dare say that We Filipinos are not Book Lovers because I'm telling all of you right now, we do love read a lot, but it's our decision on what we are going to read and what is not.
And even though we are not book lover as the author of this article said, that doesn't mean that we Filipinos cannot spend time with our books for many days. I'm sure that many of us doesn't have spare time to read books and maybe that's the first thing we should know before saying that We are not Book Lovers.
Filipinos are not book lovers. They do read but only those from tabloids, magazines, and komiks. But if you give them a book, some wouldn’t dare to read a single page. They would rather watch t.v, or find something worth spending their time for.
Some Filipinos would read books because of trend like when “TWILIGHT” showed up. “TWILIGHT” was published years before they started filming the movie, and the movie got popular only because of a particular reason, THE HUNKY VAMPIRE GUY (no offense to those who are die hard fans though) and not because of the book(that’s what I think). Yes, I watched the movie but it was my most awful movie experience ever, besides the fact that they changed almost every details of the book,but girls were screaming because of the ACTORS. Reading books because of trend? not a good reason.
Some Filipinos would read because it’s compulsive or it’s a requirement in school. They wouldn’t think that its a opportunity for them to broaden their vocabulary or even enhance their English.
Some Filipinos think it’s a nerdy hobby.
I love reading books, from books about Dracula is still alive up to the lives of unfortunate children. And when I’m really interested with the story, I can read it in one day or less. Books can change you, and it can make you curious and make you want more from it. And you can never open a book without learning anything from it.
SO COME ON FILIPINOS! Start reading and you’ll feel a change.
It’s sad to say that the number of Filipinos who have reading as a hobby is disintegrating nowadays, perhaps because of the emerging gadgets that get more of the people’s (especially the youth’s) attention. Long ago when PSPs and iPods are were still not invented, most people devote their time reading books or newspapers. Now, most people devote their free time playing with PSP games, listening to MP3 players or even text messaging. People have become attached to more convenient things, and as a result they slowly lose interest in reading books.
Personally, I love reading. I make sure that I read a novel once in a while and I see to it that I finish it. I believe reading sharpens the mind and widens the vocabulary. I learn a lot in reading, may the book be fiction or non-fiction. Therefore, I also believe that reading is vital to everyone of any age. Learning isn’t over in the four walls of a classroom – it should always be continuous. Everybody should be a “perpetual student” – someone who constantly has the eagerness and thirst for learning.
I just hope more Filipinos will come to realize the importance of reading, not just sitting in front of the television watching soap operas and koreanovelas.
This article really presents a fact. This is an alarm clock that is ringing loud to the most Filipinos who are not fond of reading. Actually, the literacy rate here in the Philippines is very much low. It gives us a glimpse of how the education in our nation works. And unfortunately, it doesn’t make us proud. In some ways, it triggers us to be ashamed of our own country. But who must to be blamed? The answer is simple. It is we, ourselves, must be blamed for we are accountable for the good manifestation of our whole country in any matter.
However in my case, I am fond of reading. I like reading and it completes my season. I remember this 2009 summer, before classes started, I’ve read six books. I thought at first, I would be fed up but I can sense now that I’m still thirsty for more. I can’t help it.
Reading can be boring for some. Others would say that it is just a waste of time. Still more would just go to disco bars and spend their vacant time there enjoying themselves with the influence of alcohol rather that picking up a book and enrich their vocabularies. But I believe in the therapeutic aroma of reading. I believe that when one reads a certain write-up, it penetrates the soul and force their mind to absorb it. Sooner or later, mind jumps and releases a wide understanding to further break down the information. At the end point, one can see that he or she is relating into it and providing his or her own perspectives. And that’s the power of reading—-it persuades, it brings you in.
I hope that in my present generation, the youth, ourselves, will make a step to be a good example in a way that each of us will start to love reading so that we can able to teach the next the importance of it. It is one of the learning tools that is not changing. It must be gradually improving.
I think that our Filipino culture somewhat impedes the development of a reading habit. I agree with the article that Filipinos love the company of people, not the solitude of a written work, and the Filipino’s stubbornness on the vividness of ideas. And perhaps I wonder, people rarely read books also because of a vague anti-intellectual attitude of the populace regarding books and those who write them. I, for myself, received a lot of comments and queries from everyone regarding my choice of my college course, AB Literature.
I believe that a progressive society is a book-reading society. Book and other written materials offer a powerful medium for the transmission of modern ideas. Filipinos will continue to cling to their old adages and indigenous knowledge without new learning to guide and rectify their misconceptions about basic facts concerning our world. But it will take an awful lot of effort and time to make libraries and book stores the pivots of communities – even if that becomes the case, it will still be in par with malls and parlors. Its quite easy to change an attitude, but hard to change a culture.
I am baffled buy this statement. If the literacy rate of the Philippines is to rival other powerful nations, then why are we not book lovers?
I am book lover, maybe it comes naturally. But how about others who cant afford books what really wants to learn and read books, do they belong under the label as "not-book-lovers"?
Let us not limit ourselves to what we see from our brothers and sisters who live in urban communities who easily get jaded. Let us also consider those who live in the poorer side of our nation that strive to learn but has seldomly or never held a book.
The article is true. There are more Filipinos spending there free time in salons and sari-sari stores and less spends time reading. But time changes peoples perspective and attitude. Maybe before Filipinos are not interested in reading and writing books but nowadays, we can encounter people who loves reading and even saves money to but good books like me.=) Before i really hated reading books because i think they are so boring and can easily bring me to sleep but when you encounter the book that caught your interest, time will come that you will save up to buy more good books.
It is not true that Filipinos of this generation don’t read books because I still see a lot of Pinoys spending their time reading books in a library with their friends. Many of us still spend a lot of money buying expensive books despite of the crisis.Many Filipino teenagers love to read books like Harry Potter and Twilight. Everytime I go to the national bookstore or any other bookstore, I can still see a lot of people reading and buying books. Many books are sometimes out of stock in the bookstore because of its popularity. This only shows that many Filipinos are still fun of reading a book.
It is not too late to make a change. Let us make this generation better than before.
It is not true that Filipinos of this generation donāt read books because I still see a lot of Pinoys spending their time reading books in a library with their friends. Many of us still spend a lot of money buying expensive books despite of the crisis.Many Filipino teenagers love to read books like Harry Potter and Twilight. Everytime I go to the national bookstore or any other bookstore, I can still see a lot of people reading and buying books. Many books are often times sold out in the bookstore because of its popularity. This only shows that many Filipinos are still fun of reading a book.
It is not too late to make a change. Let us make this generation better.
I myself am a book lover…
I Feel so sad if many filipinos are not book lovers..I mean why can’t they love books it has such wonderful stories that we can learn from… so that we can apply them to our daily lives
I myself am a book loverā¦
I Feel so sad if many filipinos are not book lovers..I mean why canāt they love books it has such wonderful stories that we can learn fromā¦ so that we can apply them to our daily lives
I think some filipinos lack patience, they always avoid difficult situations and I really do agree that the filipinos has ningas-cogon attitude which can make some filipinos unsuccessful in their lives… but I really do think that filipinos can change for the greater good, well some of-course….
I have to agree with the author of the blog. Why?
First: Filipinos are more focused on other media than on books. To agree also with those who posted their comments (whom some of them happened to be my classmates, anyway) some Filipinos waste more time talking than reading.
Second: Because of what they want, Filipinos forget to read. Instead of buying books, or at least items that would further enrich their minds, they would rather buy cellphones, PSPs, laptops, cellphone load, accessories for the girls, 15 Pesos or so to play DoTA for the boys…and the list goes on.
Lastly: There are some who hate, or worse, curse reading. It is up to the next to reply if he or she agrees or disagrees
There is sill hope to change this attitude of decaying Filipino literary work. Every time a Filipino disregards reading as a habit, he slowly kills Philippine Literature as we know it. You may ask if what is my authority to say this, this is what I could answer:
“Even though I keep track of the trend, I could never disgust reading. This was the skill I first learned as an infant. I am not in higher education if I didn’t read anything at all. Every page of a good book is like music to my ears.”
I must advise this to those who already made comments and to those who would sill make one so that they would make reading a bit more fun–every time you read, don’t just focus your eyes on every word, use your imagination if necessary.
In our family, especially on my mother’s side, are a bunch of book lovers. I like to highlight my cousin, Sanley, who is at Italy at this moment. He is a full scholar there, and has went to Belgium, Spain, and presently, in Italy. He was a scholar there mainly because he is fond of reading. He can finish a book in a day or two(wish I could do that too).
He was one of my many influences about book reading. Reading is an activity for all people og all gender, age, and status in life. We can learn a lot from reading because the strored knowledge that we have may expand and be elaborated.
I remember during my highschool that we are required to read a book every Friday for thirty minutes. The program was called SRLP(Silent Reading for Learning and Pleasure) and that program molded me to read books. By reading books gradually, I became good not only in my vocabulary, but also in reasoning out and communicating to people.
Reading books has a lot to offer. Wether the reading material is in English or in Filipino, we learn a lot from them. By books alone, we are able to travel the world, and understand other cultures.
For Filipinos who are not fond of reading English texts, there are texts witten in Filipino. There are great novels by L. Bautista, D.M. Landicho, A. C. Fabian, and other great Filipino novelists. Then from there, start reading journals from Reader’s Digest or Time magazine. Wherever you want to start, it is up to you, as long as you are able to read at make it as a hobby.
i admit, i really hate reading books… At this age, I feel tired and lazy reading. I pity myself for this. I really dont give the big damn blame to the standard of education in our province for the fact I have learned from Sir Andrew (our english prof) that reading books requires only INTEREST… now that im in college, I promise to my self that should love and engage my self the art of reading. Ć¼
i loove it!!!
I only read books if necessary. Some read books for past time and some says they totally love reading books. But why does Filipinos’ are not fond of reading books?
For example, in Harry Potter (the movie). Many had watched the film of this particular movie, but only some of them had read the entire book of Harry Potter. Why is it like that? In my opinion, maybe because they say they are bored because it is too long or what. But actually, the book itself is more adventurous and more complete than just watching although watching the movie can be fun too but some of the scenes had been cut. So you don’t completely know the story. Maybe that’s why.
Reading, as some says, it can improve your vocabulary, can widen your knowledge.
I definitely agree with what the author has written. Yes, definitely Filipinos tend to use their free time in other things that they love to do rather than reading books. They prefer going to salon rather than a library, devoting their time in watching telenovelas or playing online games and others. This is because for some finds reading is boring, using the latest technologies like computer, television, psp, cellphones and other techies will be more lively and enjoyable than reading. Books are more significant in shaping one’s intellectual ability while movies are just for entertainment or pleasure. And lack of time in reading is the problem but in terms of different things we have much time. I rarely see people who devotes their time in reading and studying, i wanna say that reading helps us so much to refrain from ignorance and helps us acquire more knowledge. Just like what my father always tells me that while it’s not too late, use our time wisely by reading different kinds of books not just read but also reading it by heart because the message that we have learned from the books will help us in future things that we will encounter and we can use it on our daily lives.
i really felt bad with the fact that filipinos are not EVEN CLOSE to being a bookworm as a whole.
i dunno, maybe because it is our nature to be lazy and we are more adapt to things that doesn’t require much effort.
or perhaps reading, as we see it, is something such as waste of time.
but i do not think so–
i read quite a number of books and i think it is the best leisure aside listening to music.
reading is like learning at rest.
there are things you can anticipate through reading and it is very much advisable.
most people’s mind are limited because they have not gone far to the extent reality and perception that books can give us.
let’s read book.
I love to read books…Those who dont are illiterates and lower classes of the country that only drink alcohol and use drugs…
It’s my assignment … now i think… filipinos were not book lovers because of the culture they were in…. filipinos were creative…. and because of our creativity and craftiness….. we usually think that we were skilled enough to live…thats my opinion about that
It’s sad that they say Filipinos are not a book lover. I disagree on that because I love reading books and I know many people,reading is their hobby.And infact when I am in my High school years a lot of the students in our school,reading ius their hobby. But I know a lot of people that do not want reading they prefare to watch a movie beacause they said that watching is more fun than reading. But I disagree on that one because I find reading more fun and exciting than watching movies because in reading you control your imagination about that particular scene in the book. So whatever they say about Filipino I know in my mind that not all Filipino arenot book lovers.
Truly, it is really sad to say that only few Filipinos read books. =(
I don’t consider my self a “book lover”. Because I only read books when it is necessary (like school assignments) or when a certain book interest me.
But my mom would always encourage me to read books. Because she would always remind me that if i want to be a successful individual in the future, I should engage myself more into reading books in order for me to expound my knowledge and skills in reading and speaking.
Now i want to make reading books as part of my hobby. I just need to discipline myself not to be lazy.
I feel pity for those Filipinos who are not fond of reading. Frankly, I believe that they are missing a lot of things simply because they think that reading will lead them nowhere. They have no idea what books have to offer. Let me base this on my personal experience. Before, I hate reading. “Internet is created! So why bother?” That was my thinking then. But my mother influenced me into reading. She bought me Thirteen Reasons Why. I learned a lot from that book and it helped me become a better person. And it moved me to the point that I find time just to read books every weekend.
Though written many years ago, the article still states a fact nowadays..The main topic here is, “Filipinos are not book lovers”…Yes. I agree with that one. Filipinos are really not.Though some Filipinos are fond of reading books,let’s not forget that this is just a small portion of millions of Filipino population (we’re talking here about the totality). And how about the majority of Filipinos?? ..Being a book lover states a “deep passion” in reading books unlike those who just read books out of necessity.
A lot of reasons states why is this so..
First, Filipinos hate solitude.
In a nation known for being happy even at its worst, Filipinos don’t want to be left alone or to have a feeling of being isolated. Close family ties, friends, are just few reasons why we don’t want to be alone. Sad fact is that, “reading” is none or atleast last of our choices to get bonded with each other. Compare in spending a few hours during our spare time reading alone a certain book than attending disco parties or going to the malls with our friends, we might atleast choose the “not boring” one..That’s what most Filipinos behavior like.
Second, Filipinos are much interested in watching than reading (latest showbiz news,reality shows,telenovela,movies..etc)
We, Filipinos, are getting more entertained in watching than reading for it allows us to view the actual happening than visualizing and encoding what are we reading..
Lastly, technology plays a role in it.
In times where almost everything seems to be just one click away, Filipinos who do not give attention to reading books resort to the internet for it gives us more convenience than utilizing an hour reading a book.
Illiteracy percentage are increasing.Who will be blamed for it? Of course, we are accountable for the consequences of our own laziness. Hail to those who are passionate in reading. But I do hope,we,Filipinos, could change our ways into a civilized and literate reading society.:)) We are given all the resources,so,we must have the initiative and courage to give attention to it for it is for our own benefit also.
~.~
Fortunately I’m a book lover. It is one of my favorite past times and I can easily be too much into it. For example, even though I’ve watched Harry Potter movies I still love reading the books because somehow they have differences and sometimes the books are better than the movies.
It’s kinda depressing that Filipinos are in more reliance into other stuffs than reading materials. And sometimes it is already stock in their mind that reading is boring so they don’t explore reading much.
It’s a good thing that I’m a book lover. It is one of my favorite past times and I can easily be too much into it. For example, even though I’ve watched Harry Potter movies I still love reading the books because somehow they have differences and sometimes the books are better than the movies.
It’s kinda depressing that Filipinos are in more reliance into other stuffs than reading materials. And sometimes it is already stock in their mind that reading is boring so they don’t explore reading much.
..
Lately, I have discovered that I love to read. I appreciate the pleasure of reading and learning something from it.
It’s very disappointing that majority of Filipinos do not read a lot. They may be too busy that they have neglected reading or may be they don’t realize it’s importance.
Nowadays a lot of teens read Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn, – Well, I’ve also read those – some readers may be reading it just because that’s the fad. (No offense to anybody, its just my opinion) And I think it’s better that they read because of the fad, than not reading at all. Through this fad, teens becomes motivated to finish the book.
In my opinion, reading is very essential because it contributes a lot of knowledge to us, it also expands our vocabulary. Try reading and learn to appreciate it.
-Marielle Magtira [1BeS1]
I agree upon what the auther haave written. Filipinos , especially the teenagers, would rather go out and have fun, play online games or surf the net. I agreed so because it is indeed hard to analyze abd to understanda literary work that uses a foreign language ‘though it is said that english is our 2nd language.
I want to add another reason that may help us to understand more why Filipinos are not book lovers. Remember that Philippines is a 3rd world country. Economy is not so good unlike the said countries, Japan and London. Therefore, we need to work twice or even thrice to support our needs. So from that reason, I may say that reading a cover to cover book would just be a waste of time. So we cannot totally say that Filipinos are not book lovers.
My mom loves reading novels when she was at my age. But she can’t do it anymore because she is busy. and so am I.
Reading requires concentration and a lot of time to fully understand what you are reading.
It is really degrading to know that filipinos are not intrested in reading. at first i want to disagree, but as i observed, it is true, so why waste my time. Reading is usually disregarded since cellphones and internet are discovered. this fact is also one of the reasons why superb english speakers in our country become lesser in number. i love reading because it can improve my vocabulary, my imagination or creativity, and of course, it can make me brighter. i wish, i can encourage everyone to be a book lover. i also hope that people with authority, not only those in the government but also our teachers,parents and public figures will be a good example to all. this article should be read by everybody, it is really an eye opener for all of us. reading is not a crime. let us all give it a shot.
Iām a book lover now!! I hate reading books before but when I tried to read a book that my sister gave me I enjoyed it, thatās why Iām continuing reading books.
Reading books helped me to enhance my vocabulary and it helped me to speak English fluently but not that much.. hehehe..
Thatās why I encourage you people who donāt like to read books, try it sometime.. it will surely help you..
Heheheheheheā¦.
In my family my mother is my mother is always influencing me to read books so that i can learn so many things inside or outside our university.If you posses a book you can improve you skills and it can answer some of the questions that are bothering you.so I can say that even that i’m a filipino i really love books!!
I guess Filipinos read. It’s just that we are in the new era that’s why there are other alternatives in acquiring knowledge, getting information or even for entertainment rather than read a book. I guess the right term would be Filipinos are lazy. I read a lot though. But honestly speaking, especially when the part we are reading gets a little arid, we tend to get bored and torpid. Maybe READING suits people. There are those who call themselves “book worms” for they have passion for reading; and there are those who won’t even give a look on a book. It just varies, i guess. We cant completely say that Filipinos are not book lovers for there are really those who are erotic in reading. Maybe you could say you are one of those. But I dont count myself one, for I read books a lot.
https://pinoyteens.net/2008/07/filipinos-are-not-book-lovers/
Unfortunately, i agree with the selection. It is true that Filipinos rarely read books, but not all of them, but most of them. I for one loves reading books, my mother is a Robert Ludlum fan and my grandfather almost made our house a library because he loves reading books. On the other hand, my father doesn’t really love to read books and so does my brother, my grandmother and most of my relatives. I think that this situation is also happening in our country today, most of the Filipinos doesn’t really incline themselves in reading books. I totally agree that we Filipinos have a very outgoing personality, we always like to have fun and make noise which is the exact opposite of reading books, that’s why Filipinos don’t find reading books fun. But reading books can be fun too, it depends on how you look at it. But unfortunately most of us doesn’t the bright side in reading books, we find it simply boring and a total waste of time. For people with deeper level of thinking simply learning new words is fun, but for most of us we would likely say ” Why not go to SM instead of reading that boring book for hours?”. This is the kind of mentality that Filipinos have these days, plus the fact that we have now access to internet which is has the friendster, the facebook, the myspace, the y8 and many other sites which we find more fun than reading books. I really think that it still depends on the person if he/she will incline herself in reading books as a hobby as a pleasure or a pass time. I salute all the Filipinos who loves reading books, and to those who fine SM and shopping in Trinoma more fun, you’re missing out so much guys! š
Unfortunately, i agree with the selection. It is true that Filipinos rarely read books, but not all of them, but most of them. I for one loves reading books, my mother is a Robert Ludlum fan and my grandfather almost made our house a library because he loves reading books. On the other hand, my father doesnāt really love to read books and so does my brother, my grandmother and most of my relatives. I think that this situation is also happening in our country today, most of the Filipinos doesnāt really incline themselves in reading books. I totally agree that we Filipinos have a very outgoing personality, we always like to have fun and make noise which is the exact opposite of reading books, thatās why Filipinos donāt find reading books fun. But reading books can be fun too, it depends on how you look at it. But unfortunately most of us doesnāt look at the bright side in reading books, we find it simply boring and a total waste of time. For people with deeper level of thinking simply learning new words is fun, but for most of us we would likely say ā Why not go to SM instead of reading that boring book for hours?ā. This is the kind of mentality that Filipinos have these days, plus the fact that we have now access to internet which has the friendster, the facebook, the myspace, the y8 and many other sites which we find more fun than reading books. I really think that it still depends on the person if he/she will incline herself in reading books as a hobby as a pleasure or a pass time. I salute all the Filipinos who loves reading books, and to those who find SM and shopping in Trinoma more fun, youāre missing out so much guys! š
I consider myself a book lover, but not the type that reads lots of books in a short period of time. I read a book when I feel the need to, and when interest strucks me. There are lots of things that we can get from reading. Aside from the fact that reading gives us solitude, we also learn new things, and also new words. A lot of Filipinos may hate solitude, but not everybody. There are still people who long for it, and I believe that in any situation, we shouldn’t generalize.
Reading a book requires interest, time, and patience–the same things that we lack nowadays. Most of the time people are preoccupied with lots of things that technology provides us that we neglect reading. But I still know people who would just sit around all day to read a book. Books are just there, and the choice is always with us. The only way we can see the importance of reading is by simply doing it.
TO ALL MY FRESHMAN THOMASIAN STUDENTS WHO AIRED THEIR THOUGHTS AS REGARDS THE ISSUE, THANKS! I AM ALSO HAPPY FOR YOU HAVE FINALLY REALIZED THE INDISPENSABLE VALUE OF READING IN YOUR ACADEMIC AND PERSONAL LIFE. KEEP READING!
THANKS TO THE AUTHOR OF THE ARTICLE AND TO THE BRAINCHILD BEHIND THIS WEBSITE!
Okay. HAHA. I admit, reading is kind of boring. And Filipinos are happy type of persons. And yeah, reading books as a recreation is booorrrriiiiiinngggg. But hey, loads of knowledge are packed within them, so why not read? Maybe, they enjoy partying or dancing or singing or hanging out with friends, or having siesta instead of feeding their minds.Anyway, who would like to be stucked-up in a silent place concentrating themselves on what they are reading? Perhaps, they don’t want READING to jeopardize them spending leisure time on anything else they think that’s more worthwhile. But I believe though, that through reading, we can be more competent and sophisticated. And through reading, we’ll be able to have our minds set and can make us confident in whatever we’ll be dealing with. š
ASSIGNMENT š
hmm. i think some of the Filipinos don’t enjoy reading books and they focus “more” on other things rather than reading, I think internet also is one of the factor that affect the interest of people in reading books.. but i think we can do something about it..right?
I’m not reading book that much but i really appreciate books.. hehe.. :]] well, There are benefits in reading books so we Filipinos “SHOULD” read books and learn to love it.. hehe.. I hope i could be one of them someday, to be a book lover.. hehe.. :]]
In my opinion, majority of the Philippines population are adventurous and prefer to go out and explore rather than read a novel or any kind of book. I for one am part of the adventurous crowd, I donāt find reading as interesting as sports, watching movies or surfing the net. But as I grow up, I realized that reading is very necessary to my life because it enhances my skills in writing, develops my grammar and widens my vocabulary. So then I learn to value, love and give time for reading.
This article is a slap on the face. I’m guilty with the fact that I barely read books but that doesn’t mean Filipino teenagers are not smart enough or competent enough to other people. In my opinion, Filipino teens barely read books since what they learn in school is enough to make them flexible in their everyday lives. Filipinos want to learn the easy way through media. And besides, this article was published 10 years ago. I think we developed enough through that 10 years whether it is good or bad.
I know for a fact that Filipinos are frequent readers and book-lovers and that the word “Filipinos” on the title should not be generalized.
Upon reading this article, i was quite disappointed that we Filipinos are labeled as NOT book-lovers because we should also take in to consideration those who spend almost all of their lives reading.
Though i must say that Filipinos are “techie people” meaning we often fixate ourselves in front of the television, our iPods and the like. but despite this circumstances, we still find time to grab a book and read.
I’ve once said that i hate reading. but through time, i’ve realized its importance and slowly, i take back what i’ve asserted. and i’m sure that those Filipinos who don’t really have the sympathy and enthusiasm for books will soon realize its value just like i did.
I would also want to comment on the statement “The problem is Filipinos hate solitude.” actually, Filipinos’ insolence for solitude isn’t really that of a problem. it is just a little factor which minimizes Filipinos’ interest for books which could be solved with just appreciation and discipline.
Even though the Filipino culture is, by a large margin, opposite of the silent, contemplative reader, some folks have still the urge to open even just barely 60 pages.
I refer to those locally produced Romance books that are for rent at Php 2 per day, or for sale at Php 60. People, especially women who clamours for those melodramatic love stories, read those kind of books. Also, locally (again) produced horror novels are kinda in demand.
But even those things are in their twilight years.
I myself read books, just to remove myself from ignonimity. Only a divine intervention could turn the tables down for a literary Filipino.
i think most of these days, filipinos just use the internet if they want to search/browse something. but for me a book still contains much accurate facts, coz in the internet, people could just post something that i dont really rely on.
coz some of us just prefer to do the “1 click away” from information from the internet.
today, some filipinos still enjoy reading books, especially when there is a preview of a movie. like for example “angels and demons” others prefer reading the book than watching the movie itself coz they find it more interesting in a contextual way.
Reading plays an important role, for it expands our knowledge and it can move lives of people. I believe that the article is certain for we Filipinos are so hooked with the advancement of technologies around us; And with that, we are too lazy to notice the all time source of knowledge which is reading. We Filipinos, especially todayās teenagers like things in instant, for we excuse ourselves from experiencing hardships whenever we want to gain or achieve something. Personally, I am not into reading books for pleasure but only for academic purposes. I can say that I have only read 3-5 books/novels that are not required by the school mainly because it caught my interests but it is never too late for me to start reading and considering it as pleasure.
Iām not a booklover myself. Honestly speaking, I really hate books. Iāve never finished reading a book in my whole life. Often times, I would see my mom just read and read when she is not doing anything, and I would tell myself, āYuck, whatās so great about books? It will only give me headacheā. Even if Iām exposed with my momās love for books, there is no way that it will convince me to love books as well. Iād rather be busy doing something else like chatting or listening to music, even though these two actually wastes more time.
Books may be amusing for others, but not for me. I know that Iām wrong about this, but I really donāt see anything great about books. But we all have different tastes in life, so I think that we should still respect each otherās taste, whether a person is a booklover or not.
This article puts forward the idea that Filipinos do not like to read. Because of this, writers do not get paid enough for their craft and there are very few bookstores. This aversion to reading is not caused by material poverty but by three reasons: Filipinos hate solitude, they do not like to deal with ideas and they cannot stand silence.
There is some truth in these statements. Filipinos are not often seen reading a book. Bookstores make money selling textbooks rather than novels. True too that Filipinos like company, merriment and singing rather than mental activities. But I beg to disagree that this can be dangerous. The faults of former leaders like Imelda Marcos and Cory Aquino did not lie in the stuff they read but on the decisions they made reading. Furthermore, as we see now, the Marxists have not succeeded in their ideology. I donāt suppose that Filipino Marxists were any different from Filipinos who are not Marxists in their aversion for solitude, silence and intellectual work.
I think that the reason for our not liking to read is the lack of knowledge of ourselves that can be written about in a book. His writings mirror the writerās soul. This is the reason for Bob Ongās success ā he touched the Filipino psyche in what he wrote. The Filipino that he was talking about is everyman and it clicked. The more books that are truly Filipino that come out, the more we will turn to reading.
I feel pity for those who are not fond of reading. Frankly, I believe that they lack a part of their life if they dont have passion for reading. To understand more on why I feel this way, let me base this article on my self. Before, I hate reading. “Internet is created! So why bother reading books when it’s just one click away?” That was may thinking then. So, you might be asking when my passion for books started. Last January 2008, my mother bought me “Thirteen Reasons Why”. Then I started reading it out of boredom. To my surprise, I finished reading the book in a week! I learned a lot from that book and it definitely made me a better person. So for those non-readers out there, get a good book, try reading it and I assure you, you’ll never regret. š
Well I don’t believe that all filipinos are not book lovers. I still believe that many youths out there are fond of reading books and a proof of that is why are filipinos going crazy over the twilight saga, the harry potter series and all the other literary masterpieces. It’s just that it depends on the person. I have one friend, a filipino friend who loves to read books as her pastime. I also see a lot of people buying books that are expensive just to satisfy their pleasure on reading, Like my aunt in the states we often send her pocketbooks cause she loves reading so much.So that is my insight on this article just wanna let you all know that there are filipinos who are fond of reading books.
I agree with the author stating that Filipinos are not book lovers. If you observe the Filipinos today, esepecially the teenagers, you would surely notice that most of these people can be seen at the computer shops rather in the library. Filipino teenagers, nowadays, are fond of using internet as their resource materials rather than looking up from an encyclopedia or from a textbook. I’d like to interpret part of it what the author had stated, based on my undertanding. Since some or most Filipinos likes everything to work fastly and lightly, they are not book lovers, particularly because reading a book takes time and patience. Therefore, for me, some of the Filipinos will never like or love reading a book, unless that person understands fully how important a book is to our life and unless we Filipinos understand and apply patience as a virtue.
The only time you would see many Filipinos reading a book is when a certain novel is flashed on a news. Therefore,that novel will become famous in which the influence of reading that book passes to a lot of Filipinos.
Honestly, I am not reading books such as novels, except when it is needed and if I am really interested with a certain novel. But as a student, I prefer making or getting textbook, encyclopedia, or dictionary as a source or reference for any requirements rather than using the internet except when it is necessary.
I agree with the author stating that Filipinos are not book lovers. If you observe the Filipinos today, especially the teenagers, you would surely notice that most of these people can be seen at the computer shops rather in the library. Filipino teenagers, nowadays, are fond of using internet as their resource materials rather than looking up from an encyclopedia or from a textbook. Iād like to interpret part of it what the author had stated, based on my undertanding. Since some or most Filipinos likes everything to work fastly and lightly, they are not book lovers, particularly because reading a book takes time and patience. Therefore, for me, some of the Filipinos will never like or love reading a book, unless that person understands fully how important a book is to our life and unless we Filipinos understand and apply patience as a virtue.
The only time you would see many Filipinos reading a book is when a certain novel is flashed on a news. Therefore,that novel will become famous in which the influence of reading that book passes to a lot of Filipinos.
Honestly, I am not reading books such as novels, except when it is needed and if I am really interested with a certain novel. But as a student, I prefer making or getting textbook, encyclopedia, or dictionary as a source or reference for any requirements rather than using the internet except when it is necessary.
The article was very well said
and composed. I agree to some points
delivered in the article.
Due to the appearance of modern
technology, people most especially
Filipinos, become dependent on such
technology particularly the Internet.
Through the Internet, itās just one click
away in order for you to find what youāre
looking for. Because of this invention,
libraries become useless nowadays. People
mostly do not read books that make them
look lazy. But I observe that there are
still people who still read a lot
of books. They read because they know that
not all information in the Internet is
accurate. This situation stated in the
article is evitable. People can still
change the way of learning. They can
both use the Internet and the library,
not only for research purposes, but also
for fun and entertainment.
The article was very well said
and composed. I agree to some points
delivered in the article.
Due to the appearance of modern
technology, people most especially
Filipinos, become dependent on such
technology particularly the Internet.
Through the Internet, itās just one click
away in order for you to find what youāre
looking for. Because of this invention,
libraries become useless nowadays. People
mostly do not read books that make them
look lazy. But I observe that there are
still people who still read a lot
of books. They read because they know that
not all information in the Internet is
accurate. This situation stated in the
article is evitable. People can still
change the way of learning. They can
both use the Internet and the library,
not only for research purposes, but also
for fun and entertainment.
Honestly, I’m not a bookworm myself. But this blog really made its way through me. I realized that reading is quite essential, especially now that teens are occupied by stuffs that are oh-so-far from reading books. But I guess, this scenario became more visible now for there are lots of things that capture the attention of Filipino teens — internet, online games, social networks and cellphones.
This idea really struck me:
“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.”
Maybe the lack of the initiative of people when it comes to reading books also causes the uninhibited growth of the less productive leaders in our place.
Ahhm, actually I had already read this article last year. as for me my comment is that this article shows the reality that now a days people especially the students don’t like to read books anymore they prefer to watch t.v or play with the computers. But we students should not hate reading and start practicing it as a hobby because you know why as for my own experience I don’t really like reading then during our disscussion in cllass I can’t undestand the terms sometimes my teacher uses and my mother also said that I’m very low in comprehension and vocabulary. that the one big thing that I’d ever blkame to myself why I don’t make reading a hobby.
Ahhm, actually I had already read this article last year. as for . But we students should not hate reading and start practicing it as a hobby because you know why as for my own experience I don’t really like reading then during our disscussion in cllass I can’t undestand the terms sometimes my teacher uses and my mother also said that I’m very low in comprehension and vocabulary. that the one big thing that I’d ever blkame to myself why I don’t make reading a hobby.
I strongly agree on that. In my case, I am never interested in reading books. Also, most of us are relying on online references.
Your article showed us one of the sad truths that the Filipinos experience. Truly, we have been so consumed by the digital media and all that is fast and easy that we have forgotten the great beauties of the worlds that are in books. Books,have long been a great source of knowledge and so I sympathize with your regret of how the Filipinos had come to (bad) terms with it.
Though we must not forget to take into account the new ways of learning that new technologies now provide, the book still has the special power of to bring a man a chance with his imagination, solitude, and reflection.
I believe that the Filipinos should learn how to appreciate both what is fast and easy (technology) and what has been and still of value, even if it is less convenient. š
Hmmm. Just wondering where those folks who think that Filipinos are not book lovers come from.
I used to work with an international attorney in the U.S. (he worked in Europe, most of Asia, parts of South America, Africa and the U.S., of course). He commented once that in all of his travels throughout the world, the Philippines was the ONLY country he had ever been to where he saw kids who had their backs to a wall, sitting on the ground and — of all things, READING! Actually reading! He marveled at such an unusual occurence.
I look around me and all of my nieces and nephews cannot get enough of books. My siblings and I all have small libraries and we all look at our collection with such love and pride. I have a brother who must always have the latest book from any one of his many favorite authors ordered through the internet. He has few luxuries and this is certainly at the top of his list. As for me, I thoroughly enjoy getting my latest news from the websites of The New York Times and Washington Post for they have their place. But books — they are a treasure like nothing else.
I personally disagree with this article because I myself love reading books specially novels written by several authors and I grew up that people around me specifically my family loves to read whenever the time permits. I specifically remembered around 2 or 3 summers ago when I was really bored and had nothing to do I was surprised by one of my Tita who brought more or less 20 pocketbooks in our house then she told me since I love reading why not lend me those precious novels she had. It was the most fruitful summer for me then being able to read different plots of a story up until now I still enjoy reading those again and again and it seems that it was the first time I was reading it.
I can say that this attitude of mine about reading rooted through my childhood wherein my parents would buy me a lot of story books and read those. Until now I enjoy reading as one of my hobby whenever I have nothing to do at home or in the dorm I enjoy just sitting down reading a pocketbook. I also believe that majority of the Filipinos love reading books because whenever I enter book stores I can see heads down reading books according to their taste. Also as an example the generation today have read the books of Harry Potter and Twilight before watching them in the big screen and still after that majority of them says that indeed it is really different from reading the book itself and letting your imagination run wild as to how those events happen in the story. As one of our professors said that movies taken from novels are merely taking the story out of the book but cannot fully capture it's true meaning and essence to it's readers or viewers.
Reading is for everyone we just have to learn to appreciate it's true meaning and beauty because as what our National Hero did to obtain the reformation that he wants is by writing to let his fellow Filipinos read the exact situation that our country was in then.
READING CAN BRING US TO ANYWHERE WE LIKE š
Very true, indeed. I rarely see teenagers, my age, enjoy the fun of reading. Well, Twilight is an exception, I guess.
We never see the true essence of reading books. Why? Because we don’t engage ourselves in reading activities. Majority of the people would say that it’s boring. Reading could improve our vocabulary. It can provide us with ideas we least expect. I find it really disappointing how naive these people could get.
Actually I had already read this arcticle last year. as for me people don’t like to read because of the technologies. for me we should read a lot of books coz reading makes us a better person and a knowledgable person.
Let’s just say that I agree… and disagree as well.
Well, it IS reality. A lot of the Filipinos find reading a boring and tedious hobby. They are those who prefer watching television and movies (for instance, a movie based on a book so that they won’t read it anymore) because they can’t find time to sit through a book. Probably because of technology, internet and cellphones. We see the world as something that is fast-paced and easy. With a click we can access anything through the internet. As quick as a snap of your fingers. Unlike reading a book which will take hours.
Even if there is truth in that, we can never really say that Filipinos are not book lovers… in general.
I, for one, love reading books. I’m from a family who loves reading books, English or Filipino. And I am a Filipino. I think it will be wrong to say that “Filipinos are not book lovers” because many Filipinos who ARE book lovers will disagree to that. It’s just like first impressions. When we see something, we think of this and that but we never really know what it really is until we get to know it. Saying that Filipinos are not book lovers just because we observe that a Filipino, or some Filipinos do not read books seems unfair to those Filipinos who do read books.
And since it’s all about us Filipinos, it can only be us who can change this opinion about us too.
So, to all Filipinos out there…
Let’s read books. š
for me, i am agree to what the author have just stated because as i observed from my environment a lot of people in the Philippines is having a hard time to communicate with books. Maybe some people are born to be a good reader, some are trying to read but they don’t know how to understand the words from what they have read but majority, is the one who are not really a fanatic or a supporter of being a book gazer or not wasting his time to what he is not interested about. Maybe this is the effect of the poverty in our country, instead of taking care of his studies he is more oriented to earn money in every way. So how can Filipino spend his time for reading if no one is supporting his needs to be learn at the same time, he is the one who’s providing the needs of his family in his early age, how much more if you are already old? And my other reason is, we are truly, madly, deeply influenced by the Spaniards because we adapted to their attitude of being a ningas- cogon. we can prevent this type of attitude disease only if we exert a lot of time, effort, patience and love in reading books.
it is true that many Filipino doesn’t read books one of them is my family and even I, but I never lost hope, since I become addicted to books and now my course is literature, we can change Filipino by influencing them
I can say that Filipino is, slowly but increasingly hooking up with books, like the bookstore FULLYBOOKED they let people read there books even if they don’t buy it, that’s there way to encourage Filipino to read.
I totally agree with this one. Most Filipinos prefer watching movies which the story was based on the novel. Some Filipinos don’t bother to buy the novel. So sometimes this is the very reason why some are unable to speak the English language fluently, but English is our secondary language so this is a problem most Filipinos encounter.
As far as date is concerned, this article has already been published in our english textbook last year. We do strongly disagree of this. Cause many of my classmates last year and schoolmates too. READ, a ton! of books. I’m strongly surprised that they still have 20×20 vision. True, that some Filipinos don’t read much, but not really all.
for me, i am agree to what the author have just stated because as i observed from my environment a lot of people in the Philippines is having a hard time to communicate with books. Maybe some people are born to be a good reader, some are trying to read but they donāt know how to understand the words from what they have read but majority, is the one who are not really a fanatic or a supporter of being a book gazer or not wasting his time to what he is not interested about. Maybe this is the effect of the poverty in our country, instead of taking care of his studies he is more oriented to earn money in every way. So how can Filipino spend his time for reading if no one is supporting his needs to learn at the same time, he is the one whoās providing the needs of his family in his early age, how much more if you are already old? And my other reason is, we are truly, madly, deeply influenced by the Spaniards because we adapted to their attitude of being a ningas- cogon. we can prevent this type of attitude disease only if we exert a lot of time, effort, patience and love in reading books.
well in my opinion filipinos do not read because of one think most of us are to loazy to think and we like visual aids like the internet and tv etc and some of us like predictable stories like the ones airing in our local channel the problem is that if we dont read we wont learn and our vocabulary will be limited. I myself read books so that i can learn allot more and my advice is to read always not only to the students but to all.
tnx for the author of this article thank you for posting this.
While I’m reading this article, it made me realize that “Filipinos are lazy in reading books.” Well, I’m not saying everyone. But, it’s very disappointing because, eventhough some filipinos are educated and knows how to read, it’s like they refuse to read. I admit that I’m also one of those people who doesn’t like to read. I feel guilty after reading this article.
I’ve also come to a realization that reading books is a wonderful thing to do because you will learn something new and your vocabulary may enhance. Your knowledge may also expand and gives color to your meaningless life. =)
This situation depends on the people who might be involved. Some may agree or disagree to this. But on my part, i strongly disagree that Filipinos are not book lovers. I am a Filipino, and I love reading books. That’s one evidence that can explain my disagreement to this article. Another thing, if Filipinos are not fond of reading books, why would there be establishments like libraries and bookstores that will exist? Yes, it might be a need for institutions but it can also be a reason that Filipinos are really book lovers. This is my stand in this article.
Unfortunately, i agree with the selection. It is true that Filipinos rarely read books, but not all of them, but most of them. I for one loves reading books, my mother is a Robert Ludlum fan and my grandfather almost made our house a library because he loves reading books. On the other hand, my father doesnāt really love to read books and so does my brother, my grandmother and most of my relatives. I think that this situation is also happening in our country today, most of the Filipinos doesnāt really incline themselves in reading books. I totally agree that we Filipinos have a very outgoing personality, we always like to have fun and make noise which is the exact opposite of reading books, thatās why Filipinos donāt find reading books fun. But reading books can be fun too, it depends on how you look at it. But unfortunately most of us doesnāt look at the bright side in reading books, we find it simply boring and a total waste of time. For people with deeper level of thinking simply learning new words is fun, but for most of us we would likely say ā Why not go to SM instead of reading that boring book for hours?ā. This is the kind of mentality that Filipinos have these days, plus the fact that we have now access to internet which has the friendster, the facebook, the myspace, the y8 and many other sites which we find more fun than reading books. I really think that it still depends on the person if he/she will incline herself in reading books as a hobby as a pleasure or a pass time. I salute all the Filipinos who loves reading books, and to those who find SM and shopping in Trinoma more fun, youāre missing out so much guys! š
i myself is not a book lover nor a bookworm. i only read books which i really find interesting or if it is needed (like textbooks). but when i read this article i was strongly encouraged to read. i really like conversing and i realized that reading will be a good source in engaging in formal conversations. my aunt used to buy me books but i only used them as ‘displays’. the author’s right. instead of spending time watching tv or doing nonsense things, reading will be a good hobby. :))
I disagree because it does not depend on whether you are a Filipino or not, it depends to the person himself….
i agree. filipinos are not book lovers. they find other things more interesting than reading. they love to read when they want to and when they are in need of information.
I believe that some of them are book lovers. Most of them aren’t. I myself am not a book lover. I just love to read, as in anything, but most of the time I canāt finish the whole book. There are people who love to read books but just can’t afford due to the expensive price. Others would just buy books but doesnāt even try to read it, maybe it’s just for display purposes only. Or others are just too lazy to read books because they donāt need it or theyāre not interested. I remembered my friend before she was a book lover, but now she prefers to use the computer rather than browsing through thick books because in the net/pc she can access to more information in a much easier way. And at least in the net or computer you can do many things. This means that people especially Filipinos would rather choose to stay in front of the computer or do any other activities than to read.
For me reading is very important tool to broaden our knowledge especially our vocabulary skills and we may be able to apply what weāve read to daily life.
I hope that Filipinos like me should read books not because they have to but because they wanted to.
Honestly…I don’t like to read books..i only read a book whenever someone told me to read the book like back in high school, our English teacher always assign a book to read, so definitely i am pressured to read the book.But now, i started to like reading…i t started when i was in the airport.I bought a book of Tom Clancey which is all about advance war.Honestly, if i would have an extra money i would love to collect his books.
š
Yes, i have to agree with the article. It’s true that reading requires people to, if possible, be alone so that they could really understand what they read. They would also need silence and patience, but as the article pointed out, Filipinos cannot even bear the thought it. For most of us, it’s terrifying. Another thing is that most Filipinos today are more focused and interested in other media, or better yet, we are actually “distracted” by it. Instead of investing on books, we are more likely to spend our money in buying PSPs, Cellphones, and the like. One more thing that I noticed is that we would rather spend our valuable time talking about unimportant things. But even with that said, I still think it’s up to us people, regardless if we are Filipino or not, if we do want to take time to read, I know that most have the capacity, it’s just a matter of patience and commitment to what we want to do. And if we put our minds to it, I believe that we would be able to do so.
I agree. but i myself don’t read that much. we filipinos enjoy fun. And silence of a book is not one of them. Filipinos often watch tv, play computer or just hang out. But there is a lot of fun written in a book (ive read lots). I think the problem with us filipinos is the laziness of reading each word to form a sentence. each sentence to form a paragraph. each paragraph to form a chapter. each chapter to form a story.. doesnt it sound tiring? well sometimes it does. but not all filipinos are lazy to read. they might not just enjoy the silence of reading. some reasons are filipinos work alot. but i think reading is a pleasure, an entertainment, a source of knowledge. some filipinos are just filipinos. were not known for reading. but reading is crucial for knowledge. but also alot of filipinos are book lovers. i am not one of them but i do appreciate books.
Haha, articles like this deserved to be laugh. But let’s face it – what the article said is a fact. Even though it was made since 1987, many of us are still more of a rather-watch-it-than-read-it people. Almost all of us don’t want to have that personality: a loner who finds himself/herself reading gothic novels alone? Haha, that’s emo!
It’s pretty scary to be one of it (or even if you have that friend), but books are unavoidable. While these books still exist (maybe someday these instruments will be extinct because of the worldwide web), let’s “try” to read. Ignore those words that makes you use dictionary. Reading takes time so get used to it.
I completely agree that Filipinos are not book lovers.
Filipinos,in general, are primarily not book lovers. Perhaps reading for them is a bleeding process of learning. In fact,many Filipinos are illiterate.
Reading, in my opinion, requires the openness of senses that Filipinos,on the contrary, are lackin thereof. And by the way hypertext evolves rapidly,the craft of writing has gone cold for Filipinos who loves to use cyber technology in communicating purposes. And i believe that this might cause huge problem for a country whose populace has a poor education fund like the Philippines.
I admit that i am not a book lover. though there are times i must read books to gather info because of homework,esp. when i was in San Isidro National High School(just a public school;i miss the moment when me and my classmates are using “bunot”on the floor).
Books are not only made for readers to obtain data but also to absorb the ideas that are far beyond knowledge that a man can conceive. moreover,the capacity of imagination is not limited; spending time one-on-one on a book by reading it can make me grow stonger, soar higher and think wiser. DOTA made me crazy,apparently. Nevertheless, for me,reading books is a passion.
so far…there are points that are..well, true. I think majority of Filipinos doesn’t read much, probably because of poverty. Though, it doesn’t mean that they don’t want to read. I mean think of it this way…in a practical way- what will you choose, books or food? definitely an average Filipino will choose food over books, but still it doesn’t indicate that a Filipino lacks curiosity and desire to learn more; to read more.
WOAH!! iām surprised to see another ALYANNA in this site. Well anyways.
I am a Filipino and I am not fond of reading books. But it doesnāt mean that all Filipinos donāt read books.
This article is very shameful for us Filipinos. But how can the author of this article attest these things if he donāt have proofs. Many points in his article are true. One is the salons are more populated than the libraries or bookstores. Maybe itās a bit crowded in a bookstore not because of the people buying books but because of some who are buying some school stuffs.=I Another is that Filipinos hate solitude. I donāt know if this is a compliment or an insult. Compliment maybe because Filipinos want a company and man is really a social animal. Insult at some point because some Filipinos spend their time socializing and doing stuffs that could only satisfy their wants but not their needs/ mind. Instead of concentrating on books, they concentrate more on other things.
This article was written 10 years ago. Itās TEN YEARS AGO but the issue is still seen today.
After reading this article and some comments of the people, i felt pity for me and for those who hates reading books. Yeah! Reading is boring. But look at the brighter side of what it can cause you after reading a book.
FROM NOW ON, I WILL READ BOOKS.
*whoops!!*
IāLL TRY TO READ BOOKS. =P hihi.
for me, nowadays the Filipino people are fun of reading books because of entertainment but not all of them, other Filipinos love to read books because they are born book lover inherited by the family or the people around. in my family some are book worm they always love to read and to read and to read, they always want to be alone and reading books not only for entertainment but also for intellectual purposes. me, myself i surely don’t want reading books especially when it’s cover to cover. i only read books when i like to read and when the topic is great but when i’m getting bored i stop like what the article say that Filipinos are “ningas cogon” but Filipinos are not always like that. i believe that books are more accurate than internet because when the book is published it cannot be edited but in the internet it can. i disagree that Filipinos are not book lovers because they are book lover and it is a hobby of some.
Gad….that’s all…
I would agree that Pinoyteens nowadays are not fond of reading books(be it a pocketbook, novel or textbook.) This is because of the advancement of technology.
Growing up, aside from having a television, computer already exists. And so, I had a choice between watching the TV, playing the computer or reading a book. And since books in the Philippines are quite pricey, buying one is at the bottom of the list(except when it is needed in school.)
But don’t get me wrong, I’m a bookworm! I love the works of Paulo Coelho and Mitch Albom. After all, it’s not poverty that hinders anyone to be a book-lover; it’s the lack of interest. Right?
Okay here’s my opinion:
Not all Filipinos may be book lovers but there are a number of them out there who are into reading and are obsessed with books! Trust me i know from where i was raised. I grew up in Botswana and i had quite a number Filipino friends there, and most of them were book addicts. Im not really sure what inspired them but i think it’s usually the background they came from or they probably had friends from different countries who influenced them.
In other words, i’m not really familiar with the situation in the Philippines but i believe it depends on the environment we all live in that which causes a certain impact to our daily strategies. For example, when i first came here to Manila, i experienced a sudden change in my lifestyle. Things were obviously very different and odd for me. Im sure we all know Manila is noise polluted city and like you said “Reading a book requires time and patience; endurance, if need be.” Thus it’s quite impossible to concentrate when you’re in the midst of these. I could really relate to this because i seem to read less now than i did before. Well reading intensively and studying are completely different things. Reading intensively here does not seem possible to me.
Another thing we should realize is that, the time we have spent on reading is quite limited here. Obviously we cannot bear to spend the whole day reading a novel especially when you travel 1-2 hours from one place to another. This generation we live in also affects our view on books. None of us can deny that during our free-times we are either surfing the internet or texting friends. If you look in the past when these things were not yet available, you will realize that a quite huge percentage of Filipinos were actually book lovers and regular readers, such as our parents and grandparents.
However, we should not criticize anyone regarding this issue! “Who is to blame?” That is the question! Otherwise it’s not a sin to not be a book-lover. All we need are enough resources and plenty of access to books and hopefully get inspired! Think out of the box! That’s how we learn!
Yes. I agree with the fact that very few Filipinos like reading books nowadays. Why is it so? There are many factors, and in my opinion, technology itself and our own laziness are the biggest factors.
When asked by our teachers to do a research, do many of us still go to the library and use books for references? No, we use modern technology to get the information we need. We use the internet probably because it is more accessible and works faster than the library. After minutes of browsing, we can get the information we need. I myself am guilty of this act too, and it was sheer laziness that drove me to do it. But, Iām starting to like books now though. Books, unlike computers, wonāt hurt your eyes and give you a headache when you stare at it for a long period of time. Reading books is fun; others just donāt realize the importance of it. When you use it for reference, you will see the big gap between the knowledge youāve gathered from the internet and from a book, proving that we canāt depend on the internetās information all the time.
I hope for our sake that we, the youth of country, will take delight from reading books. I know itās hard and boring to make the first few steps of going to the library and reading a good book while you can be spending your free time going to bars and playing computer games. But just like the author said, can you imagine people who have no interest in books at all get positions of power? The world would very much like be a chaotic place when that happens. So, look around, cherish the wonderful world of literature. Hard work and patience will pay off sooner than you think.
Well, I do agree with that. Filipinos tend to forget or to set aside reading because, they are BUSY. We look at reading as a “pleasurable” thing because we see it as a past time. We look at it like, it’s only done whenever we have nothing else to worry about. Contrary to that, being very busy doesn’t really connote that we don’t have to think about enriching our minds and feeding them with more knowledge because we’re too much pre-occupied by other things. It only tells us that we must allot and find time, even just for a short while, in reading books, because even though we’ve got tons of things to do, it is still essential for us to read since, it makes us more knowlegdeable about certain things in our daily lives that we ought to know. Lastly, nothing makes us more aware and informed than reading itself. Through it we are not only able to grasp information, but also, acquire the values we need in order to survive our day to day life.
Filipinos are not book lovers? I don’t think so, there are still Filipinos who really love reading, whether academic books, pocket books or even look book. Nowadays, there are still many bookstores present. In one mall, an average of 3 to 4 bookstore is present and is filled with book hunters or even private readers. In school librARIES their are still students prefer to do their research and make use of the library.
Fiction books for some are part of their everyday life: Harry Potter, the Twilight Saga. Most of the time these books are out of stock at all bookstore considering that a movie version of the following titles are shown in the cinemas. For these reasons I can say that not all FIlipinos are not book lovers.
I agree with this article even though I love read. Since our generation is exposed to too much technology, most Filipinos use media such as television, internet, cellphones etc. as source of information. most of us will make use of the internet rather than browsing the encyclopedia whenever we are tasked to do researches because in the internet almost all of the information are there. Filipinos I can say, are so lazy to read books with sense.
I just hope that Filipinos would realize that books can give us so much information that may never be found or shown to us through these technologies around us now. A a book lover, I would like to be an influence to my fellow Filipinos to read. Try reading at least one book or one chapter of a book a day and it will bring you farther than you can ever imagine š
I am not a bookworm but I do read books- not all the time. I do not totally agree with the whole context, especially upon mentioning that “Filipinos will go from being primitives to becoming exhausted as a civilization, without ever having been civilized enough to read books.” For me, that was too much too say. I have a younger sister who is fond of reading books even in her leisure time. She still finds entertainment in reading books and is obviously enjoying it. I also remembered when I went to Powerbooks, I saw people reading books of different kinds.- magazines, fiction books or comics strips.
In a way I agree with the author of this article upon mentioning the attitude of the Filipinos when it comes to reading books. -“The problem is Filipinos hate solitude. Count the number of Filipinos you know who enjoy being alone, and being in a book. For them, itās absolutely terrifying.” We all know this attitude is common in us but for me, it doesn’t apply in everyone. It still depends on the person, not in all Filipinos. Some people may consider themselves a “book hater”, but I’m sure once they’ve encounter a reading material that it is in their interest, they would give time to read it. š
Interesting article anyway, I had fun reading it. š
well, as of what i’m seeing right now in our generation, most of us don’t spend much time reading a book from cover to cover. most people would just stay in front of the computer all day and play their favorite online game, that or just plain do anything but read.
i’m not much of a “book lover”, but i have read my own share of books from cover to cover. but, i’m starting to love reading books. i learn a lot from it. it broadens my vocabulary, which makes reading a lot more fun when you learn new stuff.
but who knows, people might just wake up and read other books not entirely made up of pictures.
I slightly disagree with the idea that “that Filipinos will never become book readers” because it really depends to a person whether he/she reads a book. I admit, I’m not a book lover. I prefer short writings & easy-readings but I swear, I do not hate books. Books hate me. Hahaha. Just kidding. š Mm, I do not love nor hate reading books because books give us knowledge in speaking,writing & thinking. It helps improve our macro skills that we use in our everyday lives. Actually, reading books can help us improve our vocabulary words that would help us increase our knowledge about different languages learned from the past up to the present.
“Reading a book requires time and patience; endurance, if need be. It isnāt 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.”
ā„ I probably agree with this statement because as I’ve said a while a go, I do not love nor hate books because of such reasons. I’m just curious about people who wanted to read books instead of watching besides, the books they ought to read are also the one they wanted to watch on the cinema. Hahaha. Silly. :p Anyway, I conclude that reading is an important thing that Filipinos & other people should practice. Like what Francis Bacon said “READING MAKES A FULL MAN”. It’s true. So grab a book na! š
I slightly disagree with the idea that “that Filipinos will never become book lovers” because it really depends to a person whether he/she reads a book. I admit, I’m not a book lover. I prefer short writings & easy-readings but I swear, I do not hate books. Books hate me. Hahaha. Just kidding. š Mm, I do not love nor hate reading books because books give us knowledge in speaking,writing & thinking. It helps improve our macro skills that we use in our everyday lives. Actually, reading books can help us improve our vocabulary words that would help us increase our knowledge about different languages learned from the past up to the present.
“Reading a book needs time,patience & endurance.”
ā„ I probably agree with this statement because as I’ve said a while a go, I do not love nor hate books because of such reasons. I’m just curious about people who wanted to read books instead of watching besides, the books they ought to read are also the one they wanted to watch on the cinema. Hahaha. Silly. :p Anyway, I conclude that reading is an important thing that Filipinos & other people should practice. Like what Francis Bacon said “READING MAKES A FULL MAN”. It’s true. So grab a book na! š
i would have to say that at first i agree with all of it but as i read til the end,i somewhat disagree already. yes,most Filipinos prefer watching TV, surfing,etc. than reading a good old book. yes,most, it is quite obvious. conduct a research and it will give you a poor result. however,not all Filipinos are like that. i can confidently say that i know a few,like myself,who still finds time in this busy world to sit down and read a book. i believe that there is still hope for Filipinos,we just dont recognize it. š
The article was dated 1987 and I think a lot could have happened in a span of 22 years. I donāt agree with the article because I am seeing many people especially teens like me who love to read. I, for one, am a book lover. While we may not generalize the idea of Filipinos loving books, we could just look around us and observe. When I am in a mall, I always go to the bookstore even if I would just check the new releases or check the availability of a book. It never escapes me that the bookstore is always packed with people of all ages. They would be in the different sections of the store but they are always checking on books, contemplating if one has more worth buying than the other. In addition, I also donāt think that bookstores such as National Bookstore, Powerbooks, or Fullybooked would even bother expanding their stores if Filipinos are not book lovers. For me, I think that the article maybe true at that time but may not be applicable at this time. Filipinos then and now have different environments and worries. We have time to spare now for us to read because our other work can be easily done with the help of our gadgets which Filipinos did not have in 1987. We also donāt have to worry about our country more than they did because we are not recovering from the People Power Revolution like them. Now, we could enjoy our books in solitude and in silence because we are not under the Martial Law.
I think more Filipinos will be book lovers if given the chance. Now that we have that chance, our generation grabbed the opportunity of reading books. And for those who still havenāt grabbed it, itās not too late to grab a book now.
It is true. Filipinos are not book lovers. Or, they cannot be. It is because we were all raised in this culture where we are usually with a lot of people with a lot of talking and socializing. It’s hard for us just to sit quietly, reading a book when we can talk with other people or watch TV which is more entertaining. Also, we Filipinos are very easily influenced and distracted. We usually read books because it’s the trend and everyone else is reading it or, it’s out in the movies. Most of the times, we just read for the sake of reading it and not really getting understanding what the book is really all about.
Filipinos are not book lovers? I don’t think so, their are still Filipinos who love reading, whehter pocketbooks, academic books, or even look book. Nowadays, their are lots of bookstore present. In one mall an average of 3 to 4 bookstores are present and filled with book hunters or even private readers. In school libraries their are still students who prefer to do their research their and make use of the library.
Fiction books for some, are part of their life: Harry Potter, the Twilight Saga. Most of the time, it is out of stock, almost in the bookstore considering that a movie version of the following titles are shown in the cinemas. For these reasons i can say that it is impossible that all of the Filipinos are not book lovers.
This may be ironic, but I am not a reader myself. It’s just not in my nature to read. But I believe that reading allows you to learn and know more. I agree with what the author said that Filipinos are fond of watching telenovelas or cheesy movies instead of reading romantic novels. I think it’s in our culture that we must see first in order to understand. Filipinos are usually (i’m not saying all the time) too lazy to read and would rather see in on screen. We have a habit of liking the “instant”. Personally, i would like to watch a film rather than read it. I would understand the plot better if it’s in the screen. It’s really ironic but i love to write a lot, but read a little. How can I convince someone to read my work if i don’t read somebody else’ work? I think it’s just a matter of preference. I salute those who love books š
I can surely say that I am not a book lover, I slightly hate English because during my childhood days few of my cousins are not fond of speaking English or watching some English movies that will help us to nurture ourselves and i thought speaking in English is only for elite people , and people who are in the showbiz industry or what we called “socialized persons”.But when the time passed by i made a wistful remark that i need to obliged myself to read books because when i was in high school i felt horren and unintelligent one because i cannot spoke fluently and i doesn’t even know how to make a sentence with a good grammar, and i also admit that sometimes i poorly pronounce the word properly but now I was purely encourage to be a book lover,I will do my best to be a better student in this subject.I will change my attitude of being lazy reader and I proved that my past belief that reading books is only for weird and special people was absolutely wrong.
I hope I can develop myself in speaking English by the help and guidance of my professors.I need to manage my time wisely.
I agree. Most Filipinos are not fund of reading books. I remember when i was in 4th year H.S, I observed that most of my classmates barely use their textbooks. ( Laging nasa Locker at ung iba halatang hindi masyado binubuklat.. March na muka pa ring brand new)
Most of us do not appreciate and value the importance of reading in our lives. Most Filipinos prefer shopping, gaming, watching TV, ETC. Scanning Emails and text messages is the only reading most of us do. This contributes to to the increasing number of academically challenged pupils here in the country.
There is no excuse for not reading especially nowadays that there are numerous sources of good readings. Instead of spending the whole day indulging yourself to your usual vices, why not start reading short articles or poems? there’s nothing to lose. Kung ayaw may dahilan, kung gusto maraming puwedeng paraan!
(salamat sa nag post nito at sa lahat ng mga booklovers na PinoY astig kayO.) š
Yes, I do agree with this article. As a young Filipino, I do agree that our generation doesn’t read that much. But I know a lot of people who are bookworms.. and I salute them for that. Because I myself, doesn’t read that much. Though, I have interest with books, I think I am in the process of developing myself to make reading as my habit.
But while reading the article.. questions were raised in my head. Question such as.. How sure is that in other countries, people read a lot? Having the fact that we are now in a generation of technology. I think technology has a lot to do with these. People or specially teens.. would prefer to surf the net, watch tv, or play with their PSP rather than read. I guess that this is also applicable to other countries. So why does it have to pertain to Filipinos only?
Definitely, I agree that writers in our country are not distinguished, thus they don’t earn that much. But couldn’t our government or the media do something with these? I guess we just have to appreciate these writers and their writings by making them known to the public and recognizing their works. And the reason, why others cannot read books is due to lack of opportunity and money. And why not the government could do something with this?
I guess, it is never too late for us Filipinos raise ourselves and devote ourselves into reading. Surely, reading will lead our nation to raise better and competitive people who will stand up for our country
Well okay, I totally agree with everything that was stated here but I’ll admit that I’m one of those “Filipinos who hate solitude”. Seriously, it would keep my saner if I just go out with a bunch of friends and hang out with them. I’m not a big fan of books, and I’d rather learn from other medium than reading…a book. Like if it has a movie version, I’ll go for that. Heck, I’ve never even completed a novel and if it weren’t for our English subject, I would’ve not placed the slightest tip of my finger on it–not lying. But if there’s one person I know who hasn’t lost his interest yet on books, that would have to be my brother. I swear, he’s actually best friends with his Mark Twain novels already. He’ll get his hands on anything that has lots of words, reams of paper and a cover to go with that. So I don’t think that Filipinos have already lost it. Well at least, not YET. And as for myself, fine, I’ll try my best to engage more on reading, but you’ll never make me even take a peek at one word from that vampire-filled novel. I’d rather go for classic literature stuff, or educational and informative books.
Good Morning. I’ve already read this article before back when I was still in my 4th year days. so we have discussed and debated that matters already. Well, I mean it that I myself is so lazy when It comes to reading a book. I would always prefer to surf the net, eat, shop or just to nothing instead of reading a book, how sad for me. In highschool we read books because we are required to and thanks to that because I’ve tried reading a book. I really appreciate a book, though. I think books are just so magical that a single compilation of papers and texts would make a mind go flying, a take us into a world or a feeling that we have never been through. But sadly, we are all Ningas cogon, like what the article said. I feel pitty for us that we focus on things that are not productive.. and I can see our nation in the future being less educated and inspired. Maybe we could also blame technology for bringing us too many entertainment that we forgot how to read more. I just wish that Filipinos would love books as they love doing those lazy things.
I’ll start of by saying that if i hurt anyone’s feelings by saying this then I’m sorry.
In Japan thei bookstores are full of Manga’s, this is equivalent to a comics here in the Philippines. So i think that uses so little of the reading skills and hey isn’t it that those manga’s are part Porno? Sorry to say this or if I’m discriminating the Japanese but this is what i see cause i myself once bought a manga. Imagine spending 400 pesos and above for just a picture book that you’ll read once in your life. With the recession going on what would you rather put your money on? a book you’ll read a couple of times or food that can give you nourishment?
There is another thing that i would like to point out, presidents aren’t elected because they read a book! they are elected because the people trust their capability to lead the country. If you want writers to be president then what is the sense of having writers write and presidents rule? Also you do not have to read in front of the camera to show people that you read. Presidents doesnt have the time or leisure to read a book thats irrelevant to what she’s doing. Imagine our president reading a romance novel, would that help our country at all?
Filipinos do read, they read at libraries and buy books at second hand stores. Though some rich people read books. It is not the person, it just depends on the genre of the book to capture a persons interest. Like the Twilight saga, Harry Poter and many others, they attract the persons mind, they do not bore us. I for one would rather read a fiction book rather than to read a text book. Cause where is the point of reading if your hearts not into it. Filipino’s do read, if we do not then why do we have bookstores? or book sales?
again I’m sorry for offending somebody but this is just my opinion. I’m a Filipino and I have read so many books already. So i am a living proof that Filipinos do read!
Filipinos are book lovers. You can contradict it but it is still true. They may not be voracious readers but they still get their reading fix. We say that Filipinos hate books because no one stays in the bookstore or libraries but try looking in those small places like shops in Manila that sell second hand novels they tend to be there. It is true that some of the books that most Filipino masses read are a bit shallow (like pocketbook romance novellas) but they cherish that book any way. I have seen security guards have small book about āSan Lorenzo Ruizā underneath their Records book, nurses that have long evening shifts reading twilight; teens who I know love ā5 people you meet in Heavenā. Saying that Filipinos do not love books is like saying we hate Adobo. Our national hero up to the student in the classroom does like books and even if he/she cannot afford to buy a book will always find a way. They fear the library because it tends to be over rated and posh, too intellectual for the masses, afraid to be judged by experts of that field. The rich Filipinos also love to read because it is their indulgence to buy books which is in their advantage, why do you think PowerBooks or Fullybooked stores open up. You cannot statistically graph if Filipinos are not book lovers or avid bookworms because it is hidden underneath their beds, cramped in between their textbooks and P.E. uniforms. It is True Filipino Culture to be humble and quiet thatās why you donāt see these book lovers but donāt worry they are there.
As mentioned in the article, only a handful devote their time in reading books, well that’s way back in 1987, but today this statement may have surpassed its “consume before date”. Due to the emergence of books such as Harry Potter series (much to its demise, it never won my favor), Da Vinci Code, Angels and Demons and last and maybe the least the Twilight Saga, which by far went from the ultimate source of fulfillment for the insatiable search for that perfect someone to a mere archetype of the vividness of western literature. Personally I prefer to read, anywhere I can, with constant sounds of an Ipod masking the irrelevant thoughts of the world, that would hinder my understanding of the author’s masked thoughts that are infused in the book.
Wow…i disagree with the whole "not book lovers" thing…its too generalized.Granted not all of us love books but there are a select few that are passionate in reading.I admit i'm one of those select few. Just because one filipino or a bunch of them aren't seen reading doesn't mean they don't.
this is true and yet, ALARMING! i wish that the government may have a program that will totally encourage the Filipinos to read..to be book lovers! One hindrance to progress is ignorance. the more knowledge,the more productive Filipinos can be. .
Actually I enjoy reading very much and I think I think that reading is very valuable in becoming fluent in English and in educated one self. But I must agree that Filipinos are not avid readers, I barely know people who would cite reading as their hobby here. It’s really sad though that a lot of people are missing out on great works of literature. I think the high prices of books here also attribute to this issue. After all, when faced with the choice of buying something to entertain or inform themselves, Filipinos are more likely to choose something that is fast and easy (such as television or the internet) as compared to books which requires patience, intelligence and effort.
Although I myself enjoy reading, I am also very guilty of shunning Filipino literature because I tend to have the misconception that there is barely anything written well anymore or that everything written here is linked with political subversion or symbolical writings about Philippine society.
How i pity the young filipino generation of today. yes, in Japan, my dad often tells me that they do not waste time on silly things that gives them no progress. The simple transportation is a good way to spend time with a book. he said that when even riding a train or waiting at the bus station, a jap would often hold out something to read, a newspaper or a book. And i would often do the same.Dito kasi sa Pilipinas, kapag sasakay ng jeep, o tatayo sa tren, TUTUNGANGA lang. hindi ba nakakatawa? sayang ang oras. tumalino ka sana sa PAGTUNGANGA. i would often shrug my shoulders.
here in philippines, i would often ask my colleagues what books they read. and the answers go around like: “ah. hindi ako nagbabasa eh. ahahaha”or something like, “ano?”.And it is as if they do not understand the language that i speak and turn the topic into a more “light” one.tinawanan pa nila ang kanilang sarili.
SANA, Filipinos would soon understand the BEAUTY of books. i myself grew up with this certain LOVE for books since our parents trained us to have this innate affection, even building a mini library at home, and this passion burns in me everytime i see a book or two. “ayan na naman si cha…” that is what my friends would often tell me whenever i go to the mall and always and always visit booksale to hunt for good books or the powerbooks etc to check out the classics , pouring my money and time to these. SANA, filipinos would read instead of TUTUNGANGA sa sasakyan, SANA filipinos would answer “OMG! i love paulo coelho too!” instead of “ano?”.
I am not a nerd nor a freak. But i am a self confessed bookworm. Filipinos would tend to say “ay, matalino yan” when they see someone reading. BUT TO MIND YOU that it IS True. hindi ba masayang mapagsabihan ng matalino? Start grabbing a book, and not just of junk or a literary trash (yung tipong tabloids at chikka ang laman. hindi naman kayo yayaman o tatalino kung malaman ninyo ang lovelife ng iba diba?)
sasabihin nila na “nerd” ang nagbabasa, kaya nilalayuan. excusa, have you seen people like natalie portman? she is cool isnt she? well, to inform you that she is a genius because of books.(correct me if i am wrong, but this is of what i have read from an article in the newspaper or readers digest for that matter.)
AND I SHALL SAY, that i am a filipino and I READ.(a lot)
ps, thank you so much mr kevin for sharing this. i hope alot will be inspired by this article, and ask themselves “nakatunganga ako ngayon, mukha ba akong matalino?”
For me, some parts of the article are true. Some Filipinos are just not that fond of reading books. When I was in high school, we were asked to conduct a survey to know whether Filipino students are into reading novels. Sadly, 70% said they are not a book lover. They only read books when they are required to do so, specifically when they are asked to make a book report. Frankly speaking, I am not a book lover as well. I do read books, but only those that catch my attention. I am definitely not a bookworm. One factor that affects Filipinos love for books is the so-called ātechnologyā. Most of us prefer surfing the net rather than to kill their time over reading novels. They would rather play on their PSPs or listen to their iPods than to get hooked in the world of books.
But as what I have said, I do not fully agree with the article. My first point is that it was dated 1987. The article was released a couple of years ago. Things have changed, so as the perspective of Filipinos on books. So it is possible that after 2 or 4 years, books will find its way back to the hearts of every Filipinos. Another one is poverty. Of course, if one is not capable of sustaining his or her necessities, he or she will also find it hard to buy a good book to read. Instead of spending their money over books, they would prefer spending it on the essentials. So, we should give all Filipinos a chance to love books.
It’s not that Filipinos don’t like reading. It’s just that they tend to prefer certain books over others. Ask a random Filipino what kind of books he enjoys reading, and he’ll give you titles like Harry Potter and Twilight, then the occasional Angels and Demons. (As the commenters before me have pointed out.) They tend to be picky with books, choosing the popular and/or controversial over pretty much everything else.
“Popular? Isn’t Shakespeare popular?!”
In the Philippines, not exactly. What do Filipinos know about him? His name, where he’s from, stuff he wrote. What do Filipinos know about his works? Erm, titles. And “Romeo, Romeo, where the hell are you?”. (Note how the context changes completely.)
For Filipinos, reading is kind of like fashion. They read according to what’s “in this season”. For instance, Twilight. Everyone reads Twilight nowadays, no matter how ridiculously stupid it is any way you look at it. I personally feel ashamed of being of the same species as its author! But Filipinos still read it, regardless of its tremendous fail. Why? Because everyone else does. Because it’s what everyone loves these days. They think they should read it and love it by default since that’s what everyone else is doing. They don’t seem to realize that every sentence in the four books pretty much gives one message: Edward iz hawt!!!11!
(This last one applies to the whole world, though, but Filipinos are part of the world. So.)
Tell me, then: what does this say about the Filipinos’ reading habits? They just go with whatever everyone else reads without analyzing anything, or they just do it for the escapism and nothing more. They don’t read for growth and wisdom at all.
Reading because they have to? That’s a given, really. They have to. It’s for school/work/whatever. They have to. They have to. They have to. Ad infinitum.
In conclusion: Filipinos read. A little. For the wrong reasons.
yes, i definitely agree with that..i’m not much of a book lover but i still read books that interests me like novels, short stories and stuff..
i agree because i noticed at a bookstore that there were few people inside..and most of them were adults..and then i also noticed at school; like in our class, that not even a handful of students have read a particular book like a novel..those bestsellers you see inside book stores..they don’t know that..it’s like..”ow, that’s a book pala?” or “ay, bestseller pala yan??”
Reading this article made me realize that I really should read more. I don’t have interest in books, for I like doing sports more, playing volleyball to be specific. But all thanks to my Literature class, I read this essay written by Mario Vargas Llosa entitled, “Why Literature?” and I’ve come to my senses that I should read more as soon as possible to add more information to what I already know. Not only that, I know reading would improve my vocabulary since I kind of lack that in myself.
I think not all Filipinos are incapable of not book lovers because some filipinos actually love to read like some of my classmates back when I was in high school. Some of them love to read while the others don’t. Reading depends on the taste of the Filipinos. Some of them read magazines, newspapers and etc. I agree that some of the Filipinos are not book lovers while I,myself, loves to read books and even short stories. For me, it’s more fun reading than any other activity because it’s intellectually stimulating but unfortunately, I only read a few books written by our Filipino authors. It’s also a matter of taste you know.
as mentioned above, i agree that most filipinos do not read books. what they are used to, is to oftentimes play DOTA (especially boys), watch film adaptation of books instead of reading, go to gimmicks etc. what i most hear from those people who do not read is “nakakatamad e!” or “bakit pa magbabasa e nasa movie na nga”. they thought of it as a time-consuming and waste of time. they are obviously proud of it. i see the reasons why students do not bring their books in school, it’s all because they’re not interested on reading those and they hardly even scan the pages of it.
i agree to what the blogger commented on the filipino point of view on reading, sometimes the reason is not because of the laziness of the people but because of newer ways to read a book, like having audio books downloaded on the internet instead of buying the real book;having the audio book would be like having a storyteller right beside you reading you the book,thus making you lazy to read for yourself. sometimes it is the price of the books that is the reason why filipinos are not fond of reading because they might not afford the books. But then,most of the time it is because of the natural point of view of a person whether they would like to read a book or not.
Yes… It’s such a sad thought that many of us Filipinos are not interested in reading books. Though we may be intelligent, we lack the patience necessary. If there is anything common about us, it is that we all want things to be fast.
I have to say, I do agree with the article. Filipino teens nowadays are too engrossed in things which, if I may say so, are very much superficial. It seems that the majority of Filipino teens today are much more concerned with who’s-got-the-most-expensive-phone-in-the-bunch kind of things. If only those teenagers with that kind of attitude set their minds on things which could make them more competent, I believe that alleviation from the bounds of idiocy is possible.
I agree that most of us Filipinos are not book lovers.
But still, there are some who often read books and sometimes, it becomes their addiction.
I prefer watching t.v. or surf the net than reading books.
I believe this is one of the reasons why most of us don’t love to read books that much.
I agree that most of the Filipinos are not “book lovers”. They prefer to watch, or anything.
I agree that most Filipinos are “not book lovers”, just like me. Most filipinos are not so patient like others. They don’t enjoy sitting or lying on a bed reading a book with pictures or without pictures because some likes to watch movie rather than to read. They are not enjoying by just imagining the story in their heads. they don’t to imagine, they want to see it immediately. some are fond of just sitting and watching how the story goes. They somehow can’t understand or maybe appreciate why some are writing literature
For me, it’s true because me either is not a book lover. Not to the extent that I hate solitude but I don’t find reading as my habit. Well, unfortunately most of us, Filipinos are like that but not all. That’s why most of us are having a hard time to speak in English fluently.
Well I agree to the article and I belong to those people who donāt love reading. I only read thick books when needed for school projects. But there are people also who loves reading huge and thick books and I salute to them! They have the patience for such activity not like me I donāt really have that much patience in reading. One reason why some regret reading is most of the books that have a good quality are expensive, which average Filipinos cannot afford.
I enjoy more having fun with friends, going outside with people rather sitting and reading a book. We will go for movies than reading an entire book which needs a long time allotment. We also enjoy surfing the net and playing games more than other things. The article tells us that some officials donāt really have that much quality of being a leader, but most likely they are in position more on because of popularity than their educational background.
I don’t think so… this article was written long ago and I don’t think we can generalize all the Filipinos. I also donāt think that Filipinoās arenāt fond of reading. Itās just that they prefer certain genres that we call āUSOā. Even Filipinoās at young age reads novel, pocket books etc. Childrenās generation now a day is quite different from before although there are still are some who doesnāt like reading. While I was studying in Elementary and high school, I am a witness on how my classmates read thick books and those books arenāt just any books. They are best selling books and are having profound words. During break time, they will go to the library or seat on one corner with friends reading as well. According to the article, Filipinoās arenāt patient enough to read then if not, I donāt know how Filipinoās finish books such as twilight and harry potter. Those are books having parts and itās really thick as well. But still it was always out of stockā¦ where does it go?; trash? I had a hard time buying the books especially when I was in Qatar where I see most of the customers are Filipinoās looking for the same book as I was looking for. I went here to the Philippines when I took my college exam and end up with words āSorry out of stock na ehā Who do you think bought it? Iām sure they wouldnāt sale 1-3 copies donāt you think? Well maybe itās just different on how others view it. In particular on the article, since it was written long ago, one reason he might have said those words is that during his generation, Filipino who reads are few and maybe the environment he grew up is place where Filipinoās donāt read usually read. In my opinion if not all, at least many are using books to make use of time. The new generation of Filipinos changed is all I can say. What I can admit is that āYoung generation of Filipinoās arenāt fond of reading their textbooksā but we canāt say that they are not book lovers or generalize that all doesnāt like reading.
The article was written in 1987, how can it be true to this date?
It’s the year 2009, if Filipinos are not so fond of reading, how come hundreds of thousands of Harry Potter and Twilight books come to our country every time there’s a new addition to the series? It’s just a simple demand-supply chain.
Maybe it’s a bit shallow to cite Harry Potter and Twilight, but hey, it’s still a good start no matter how shallow it is.
It’s also kind of insulting how this article looks at Filipinos as people who don’t like how “books deal with ideas, worked out mainly through characters and plots”. Are Filipinos that dumb? Again, this was dated back in 1987, it can’t be true now.
And it isn’t a bad thing that Filipinos like the company of a lot people, which was cited as one of the reasons why Filipinos don’t read. Yes, being alone and having some quiet time is great, but it also starts suicidal tendencies.
Bottom line is, this article can conclude whatever it wants to, but it can only be true on the year that it was written. Filipinos can be really dynamic, and whatever holds true before may not necessarily do so now.
I do agree and I admit that I am guilty with this. I think it is already in our culture that majority of Filipinos are not book lovers. See, we are fund of going out with our circle of friends. And of course, with that, we often spend some time alone. I am not a book lover but I love to read. I love to learn new things by reading, I love going to the library, but it is seldom that I finish an entire book as in cover-to-cover.
I do agree and I admit that I am guilty with this. I think it is already in our culture that majority of Filipinos are not book lovers. See, we are fond of going out with our circle of friends. And of course, with that, we often spend some time alone. I am not a book lover but I love to read. I love to learn new things by reading, I love going to the library, but it is seldom that I finish an entire book as in cover-to-cover.
A book is a door to different places. When you read, you learn a lot of things, you reach places through imagination, and you develop a lot of skills. But most Filipinos are not very fond of reading, maybe because of the modern technology today. We find pleasure in watching television, texting our friends, playing computer games and surfing the internet instead of reading a good book. Sometimes, we get interested in reading a particular book but when we have read half of it, we slowly lose the interest until we stop reading it. That is because, we easily get bored, we donāt enjoy solitude, and we donāt appreciate silence so much. We always want to be with our friends, to listen to music and to make noise.
Filipinos are indeed not book lovers and it makes me wonder. But I think that we just choose to have our own ways to gain knowledge and information by interacting with people around, and to learn from our own experiences rather than be alone in silence and read.
Sad to say but I agree with the author. I have known people and friends who doesn’t enjoy reading. There are many reasons why, one of these is the availability of information from the internet instead of going to the library and read books; second is that we are known for being sociable and enjoy being in group gatherings and outdoor activities which contradict the idea of being isolated with the book. Lastly, the cultural influences from other countries like music, movies, fashion etc. that diverts our attention from finding good books and spending time in reading them.
I partly agree with this article. It is true that most Filipino doesn’t gave much time reading books or even going in the library. For me, being so into reading was a practice we learn since we were young. But as what I observed, children don’t have time to even glance at book’s pages because they first learn the computer games, cartoons, and televisions, and find it more interesting. Teens, who should have more time on reading books, don’t even give even half of their time just to spend in reading. And because of all this technology around us, we find reading boring.
But Filipinos are not book lovers. We just don’t know how to value the act of reading. Just like the articles says, we can’t finish a certain book because of being used to ningas-cogon. We are easily distracted –and I’m one of them. But the fact that we start reading a book, it means we are constantly learning the value of it.
Reading doesn’t require us to spend the whole time just reading. We just need to practice it. We can read even one book per month. Through this, our vocabulary will expand, we will use our imagination, and will suddenly love reading. We just need to try.
Ava Gandia
1BES1
i’m also a book lover but not entirely
hahaha
i do agree that some Filipinos are like that and there’s a possibility that the next generation might as well be like it or worse. We should encourage the next generation to read book at the same time have fun so that they might not find reading books boring.
-mikee jacalan
Yeah..It’s true.but still,many people are book lovers.I know a lot of people who can read thick novels in a week..That includes my mom,,my sis,and some friends..and I’m sure that there are more Filipino who loves to read.
having read just the title itself gave me a reflective moment.
in some ways, i defend the side of the writer’s article. Filipinos today are so taken away by the advancements of today. Many are into films, gadgets, etc. that the healthy habit of reading is being neglected already.
However, not all Filipinos are included here. The writer should’ve not taken it as if the general patronage does it. There are still quite number of people who’s willing to devote their time in critical reading, book review writing and the like.
the bottomline is we shouldn’t be affected by those people who
don’t patronize reading. Instead, we should influence them and open their eyes to the wonders that books can do. Remember, from reading we started learning, from it we continue doing so.
on’t patronize res
I agree with this article. It seems that even up to now most of the Filipinos don’t read books. I can prove this by saying that internet is the fastest and easiest way to find something you need. Internet somehow dominates books as seen in the assignments of the youth today. Also in pleasure time people tend to use the computer and play online games rather than reading a book. For me Filipinos tend to understand more with moving animations or in actions. I have to admit that I am guilty of these things but now that I am in college I should push myself to love reading.
I disagree with the article, though i am not a book lover. I believe that 7 out of 10 Filipinos love books, specially the teachers. Still, teachers read books to find more knowledge about the course/subject their teaching. I know a lot of people who loves to read books. One of them is my father, he answered most of my questions in my assignments or projects. Sometimes, he will tell a story about things we don’t know.
I totally agree with this selection .Honestly, before I was also a part of those Filipinos who are not fond of reading although I know that reading would be a great help for me in diverse aspects. But as time passes by I grasp that I was missing a big thing in my life that only books can bring and that was the time Iāve decided to fill those missing things. Well, I first started with reading newspapers everyday and by reading at least 20 pages of a book a day until I got use to it. I tell you guys that reading books wonāt only give you knowledge about certain things but for me the most important thing that reading can do is it helps me grow as a person. I donāt know if anyone would agree with me but I think reading shouldnāt just only be a plain hobby but it should be done whether you like it or not. One should force not other people but himself to read books. We Filipinos should learn to allot even an hour for reading. Our predicament is we are so much pre-occupied with things which some is really not that important anyways. I think spending an hour everyday reading wonāt be a nuisance to us right because an hour is just a small percentage compare to the time we spend in watching those āteleseryesā. For me the only solution for this problem is self initiative that all of us should have. I know some wonāt agree in what I have said but thatās my own opinion anyways. Thatās just the way I see this problem.
Well, it’s not easy to say that Filipinos don’t love reading because it’s like pertaining to general. I don’t think Filipinos nowadays are quite lazy to read books, because I see a lot of people doing so. Actually, I am not one of the book lovers in our nation. I don’t hate reading, but I just don’t like spending my time in reading long, and deep texts. I also thought how media made a big impact on us. Instead of reading books, people just surf the internet and with just a click, you can easily find the information you need. But what we don’t realize is the importance of books to us.
It’s the sad truth, but Filipino teens do not read as much as they should.
Even though I am a self-confessed bookworm, I understand the things that the writer is saying. Filipino culture (the get-togethers every so often held by family and friends, the noisy fiestas, the nightly convening of the family in front of the television) does not allow for as much silence and solitude that reading requires.
I am, however, offended by this particular paragraph: “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.” It basically states that Filipinos will never become smart enough to be an advanced country.
On a better note, I agree with the writer that the future leaders of our country need to be readers, as well. Reading makes all the difference in educating man.
I really agree in this article..it’s true that Filipinos are not book lovers..including me.And that’s the reason why others are getting ahead of us because they’ve got more ideas and enough knowledge or skills through reading.For some,this article must be an eye opener but i don’t think the rest are convinced.It’s just that we have to realize that reading is really worth it.
Personally, I don’t read that much but I really do love books.
It is true that we Filipinos don’t read as much as other races do. We often see people at malls, playing computer games or just using the internet to read rather than using books.
Most of Filipinos don’t read because of lack of education, lack of money, sort attention span and most of all lack of resources.
Unlike other countries, Philippines does not have a access to public libraries which people can go to just to read for free.
Most of the citizens here in the Philippines find other things more entertaining than reading. But that does not mean that we are not book lovers.
Most of us find reading text books boring. But still, most of us read novels and other forms of literature.
Nowadays, I can say that more people read books than before. There are a lot of bookstores here and most of the people buy books if they can afford. But there are still people who reads other forms of reading materials like magazine, comics or the newspaper.
Filipinos are book lovers but I guess we are not the same with other countries.
Personally, I donāt read that much but I really do love books.
It is true that we Filipinos donāt read as much as other races do. We often see people at malls, playing computer games or just using the internet to read rather than using books.
Most of Filipinos donāt read because of lack of education, lack of money, sort attention span and most of all lack of resources.
Unlike other countries, Philippines do not have an access to public libraries which people can go to just to read for free.
Most of the citizens here in the Philippines find other things more entertaining than reading. But that does not mean that we are not book lovers.
Most of us find reading text books boring. But still, most of us read novels and other forms of literature.
Nowadays, I can say that more people read books than before. There are a lot of bookstores here and most of the people buy books if they can afford. But there are still people who read other forms of reading materials like magazine, comics or the newspaper.
Filipinos are book lovers but I guess we are not the same with other countries.
Not all Filipinos don’t like to read, some are also book lovers. We, Filipinos, are known to be friendly and hospitable. We like surrounding ourselves with many people that’s why it’s hard for us to just stay in one place and read by ourselves. Filipinos are just very much influenced by their environment that’s why they don’t read much. But, in my own opinion, all Filipinos if given a chance to read all the time, they would because they also like acquiring new knowledge. I mean, who wouldn’t? No one would like to be ignorant.
I do believe that Filipinos are solitude, we hate to be alone. Filipinos loves to be with their loved ones always. That’s why we don’t read a lot. We read books but are the books we are reading is right? Do those books gives us important knowledge? Do we read something about nature, about culture, about our society, or stories that will inspire us to be a better person or how about religion? Yes, we read sometimes but we only read books about Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings or other books about love. We only read books that entertain us. We don’t read books that gives us knowledge about our culture, nature, about our society, inspirational stories and religion. This topics is far more important that books about battles or love.
woooooossssshhhhh…im guilty:/.im not a big fan of “BOOKS”…tsk..anyway…i do agree with the article.some filipinos do prefer watching movies or spending some of their extra time in playing online games like DOTA,RED ALERT etc. or whatever that doesn’t make them feel BORED, rather than spending some of their time being alone in a room and read(im one of them)…whenever they hear the word BOOK what comes to their mind is BORING thats why not all filipinos enjoy reading books.maybe not all of us can buy books for us to read but that is not an excuse for us not to love books because in every town or city, we can find a LIBRARY…but for rich people it’s an advantage for them coz they have the money to buy their own book…
I don’t completely agree that Filipinos are not book lovers, but i don’t disagree either. Yes, Filipinos enjoy recreation in the form of watching movies or engaging in other outside activities that make Filipinos a little more impatient. Also, if we compare watching a movie with reading a novel, a movie would definitely give you a faster and much understandable story than reading a mouthful of words, and we all know that Filipinos like the “instants”. But not that doesn’t mean that everyone is like that, there are still a number of Filipinos who prefer lifting pages than pressing the remote. Personally speaking, me myself is an avid reader of substancial books and novels, but i am also a TV junky, and though i am used to having faster endings watching movies, i still enjoy the thrill of reading between the lines and deciphering the mysteries of a story aswell. Not all Filipinos may be book lovers, but i am certain that somehow, alot of Filipinos still read books, they might just not hold the same enthusiasm as the others.
I do believe that Filipinos dont want to be alone. Filipinos loves to be with their loved ones always. Thatās why we donāt read a lot. We like to be with our loved ones than reading books. We read books but are the books we are reading is right? Do those books gives us important knowledge? Do we read something about nature, about culture, about our society, or stories that will inspire us to be a better person or how about religion? Yes, we read sometimes but we only read books about Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings or other books about love. We only read books that entertain us. We donāt read books that gives us knowledge about our culture, nature, about our society, inspirational stories and religion. This topics is far more important that books about battles or love.
As I read the article, I realized that the writer of this article is right. You would rarely see Filipinos reading books because they consider it a waste of time. Even though rich people, as stated by the writer, even though they have that money to buy books or novels, they don’t because for them its irrelevant. You would just see them reading books if it is really necessary. You don’t see them reading because they want to. As also stated by the writer, most politicians are not seen reading books, though we know that they had finished their studies, they should still read because books are the source of our knowledge. Books are considered recorded experience/source that would help us to be more knowledgeable about many things. For me, books really help in molding young minds. Through reading they develop different emotions, one may not react as the others do but still, it has an impact to the person reading it.
I’m not a book lover myself, I only read books when I am in the mood for it or when I really have to do it.
I agree that Filipinos are not book lovers. I think it is because of the things the teens get occupied with, like the internet, online gaming etc.
And I also think that we don’t have much reading habits. That’s why we’re having a hard time dealing with the English language.
Well I agree and disagree,
Because if you say generally “Filipinos” you’re pertaining to all of them, and not all filipinos are book lovers, probably only below 10 percent of filipinos are book lovers, but still, not all.
I also agree because as I have said, Only below 10 percent of filipinos are book lovers and of course, obviously, without any profoundness, it is the majority. I think most of those filipino book lovers are the elders and professionals while the others reading silly, childish books like the twilight saga are just POSERS thinking that this/these books have profound meanings. But of course not all of therm are posers, others just check the book out and read it to relate with others because of its popularity, but still most of them are just boasting with other people to relate with this silly, childish love story. I feel sorry with this thing.
Most filipinos are so pathetic that they think more of money, business and all other things giving stress to them while others read books as their past time keeping them out of ignorance. That is why most of the filipinos dont know how to handle problems and other things because of their ignorance and thinking more of money and business.
For me, the most powerful persons are the ones who are having deficiency in mind because of their lack of reading books and greediness, they dont know how to solve the biggest problems of the country because they dont know how to handle it, Instead, they are the ones who are making these problems.
Honestly, I am not very interested in reading, yes I read some books but only those that I am interested in. I just got interested in commenting on this topic.
There, I just got Honest….
we all had to admit that we filipinos are not that kind of interested in reading books…
most are interested w/ technological entertainment…cellphones,computer games,etc…
I too play computer games…
but most of the time I can be found inside the shady comforts of my room reading books that I’m interested in….
cause sometimes even the technological entertainments can be boring….
I agree with the author of this article. Only few Filipinos are interested in reading books. They are willing to spend their money and time in reading the books that catch their attention and curiosity. Going to malls and parks will be chosen more rather than reading books because weāre more socially interactive. Other people will say that youāre like a nerd or genius if you read books. Itās like you are being isolated from the real world of people. Thatās why others will be ashamed of reading books in public places.
Filipinos are quite lazy and impatient in reading books. Some English teachers would assign their students to read books and submit to them a book review or book report. Thatās the only time where students would have time to read books, when itās needed.
Books could feed our minds lots of information but others canāt afford read books. Itās because of poverty. Public libraries are sometimes just a display in a community. They are being dominated by computers. People want to work with fewer efforts so they prefer working with the use computer than with books.
Even I myself do not read books often. Sometimes, I read books when itās needed in class or when Iām really bored. I read books of Bob Ong and it inspires me a lot. Maybe one of these days, people will realize that reading is fun and educational. Even I, hope that I will learn to love reading books little by little.
we all had to admit that we filipinos are not that interested in reading books…although some are interested….
but we can’t hide the fact that are attention sometimes wanders away
…we filipinos are more attach in technological entertainment like cellphones computer games etc..
I had to admit that I’m also a computer games addict but sometimes even this games can get boring…
…most of the time I would enjoy the shady comforts of my room and read some books that I could get my hands on….
I often read during my freetime. Although I’m not really a book lover, I often put myself into reading to improve my knowledge and enrich my vocabulary. Also a good way to kill time.
I often read during my freetime. Although Iām not really a book lover, I often put myself into reading to improve my knowledge and enrich my vocabulary. It is also a good way to kill time. But there are times that I am not able to finish reading a particular book because I lose my attention to it. Too bad for me.
i believe that SOME Filipinos are not book lovers.They prefer listening and watching than reading.Some Filipinos are too lazy to read books because for them reading is quite boring.But still,we have Filipinos appreciate literature by reading books.
After reading this article, my first reaction was to feel a little guilty. Not because I haven’t taken the time to read a lot of books. I couldn’t escape reading them even if I wanted to. Whether it be for information, for fun or because my school requires me to read one, books for me are somewhat of a necessity these days. This article has shown me how neglectful some of us are when it comes to reading. Even me. I admit that I am one of those people who uses the internet more often than I read a book. It’s because we rely too much on technology that we often shun reading or looking at textbooks. We can’t rely too much on modern technology because in a some cases there are many errors and mistakes that can be found on the internet on sites such as Wikipedia (anyone can edit the pages there). I think we overlook the fact that books can be useful and more informative (not to mention less prone to giving you wrong information)than other sources.
After reading this article, my first reaction was to feel a little guilty. Not because I havenāt taken the time to read a lot of books. I couldnāt escape reading them even if I wanted to. Whether it be for information, for fun or because my school requires me to read one, books for me are somewhat of a necessity these days. This article has shown me how neglectful some of us are when it comes to reading. Even me. I admit that I am one of those people who uses the internet more often than I read a book. Itās because we rely too much on technology that we often shun reading or looking at textbooks. We canāt rely too much on modern technology because in some cases there are many errors and mistakes that can be found on the internet on sites such as Wikipedia (anyone can edit the pages there). I think we overlook the fact that books can be useful and more informative (not to mention less prone to giving you wrong information) than other sources.
Yes it’s true that majority of the Filipinos does not love reading books. It’s happening because there’s so many things that Filipinos can do instead of reading. For example, instead of reading, he or she can watch movie, play the computer, or hang out with her/his friends. And Filipinos find reading as a hard activity, or a lazy thing to do. And Filipinos are very friendly or very fond of having a companion. That’s why they can’t focus on reading alone. You can’t read while doing some other things,but you are really used to it, of course you can. It’s really fun reading books. Especially if you finished it reading. I finished a classic novel, that after I read that, i feel happy and fulfilled. Because you can feel the sweetness, that after all the hard work you’ve done, it’s finally finished, and the things that you have read is stored in your mind, that no one can ever take it away from you.
This article made me agree that mostly as far as I remembered asking some of my friends and the people I know if they love to read books, some of them says Yes but mostly is not interested. I’m a book lover, but I really need enough time to read. I do accept that watching movies or television shows are much easier than reading. Actually Filipinos have curiosity and interest in the books which were known when it is published as a movie, like for example is the Twilight Saga, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, etc. Now that I am interested in books thanks for the influence of my mom and some of my dear high school friends, I began reading sort of classic novels, inspirational books and other reading materials that will help me in my studies as well as being a good student and as a model of this generation in inspiring people that reading will truly affect a person’s life. Not only by enhancing his/her grammar, but also improving one’s listening, speaking, reading and writing skills.
I agree. Filipinos are not very fond of reading. Maybe a few are book lovers but over-all they’re not. Most of them only read books that are well-known. But, it doesnāt mean that Filipinos are unintelligent, itās just that they prefer doing something else. Maybe itās because, the real meaning of reading is not very much understood here. Or maybe itās because of our inherited non-fascination towards books.(e.g.ā I donāt see my parents reading books, why would I?ā) I guess Filipinos are very focused with their lives and they have very few time to relax. Compared to Japan, our country has bigger poverty issues; people here wouldnāt of course pick books over food. We prioritize our needs because we have very few resources to buy anything else for our pleasure. Thatās my opinion.
–nina ubalde
For me, the article is exaggerated. Somehow, I don’t agree with the observation about the developments when it comes to the Filipino traits of reading books. There is definitely an improvement, simply because there are lots of bookshops/bookstores in the city. Even in coffee shops, there are available reading materials on the shelves. And certainly, we have a great chance of becoming booklovers. It will definitely come. In this generation, there is a lot of awareness. Even in the internet, there are lots of online bookshops. We can somehow measure this activity as a positive outlook on Filipinos becoming booklovers.
i agree and disagree about the issue that filipinos don’t like reading.first i agree that filipinos don’t like reading and its true based on the information it is rare that the average filipino goes to a bookstore and that we filipinos prefer other ways of entertainment but i also disagree because i too read not as often but i read in a sense that i enjoy it and that i also see others do the same but if i have to say yes or no i have to say yes because most of the statements in the article are true
I dont agree on this because on my own opinion filipinos read very often. I agree when the writer says that filipino dont like solitude
and ideas that can seen on many literary works such as romeo and juliet,but the time now is different because many whom i now prefer reading books that appeal to there sense for example books made by bob ong,i think when you ask any typical teenager if they had read any book made by bob ong i fearless ly say that 8 out 10 will say yes.so i can say that filipino is a book lover…….
ako lng ata sa 1-lit ang di sumang ayon…..
peace tau lhat
Well, I know that all Filippinoes are not book lovers but they read articles in the newspapers. Every morning I always see people buying newspapers in the sidewalks. While dringking coffe,eating pandesal they read this newpapers and becomes their hobby like my father does. That’s because our newspapers are in Tagalog words like Bulgar,Tabloid,etc.Becausenotall Filipinoes has the abilityto understand english that has deep meanings.For me,this is one of the reason why Filippinoes are not fun of reading.
I disagree..
First of all, not all Filipinos are not book lovers.
Because we cannot force other people to love books even if they don’t want to.
Being one of the book lovers ,I can tell you that reading books is not a bad thing.
Books can be benefited in many ways like you can gain knowledge, creativeness and others.
For me books are almost part of my life because of it I learn a lot of lessons in life.
It sometimes serve as an inspirations on doing the things that I want to achieve.
Makes me a better person.
Books do affect my life too much.
Without it i cannot tell what kind of a person I’m today.
We must try to read once in a while maybe you can enjoy it.
So we can erase the wrong opinions of other nations to the Filipinos.
I do agree with the writer of this blog. We Filipinos are never seen in solitude because we enjoy rumors rather than gaining knowledge from a book. We are too much impressed by technology. Most of us rather watch a movie of our book reports than reading the book itself. Do you agree? ha ha.. Well, it might be laughable but that one is a sad fact. Before, I was one of those people who really hated reading. Once I see the thickness of a book, I’d easily retreat from the horrors of reading it. It’s as if I would be eaten alive once I open it. But when I tried reading a book which was Twilight, I never really felt that the it has 200 pages and I actually finished reading it for just a week. So, what I’m saying is you won’t be killed once you try something out. Let’s say try to read a book of your interest. Once you’ve get a hold of it then all of this would be easy. For some Filipinos out there, If you don’t like to be misjudged by other races then start reading and show them what Filipinos are really made of. We are lucky that we are multilingual. In that way, we should use that ability in gaining some knowledge by reading than to plot against somebody just to earn money.
I agree because I’m not fond of reading books too. Well sad to say, Filipinos are . Just reading few pages of the book makes the reader feeling bored and sleepy, that’s why we resort to stop of reading books suddenly.
Another thing is that, we’re making other things while reading or we listen to the music in the radios or ipods as we call it. It is somehow distructive because we’re using our mind or we are thinking at the same time whether we understand what we are reading or just singing the lyrics of the song. As a student, we must focus on one thing and that is reading the book.
Filipinos are not dumb. We know how to read but we’re not just that interested in reading books. But when we start to enjoy reading books, it will be a good start and we can influence other people to read.
I think that most filipinos are not that fond of reading books because most of us prefer watching movies derived from books.
That’s the problem with us nowadaysāwe prefer the faster way.
We should let our minds work by reading books. I believe that Filipinos should learn how to be bibliophiles because reading is important in our lives. It gives us knowledge in everything that we must know of and through reading we can somehow become fluent in English.
I agree that most of the Filipinos are not book lovers. Some people I know think that books are boring. But, I also know some Filipinos that are book lovers. I do not consider myself as a book lover. Well, I do read books but mostly of the same genre. Honestly, I seldom read books, only when I am in the mood to read. My mother usually tells me to read variety of books but they seem not to interest or attract me to read them. But, I believe that by reading books one can learn new ideas, expose to new environment and culture and improve one’s skills.
If you would look at it, yes, Filipinos are not readers because for me Filipinos rely more on other skills that could lead to their survival in a complicated surrounding. Filipinos are the type of people who would ask the people around for information rather solve one problem by an article that comes from one or two point of views only and this also proves that Family and friends are big factors for Filipinos in their daily living. I can prove that because there are things you canāt get from books like life experiences that help develop oneās ability and capability to coupe in any situation but Iām not saying books are no use.
The article pretty much says everything about it: solitude, ideas, silence. As the author said, the average Filipino obviously hates that. Maybe not for my case who would rather choose to be alone than to be with lots of people I barely know. And to think that this article was written back in 1987, would anyone think that it was written way back in that time? It’s pretty much the same today.
The Da Vinci Code, Angels & Demons, Twilight, Harry Potter, and, Chronicles of Narnia, these are some titles Filipinos might have never known if they weren’t turned into Box Office Hits. Producing these is also a good thing since Filipinos atleast acquired a little curiosity on the books that originally contained these novels. If no one produced them, maybe the bookshops would only be crowded during the months of May and June.
Remember that this article was written in the year 1987. IT HAS BEEN 22 YEARS AND THINGS HAVE BARELY CHANGED. Would we like to keep this negative connection between Filipinos and books? This would be a challenge to our generation. The choice is ours.
Well, I know that most Filipinos are not book lovers but they read articles in the newspapers. Every morning I always see people buying newspapers in the sidewalks. While dringking coffe,eating pandesal they read this newpapers and becomes their hobby like my father does. That’s because our newspapers are in Tagalog words like Bulgar,Tabloid,etc.Becausenotall Filipinos has the ability to understand english that has deep meanings.For me,this is one of the reason why Filipinos are not fun of reading, because they dont understand some deep english words, and they tend to get bored of reading especially when the context or the article is not that interesting to read.
i agree and disagree with this article.
i disagree because i`m a bookworm. yes, I`M A BOOKWORM. i love reading books especially, paulo coelho books. I agree because MOST of us don`t read books. i mean, they don`t even like books. And that`s the problem with us.
i think our generation today does not like books because of other things, like computers, psp, cellphones and the like. they don`t even bother go to to libraries because if there`s a research projects they`ll just “click, type, click and type” (research on the computer)and voila! they have it already.
i hope our generation will learn how to read more and meaningful books. š
Nice truth the author got there!
Come to think of this… Basically, why most Filipinos are not book lovers can be attributed to the economic status and illiteracy rate of the Filipino which is 7.4% of the country’s population that is more than 88 million.
with the “isang kayod, isang tuka” connotation, referring to the truth on how Filipinos work hard for their survival, leads to the inclination to read.this is common to the marginalized people who are depressed, disadvantaged and under-served in the remotest areas of the country.
the existence of the indigenous people (IPs) in the country who are basically illiterates (no read, no write)and functionally illiterates would be another factor of the reasons why Filipinos are not book lovers.the IPs would rather look for a living than be educated and read books.
moreover, with the signs of time, now being in the modern age of technology especially with the use of internet, Filipinos would be deviated in the desire of being a book lover and a good writer.
speaking of modern time, i would like to share my deepest point regarding with the article. if i may hurt others’ feelings, remember that what we’re trying to show here is our inmost insights and realizations.
i honestly read some of the comments, and what bothers me most is the self-centered realizations of others. for those teens and young adults who believe that they are book lovers is actually fine with me. what i can only think of is that, have they ever thought of the deepest meaning of being a “book lover”?
i know, most of us can read. but do we read because of the willingness to learn more or to just go with the flow of what’s in today?
i believe that reading is the most powerful weapon in revealing the true knowledge within one’s self, but with us Filipinos, it’s just the basic question of, can books ease our hunger rather than making us wiser?
these are my opinions why i agree with the author of the article that Filipinos are not book lovers. why? simply because reading for me is just a matter of what you read, how you read, and why you read.
I guess we do love books; itās just that we canāt find the time to read and be absorbed into them. Like others, I quite agree with this article. There are factors to consider why the author said that weāre not book lovers. I guess, the topics before were less interesting unlike the ones we have nowadays. And in my opinion, the old Philippine education system may have been also a factor inasmuch as its introduction of literature and reading to the students may have been somewhat boring. Since the article was published a long time ago, i can say that now, we are more interested with reading because of the influences of modernization. And as you can see, people commenting on this were saying that they indeed, love books and reading.
Honestly, my deep patriotism for our country is competing a losing battle against the reality that generally (not everybody) Filipinos are not book-lovers.
We would have to admit, most of us want our entertainment to be blunt, in our faces and salivating all over us instead of a play of ideas that seem to elude us like the shy lovers that they are.
I’m not saying Filipinos are not “intelligent enough” for these endeavors. True enough twenty years ago and perhaps “truer” now, we are given other things to do. There are just other forms of entertainment available to us which are easier to digest and enjoy. So why read, right?
Albeit disheartened by the minority, I’m still quite thankful that there’s still a minority to acknowledge. So cheers!
Another minority I would like to address are the Filipino authors who strive to reach out to our society. I do hope extinction won’t catch up.
I partly agree. For me, Not all Filipinos are not book lovers maybe because of the influences and the environment. or maybe because of what is happening in our country, The Global Financial crisis and etc. I think, They just need to give time to it.
I certainly believe that there are many Filipino spiring writers. It has been written on the essay that, “Filipino writers would starve if he/she depend solely on literary writing.”
Actually, for me being a journalist can take you to many places and it will cause you to change countries more often that you changed shoes. Bob Ong was one of my most favorite filipino writers his word has always been simple yet it has a different effect on me. I am a self-confessed bookworm. I’d do almost anything to get my hands on a good book. Being alone requires a liitle self-love. For me, It was after milling around Powerbooks strolling down the University road of UST that I’d slowly discovered what I really wanted to do and to ponder my thoughts and perspectives about the book that I am reading.
The only things that need improvement are our awareness and involvement on what is hsppening around us.
I agree with this article that most of the filipinos are not book lovers because nowadays, most of the filipinos much likely spend their time in watching movies, shopping, etc. than to read books.
I do not consider my self as a book lover because i hate reading books specially when it is written in english!hehe.. =) I will just read books if there is an exams, recitation on classes, or if it is really needed! =)
but ofcourse I do believe that reading is very important because it will help us to improve our knowledge skills, english proficiency.
Regarding the topic “Filipinos are not book lovers”,
I also agree that it is true. I could simply say that there are some who just read because it is required on a particular subject matter. But nowadays it is quite grateful that some of us are also encourage to read books and then become bookworms. I hope that Filipinos would be more inclined into reading books than surfing the internet for research. It is fascinating if we try to do it because it’s good for learning.
And one more thing is: It’s so sad to think that the author of this article entitled the Filipinos as not book lovers.
I say it differs from person to person. One may not have discovered yet what book they are fond of, or one may be too engrossed in an issue of their life ~ they may not have tried to pick a book yet. I guess it is the choice of a Filipino citizen if they would want to take a book. Sad to say that some people prefer to save for a pair of havaianas, rather than a set of A Fantasy Fiction series ~ it’s what I’ve noticed. For me though, I prefer English Modern literature that is easy to understand and read… the type of book that would really engage you into searching that ‘SAT’ word perse in the dictionary. Actually, there is only a countable selection that I’ve read in Filipino, and most of them are those ‘SPOOF’ books… while the others are read for academic reason only. I actually fell asleep before even starting Jose Rizal’s literature.. >.<
Anyway, my point is that with modernization, it is more difficult to find a person who likes MAKATA works.. and easier to find a person who likes TWILIGHT books. -peace man, I love Twilight ~easy to read-
I honestly believe that the love and desire for reading still depends on the person. Some people may be fond of shopping some may not. Some may love watching movies some may not. Same goes for reading some may love it some may hate it. Reading is one of the most important ability a person can have. Some people might not like reading books, but they love reading magazines. It really depends on the your perspective. I, myself hate reading but when the TWILIGHT SAGA came, I loved the thought that I found time to read. But every book has its different subject, just like everybody has their own taste in the novel that they want to read. So to those Filipinos who hate reading you should definitely try it books can take you to places that you would definitely love.
The main idea of this text is the personality of Filipinos when it comes to reading books. The writer states a sad opinion because he thinks that Filipinos would have been much better individuals and would definitely achieve more if they read books and are fond of it. I personally do not believe in this article but it any way, it has a good point. It is true that reading is a good way of learning and I believe it exercises our brain to think but we Filipinos seldom find time to do so. When we read, we are aware of the things that are happening around us most especially in our world today as we also provide our mind extra knowledge too. I donāt want to judge fellow Filipinos regarding this issue because I know that we can still do something about improving our reading skills. Well, I am a nocturnal kind of person and instead of reading; I actually choose to do the alternatives. I just think I donāt have the luxury of time and the power of grammar to make reading a diversion of fun nor relaxation. Iād rather rely on the newest technology which is the internet to provide me the information I need. We are all familiar that it is the easiest and the most convenient way but I know that it still doesnāt undermine the pleasure one can read from books. It is important to inculcate the habit of reading during our younger years because as we grow older, it is a lot harder to instill reading as a hobby to love. I guess what matters is that we still learn and that we take our own initiatives to grasp the knowledge we need to survive in our every day life whether it may be viewed from televisions, heard from other people, previously experienced or simply, found inside a library.
I think it still depends on the person or his/her interest. It’s true that only few enjoy reading books but I know there are still book lovers out there, maybe we just don’t know them. But i’m sure they exist. Like me, I don’t like to read books of shakespeare, which is very popular, but I love to read books of conan doyle, It just depends on the book that you think will help you and the book that you will enjoy reading. So, don’t put in mind that all filipinos are not book lovers.
I think it still depends on the person or his/her interest. Itās true that only few enjoy reading books but I know there are still book lovers out there, maybe we just donāt know them. But iām sure they exist. Like me, I donāt like to read books of shakespeare, which is very popular, but I love to read books of conan doyle, It just depends on the book that you think will help you and the book that you will enjoy reading. So, donāt put in mind that all filipinos are not book lovers.
I think it depends on the person and his/her interest. Some may prefer sleeping rather than reading books, but that doesn’t mean that we don’t love to read books. In my own opinion, there are still Filipino book lovers maybe we just don’t know them but i know they do exist. Like me, i love to read books but not the books of Shakespeare which is very popular all over the world. I enjoy reading books of Conan Doyle. So, don’t put in mind that Filipinos are not book lovers.
from the title “filipinos are not book lovers)
i think filipinos are partly don’t have the hobby of reading books. because many of us sometimes go for shopping or even just sleep.actually, i’m not a book-reader person, but its essentially needed for us to read for it can nourish our mind and adds more valuable informations. reading is one of the most important aspects to be learned by a person. i consider myself as one of the persons that hates reading books. i love the idea of “no brain,no entry in our college english class”. when our professor said to us in our first meeting. then, i started to read. now, its part of my daily routine but not the “addict one”. i will never read such novels or stories for a hobby. i will read if its needed. i do believe that reading is playing a big part in our daily activities to grow with.^-^
I honestly think it depends to the person and his or her interest. Some people prefer sleeping than reading a book or even an article of any reading book material. But that doesn’t mean Filipinos are NOT BOOK LOVERS. In my own personal opinion, there are Filipinos out there who read books not just because it is required but for the simple reason that they are enjoying what they are reading. It may only be few but for all you know there are so many, and I am 1 of them. I love the book of Conan Doyle. I don’t prefer the books of Shakespeare even though it is very popular because it is not my interest. The stories of Doyle really inspires me a lot. There are still book lovers out there. Maybe, we just don’t know them. But I am pretty sure there is.
I do agree that a large number of Filipino citizens are not book lovers and avid readers but not all. Because using the word “Filipinos” is pertaining to the whole nation’s race. It’s a huge generalization. Maybe few are still reading and love books even though Filipinos dont like the feeling of being alone or solitude. Some prefer watching tv or watching the talk of the town latest movie/s, listening to music, and the most enjoyed and easiest habit– making a lot of gossips. I always see people especially the old ones buying newspapers every morning and enjoy reading the local and international news while sipping hot coffee and having their breakfast and I guess for some reading news or an article with no particular time is part of their daily habit. As told by my grandmother wayback on her 40’s when she still have the good eye sight thing she always read books and about 100 pages a day and considered reading as a part of her daily lifestyle. Filipino race are competent enough to face daily problems and as an eminent scholar has written that Filipinos wayback in the prehistoric times had already shown high intelligence and virtues up to this generation. Even though a lot of Filipinos dont often read books or not a book lover we are not dumb and stupid. In my own view, when you talk about fascinating worlds of fantasy, heroism, romance and knowledge what better place to find them than in a book? I do read books, because reading books can take us to exciting places. Its like a free ride to places you never knew existed and reading can make us learn new things.
I do agree that a large number of Filipino Citizens are not book lovers or avid readers but not all. Because using the word “Filipinos” is pertaining to the whole nation’s race. It’s a huge generalization. Maybe few are still reading and love books even though Filipinos don’t like the feeling of being alone or solitude. Some prefer watching television or watching the talk of the town latest movie/s, listening to music, chilling, relaxing, and the most enjoyed and easiest habit I guess — making a lot of gossips and talking about other peoples business. I always see people especially the old ones buying newspapers every morning and enjoy reading the local and international news while sipping a cup of hot coffee and having their breakfast and I guess for some reading news or a piece of article with no particular time is part of their daily habit. As told by my grandmother way back on her 50’s when she still have the good eye sight thing she always read books about 100 pages a day and considered reading as part of her daily lifestyle. Filipino race are competent enough to face and solve daily problems and as said and noted by an eminent scholar that we Filipinos way back in the prehistoric times had already shown a high intelligence and good moral virtues up to this generation even many of us donāt read often or not a book lover we are not dumb and stupid. In my own view in reading books, itās a necessary habit. Hmmm… when you talk about fascinating worlds of fantasy, heroism, romance and knowledge what better place to find them than a book? I do read books those w/ interesting sense thing (I guess) because reading books can take us to exciting places. Itās like a free ride to places you never knew existed and reading can make us learn new things.
for me, it depends on what the readers interest. it is true in this article that most of the filipinos are not fond of reading. i actually not reading books, i just read academics books that is required in school, sometimes, novels if I’m interested in the story. but in reality, most of the filipinos know that reading books is very important, it will help us to gain more knowledge and skills in English proficiency. even though they know how important reading is. they are much more fond of buying things, watching movie and etc.
I honestly think it depends to the person and his or her interest. Some people prefer sleeping than reading a book or even reading an article of any reading material. But that doesn’t mean Filipinos are Not Book Lovers. In my own personal opinion, there are Filipinos out there who read books not just because it is required but for the simple reason that they are enjoying what they are reading. It may only be few but for all you know, there are so many, and I am 1 of them. I love the books of Conan Doyle. I don’t prefer the books of Shakespeare even though it is very popular because it is not my interest. The stories of Doyle really inspires me a lot. There are still book lovers out there. Maybe, we just don’t know them. But I am pretty sure there is.
wow.
I agree. This is because nowadays, most Filipinos are not fond of reading books and this fact is quite alarming. It’s true that most Filipino families now, would rather bond through watching television shows rather than reading books, during their past time. In my opinion, this factor can affect most Filipino children because they have the tendency to become sluggish and distracted, especially when it comes to studying. Unlike books, which obliges the person to use his/her unlimited creative imagination, television limits the person’s thoughts.
Arenāt We Really Fond of Reading?
I think that they have said that because most of the filipino people are just always busy to do other things like going to salon ,clubbing and partying all day rather than to read educational stuff like newspaper beacause they think its too boring to read.I think that the article is not just telling that were not book lovers but it is persuading us to read a lot for our learning to be more advanced so that we will not be left behind by other countries because as they say reading books makes you a smarter and brighter being.
I also agree to the other readers… It is true that many of the Filipinos do not love to read books because they easily get bored for what they read. But I will say that it depends upon the person who reads… Some people love to read books, some have collections of the books they want. They are just some factors why the people does not want to read. the traits of the Filipinos, most of us does not want to be in silence, and it requires most of our time and also patience…
And I will say of course that I am one of those Filipinos who does not a book lover.
Concerning “Filipinos are not book lovers”, people’s interests differ from one another: one may prefer reading books than go to play DOTA; the other may prefer shopping or collecting items than reading books.
It depends upon the person if he/she may read books or they may prefer to do something else.
In my childhood days, I do not prefer to read books even my mom always tell me to read because as she tells it, reading may take you to places. As I grow up, I realized that it is an essential tool for us to read, not only books but also different texts like magazines, newspapers etc., because it can enhance your vocabulary and you may have deeper understanding of things not only what the book can bring you but also understanding what life may bring you. The first book I have read: “Tuesdays with Morrie” by Mitch Albom, an inspirational book.
Later, I have found out that books really is a big help to us for it expands not only our imagination but also, the most important, knowledge.
Some Filipinos do not know the essence of reading yet, but when they discover it, I tell you, they will surely love it because
“BOOKS CAN TAKE YOU TO PLACES YOU HAVE NEVER BEEN BEFORE”. š
–we can do it, one step at a time Ć¼–
feed your mind…..
let your tiny brain works..
I can certainly agree with the selection that Filipinos are not fond of reading books. Well, I can honestly say that I’m not a book reader. I really hate books; the fact that I will see a thick book, I will eventually back out from reading it. But i read magazines and sometimes newspapers. Sometimes I also read books when it is required in school.:)) Like for example, we have a test or graded recitation the next day. But Nowadays, you can see that some Filipinos rarely read books. Because they find it boring or “uncool”. Also, some will say it is a nerdy thing. But there are really other reasons for this. Some of us are being too lazy to read books. Some are more interested and allot their time in going to the mall with friends, shopping, watching tv or movies, surfing the net, partying and other matters. But I myself agree that by reading a book will really gain you knowledge and you will learn a lot of things. And also you will be updated on what’s happening in your surroundings.
I don’t agree that all filipino’s dont love to read. Because it really depends on the person if he would want to read. I want to read but it’s really hard for me bacause I usually get headaches, even using a computer my maximim time is only 30 minutes or else I will have a headache. Some really do read for researches and to learn more. Some read to entertain themselves.
I can certainly agree with the selection that Filipinos are not fond of reading books. Well, I can honestly say that I’m not a book worm. I really hate books; the fact that I will see a thick book, I will eventually back out from reading it. But i read magazines and sometimes newspapers. Sometimes I also read books when it is required in school.:)) Like for example, we have a test or graded recitation the next day. But Nowadays, you can see that some Filipinos rarely read books. Because they find it boring or “uncool”. Also, some will say it is a nerdy thing. But there are really other reasons for this. Some of us are being too lazy to read books. Some are more interested and allot their time in going to the mall with friends, shopping, watching tv or movies, surfing the net, partying and other matters. But I myself agree that by reading a book will really gain you knowledge and you will learn a lot of things. And also you will be updated on what’s happening in your surroundings.
me personally I don’t read books…I prefer more to hangout and have bonding time with my family and friends..but still I find time for myself to read books to be informed as well as to learn…
It’s plain and simple, it’s the lack of book-reading environment(?) where we should have grown on. I have the privilege of visiting Italy, as we all know, it has its share of prolific and great writers, and in their, as early as 1 year old, a child is given books! Illustrated for their age of course, but the point is the government or their parents have given them, that early, the first step on becoming a book-reading individual. If their has been a large scale comprehensive campaign of our government on emphasizing book reading, we should have not been left behind…
I’m neither contradicting nor agreeing regarding the topic that Filipinos are not book lovers, because only some Filipinos are not book lovers but it’s because of poverty. Some Filipinos just canāt afford buying books, but it doesnāt mean that Filipinos are not interested in reading books. I donāt think that itās the fault of the Filipinos that we are branded to be book haters or not a book lover, maybe itās the poor economy we have here in Philippines. In my case, I love reading books not just because I can afford buying books but because reading is a nice habit. Itās relaxing and gives more knowledge about various topics.
It seems certain now that Filipinos will never become book readers. The problem is Filipinos hate solitude. Count the number of Filipinos you know who enjoy being alone, and being in a book. For them, itās absolutely terrifying. Reading a book requires time and patience; endurance, if need be. It isnāt 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. Not really at any different rate as any other nationality. Some like reading-most probably don’t. I do think, most Filipinos do prefer to watch to TV than read though. I know I’m one of them but I’d love to read books. Most especially if the story have a moral lesson…..
I agree that filipinos are not book lovers but not all.It is true that instead of bookshops around the Philippines you can see more of beauty parlor around.There is a sentence in this article that i don’t agree with “a great pity and dangerous,when non-readers like Imelda Marcos who was never seen reading book from cover to cover get positions of power”. It doesn’t tell a human capacity to lead based one his or her love for reading books,it is not a basis of her capability because you can learn things not only from reading,you can also learn in other ways.All I can say is that even most of the Filipinos are not book lovers it doesn’t make us lower to other nationalities because it is not a basis of our capability of doing things.
Not all Filipinos hate books. Because if all Filipinos hate reading books. There wouldn’t be writers and journalists who tries their best to impart their knowledge to the Filipino people. But there are Filipinos who doesn’t appreciate books. People who take books for granted. Thats why those “book-haters” are quite ignorant in some things in life. Because instead of reading books, they watch absurd tv shows. Who only teaches them to be stupid, dancing around like a monkey to earn money.
In my opinion, Filipinos has a weak orientation when it comes to reading, because they view reading as a boring activity. Mostly, Filipinos acquire their knowledge through watching televisions and listening to the radio because they are too lazy to exert their efforts in acquiring knowledge. They are bombarded by media (televisions, radio and magazines) which dos not encourage Filipinos to read. In the family, children are not encourage to read, they usually spend their time in playing computer games and watching nonsense telenovelas that makes some Filipino feebleminded.
The majority of the Filipino people are fond of celebrities that only entertains them by their so called āKilig Factorā and gossips that doesnāt get the anywhere. Why? Because there is no useful knowledge associated with it.
The article is convincing and for that reason, I highly agree that Filipinos are not book lovers.
Let us face the fact that we prefer the use of media instead of using our imagination in reading books. We watch tv and movie because it gives more entertainment than sitting and reading books. For us Filipinos technology gives us more satisfaction than books.
I also agree that filipinos are not a book lover. Maybe because filipinos prefer on texting, watching movies, shopping or playing computer games than reading books. š
The interest in reading books really depends on ourselves. I must say that I am not a book lover but I have read Bob Ong’s books and I really enjoyed reading it because it was fascinating and fun.
Most Filipino read books but they get tired of reading it and then suddenly close it then put it in the shelve until it gets old, because we have this “impatient” attitude in reading.
One more thing,Some Filipino families suffers from poverty and they can’t provide education because of insufficient budget. Some cannot read that’s why they spend most of time on television and recreation.
In my opinion, Filipinos has a weak orientation when it comes to reading, because they view reading as a boring activity. Mostly, Filipinos acquire their knowledge through watching televisions and listening to the radio because they are too lazy to exert their efforts in acquiring knowledge. They are bombarded by media (televisions, radio and magazines) which dos not encourage Filipinos to read. In the family, children are not encourage to read, they usually spend their time in playing computer games and watching nonsense telenovelas that makes some Filipino feebleminded.
The majority of the Filipino people are fond of celebrities that only entertains them by their so called āKilig Factorā and gossips that doesnāt get the anywhere. Why? Because there is no useful knowledge associated with it.
The article is convincing and for that reason, I highly agree that Filipinos are not book lovers.
i have to disagree with you Kevin Paquet, though we share the same name, not all Filipinos hate books, if we’re not book readers, then we would be dumb as of now.
HEY GUYS! I am Ms. Monica K.A. C. Jordan, a freshman student and we were asked by our Prof. in English 1 to post our comment/s about this article.
In my opinion, I somehow agree & disagree on some parts being mentioned.
First, as a Fil-Am who both experienced to study & live in the States & in the Phil., I noticed that in the States, the public libraries are only a few blocks apart. People go there mostly because of their interests & education. But in the Philippines, most public libraries are not well equipped with books, esp. new ones that are very essential to the youth now. A library is often appreciated & noticed by its presence if itās in a University or school, and if itās essential for a research for a course.
Second, public libraries are very important in educating the youth in this generation. Scary as it is, in the Philippines, you can see internet cafes in every block and see students either playing computer games, namely DOTA, updating their ME-profiles, namely Facebook or Friendster, or watching Youtube. Others do researches while logging in to their ME-profiles and in their YM or MSN.
In the states, watching movies is expensive, $15 & up per person, and since libraries are easy access & books are cheap because they are available everywhere thatās why the interests of the Americans are diverted to reading books. They only watch movies often if it is their personal interest. However, stating the fact that Filipinos are not book lovers is because there’s a limited source of books to read for additional reading aside from school. So if there is limited financial income for the family, parents will end up using their money for food instead of books. Therefore, ones interest is diverted to watching TV or watching the movies. But since Filipinos love to talk about intriguing things or rumors, and if by any chance the topic is about a book, Filipinos would read it for example āTwilight sagaā or āHarry Potter seriesā.
Filipino’s have only a little sense of nationalism in literary works thatās why most Filipino writers are unknown to many Filipinos, and much more to the Youth in this generation. It is because Filipinos do not appreciate the art of writing anymore. For them itās too much thinking and understanding. I donāt agree that it is because Filipinos do not like being in solitude or in silent. In my opinion, the reason is that Filipinos think that reading literary arts are not necessary, and there are more important or vital things to be concerned more than this.
This article has struck ed me because I really don’t like reading. I find it boring. I prefer the more entertaining ways of learning like watching and using technological devices. It is easier to see and hear and see than just read and imagine things using your own way of thinking. People spend their time hanging out with friends rather than being alone and reading. This is because we think that being a being alone makes us EMO and being a book lover makes us nerd or geek. But at the same point, I disagree about this. Maybe I really don’t like to read. But not all Filipinos are like me. There are so many Filipinos who likes and wants books. They really want to learn. But the problem is Poverty and we have a low literacy rate. Some can’t afford of studying in a school. And how can they read if they don’t even know how to do it. I realized that I am so lucky that I can read and I can afford to buy books. So, I hope that some Filipinos like me would appreciate reading books as a very important thing especially when it comes to the degree of life. It can take you somewhere you’ve never been before.
People have concluded that Filipinos are not book lovers. Tracing back our history, especially during the Spanish era, Filipinos were not given a chance to learn to read and write especially Filipino women. In my opinion, not all Filipinos love books. Most of them just read books because of the presence of pictures like comics and gossips found in magazines. They are lazy and tend to rely on others to tell them the story or information. But still, the interest in reading depends upon the person.
I cannot say that I am a book lover because itās hard for me to find a book that suits my interest. But reading is one of my past times. It is very important for us to practice a habit of reading because it enrich our vocabulary and improve our skills.
Reading the article, I cannot help but feel disappointed. It is certainly times like this that my head seems to get knocked out of senses because suddenly, every single thing becomes real. I must admit that every statement written down in this article about Filipinos is undeniably true – and is continuously happening.
I think the problem with us Filipinos is that we cannot get rid of our ‘fiesta’ culture. What I mean by this is that we tend to become so interconnected that it goes to the point of hating silence or solitude even. When will we ever learn?
Not only this, but apparently even those who are afforded cannot ‘waste’ their ‘precious’ time reading. They are so busy with their ‘priorities’ that they cannot even finish a book, yet flip a page or two! What is worse, reading is now a dispensable activity that is ideally only used for adornment/entertainment/recreation. What a lame, lame excuse.
I really pity those who choose not to read even if they can. Little do they know that by doing such, they are only depriving themselves – they are impoverished of thoughts. Because for a society to work, we need ‘free individuals’ who are capable in forming good citizens – and we can only achieve this through reading or being literate.
No wonder why we are always at the END of the game. We Filipinos should always keep in mind that what we will become depends entirely on our vision and determination. We must act now.
WE MUST READ.
I agree on this essay, “Filipinos are not Book Lovers” because honestly I’m not a bookworm. I rather watch television than to read books because I grew up without knowing the importance of reading. I thought that reading is boring and waste of time but my perspective changed. I realized that through reading, we can earn knowledge and can change one’s life.
For me, I can say that filipinos are not really fond of reading because we hate to read long ideas, stories, news, etc., because we would consider watching them than reading them. Just like the fictional books/stories that made it to the movies, we would rather watch the movie than the book because we, filipinos find it more interesting if there are pictures or motion pictures in it than just plain text in a very thick book. I think that reading is not part of the filipino culture but on the other hand there are still filipinos who finds reading very interesting and entertaining like me. In my own opinion, when the author said that “Filipinos are not book lovers”, he’s not really pertaining to all of us, his point is most of us are not book lovers but not all of us.
I agree and disagree in this article. I disagree because; I know a lot of people who like to read. I myself love to read. I have always found it relaxing. I believe that by reading books we can broaden up our mind and enhance our knowledge. On the other hand, I agree because some people think that books are boring. Some people are just partial to watch TV and look at the pictures in the magazines. Some might just be too busy to even have time to read. Most people think that if a book is good it will in time be made into a movie anyway. But for me, I would rather use my imagination to understand what the writer is trying to express instead of some revised directorās version. On my opinion, everybody may turn into a book lover if he/she will be able to find the suitable genre of the book which will give him/her the interest to read.
*like and want
HEY GUYS! I am Ms. Monica K.A. C. Jordan, a freshman student and we were asked by our Prof. in English 1 to post our comment/s about this article.
In my opinion, I somehow agree & disagree on some parts being mentioned.
First, as a Fil-Am who both experienced to study & live in the States & in the Phil., I noticed that in the States, the public libraries are only a few blocks apart. People go there mostly because of their interests & education. But in the Philippines, most public libraries are not well equipped with books, esp. new ones that are very essential to the youth now. A library is often appreciated & noticed by its presence if itās in a University or school, and if itās essential for a research for a course.
Second, public libraries are very important in educating the youth in this generation. Scary as it is, in the Philippines, you can see internet cafes in every block and see students either playing computer games, namely DOTA, updating their ME-profiles, namely Facebook or Friendster, or watching Youtube. Others do researches while logging in to their ME-profiles and in their YM or MSN.
In the states, watching movies is expensive, $15 & up per person, and since libraries are easy access & books are cheap because they are available everywhere thatās why the interests of the Americans are diverted to reading books. They only watch movies often if it is their personal interest. However, stating the fact that Filipinos are not book lovers is because there’s a limited source of books to read for additional reading aside from school. So if there is limited financial income for the family, parents will end up using their money for food instead of books. Therefore, ones interest is diverted to watching TV or watching the movies. But sinceFilipinos love to talk about intriguing things or rumors, and if by any chance the topic is about a book, Filipinos would read it for example āTwilight sagaā or āHarry Potter seriesā.
Filipino’s have only a little sense of nationalism in literary works thatās why most Filipino writers are unknown to many Filipinos, and much more to the Youth in this generation. It is because Filipinos do not appreciate the art of writing anymore. For them itās too much thinking and understanding. I donāt agree that it is because Filipinos do not like being in solitude or in silent. In my opinion, the reason is that Filipinos think that reading literary arts are not necessary, and there are more important or vital things to be concerned more than this.
I think the writer of the article has a point. I believe that many of us, Filipinos, really don’t like reading books. Maybe they think reading makes them “nerdy” or “uncool”. Or maybe they just think that it’s BORING. I agree with the writer when he said, “Solitude na, ideas pa, and then silence? It is too much for an average Filipino.” It is true for MOST of us but not for SOME of us. I, for one is an average Filipino but i do love reading. And also, sad to say, many Filipinos hate the thought of actually THINKING.
I also agree with what the writer said that us, Filipinos, hate solitude. It is in our nature that we like being with other people. Reading requires concentration and many Filipinos do have the attention span of a squirrel. We tend to be enthusiastic, at first, with what we’re doing but halfway through it, we lose interest in it.
But I must say, these do not apply to ALL Filipinos. I’m sure some enjoys reading very especially here in 1Lit. š
THIS PROBLEM IS STILL UNSOLVED because this issue was posted last 20 years already.The attitude of Filipinos will never be change unless they change their mentality attitude.am I right?
furthermore,I believe that reading often is a easiest way to become a good writer and speaker someday.(Dean’s Lister)joke!!that’s impossible to me.Even READING AND SCANNING magazines or any prints are very helpful in building a creative ideas.Base on what I have read, IF YOU NEED SOME THRILL OR UNIQUE EXPERIENCE OR SOMETHING THAT NEVER BEEN HAPPEN TO YOU…just read assiduously and you will find out that books is fun , it really add flavors in our nerves…toppings ba…
I can strongly say that, I am not a book lover. but that does not mean, that all the Filipinos are not book lovers. I think of reading books as boring and a big waste of time. i have this friend, named Cheska. She loves reading different books. In fact, she read 50+ books. I can say that she is a bookworm.but most of my friends dont usually read.In general,the majority of the population in any country do not consider themselves “book lovers”. Mostly, everyone thinks of reading as boring. because, they dont have great interest on a specific subject. most of the guys will spend time on playing dota, instead of reading educational books..but if you give them FHM or men’s magazine.. They’ll have the initiative to scan the magazine because they are inerested. That is what i am pointing about. I may agree that Filipinos are not book lovers. Or I may strongly disagree that Filipinos are not book lovers. It depends on the situation. Like in my case, i dont usually read books but i learned to love Bob Ong’s books which is about out of the blues stories. The title of the book is “ABNKKBSANPLAKo?”. The book is so nice, that i have read all the books of Bob Ong. Because it reflects one’s life as a book character,they relate themselves as characters in the story. That’s why they are interested.
Nowadays, I observed that most Filipinos would rather spend their money on doing and buying expensive and useless things rather than buying and reading a cheap book which is definitely not useless since reading can enhance widen their vocabulary and of course, enhance their reading skills.
SOLITUDE, the feeling of being alone, a very crucial feeling in reading a book: to be able to concentrate and understand more what you are reading, to be able to be eaten up by the book and feel that you are in another human race, in another era. Yes, it could be quite frightening to a lot of Filipinos. And you ask why? Well, it doesnāt need a lot of effort to figure it out. In realism, Filipinos would rather go shopping at the mall with their friends than going alone at a book store to read books.
Well, I donāt want to be a hypocrite here. I admit that I, myself am not much of a book lover, but I do buy and read books that I find interesting even if it is expensive. In fact last summer vacation, I read 3 books. And yes, the feeling of being alone, I also admit that I am not very fond of it, but when I start to read books, solitude eventually becomes my friend, a friend that I am comfortable to be with, a friend that relaxes me.
And as a conclusion to my comment, yes, I BELIEVE THAT MOST FILIPINOS ARE NOT BOOK LOVERS.
First, I would like to share my opinion in reading. What is the importance of reading? Well for me, reading is just part of learning and gaining knowledge. Reading is a decision. I am a certified Filipina and this article shocked me so much because āFilipinos are not book lovers.ā For me, hatās a big NO. Maybe in early times in the Philippines, may do not read but for an instance when the time of Rizal came and his fellow scholars reading is a need. They read newspapers and books to gain knowledge to fight Spaniards.
Based on the text, in the Philippines instead of bookshops, we have beauty parlors. Thatās a YES but we have also bookshops located in mall or any infrastructures. Filipinas love to beatify themselves in order to be beautiful. W, Filipinos, love to be clean all the time.
āFilipinos will NEVER read books.ā Thatās a BIG NO! I have many friends and schoolmates who read. In fact they love reading. They finished many books and even save money to buy a book to read and add it to their collection. For me, reading is a part of life and itās important. I read books to and also my father. So, how can Filipinos in general will NEVER read books?
I think reading a book and enjoying at the same time has been done by several Filipinos also. It can be in the library or maybe at home because it is where we can read peacefully and concentrate properly.
In the essay it is said that: āReading a book requires time, patience and endurance.ā So if Filipinos do not read or love books meaning we donāt have time, patience and endurance? Thatās definitely a BIG NO, because Filipinos are well known for being patient and responsible. In Tagalog, MATIYAGA AT MASIPAG.
We, Filipinos, have short attention span, maybe yes but we have short attention span because we like to try different things because Filipinos are adventurous.
Whatās wrong in being a Filipino full of love songs, dances and also happiness? Itās just that we love our culture. We are well known for it and we are proud to have a rich culture.
āEven rare than the Filipino reader is the Filipino writer.ā Iām not sure of it but I think before a writer can write a book he has to know knowledge on what he can write because it will be humiliating if the writer writes a book with no sense. Thus, he or she read books or search to gain knowledge.
This article can really make Filipinos defend and go beyond the limit because FILIPINOS READ BOOKS and we love our culture.
Filipinos are not bookworms and reading is not of our nature, we are more of the laid-back ones who love doing easy things and that are things this reading is telling us. One of the ideas I agree with the author is that Filipinos hate solitude and reading in silence. Being alone is not a Filipino thing. Take for instance studying, many Filipino students are āallergicā of libraries because it has this quiet ambience that is conducive to sleeping. And if they will be forced to study inside one, they would rather study in a group. Why? Because when the time comes and they become tired of reading and studying, they would have someone beside them that they can talk to. Reading a book needs focus. One may not understand the story if once in a while he will talk to his āneighborsā. And also, with the Filipinosā trait of leaving something they have started, they wonāt be able to finish a 300-page novel or even a 100-page one.
Another idea I agreed on is that Filipinos rarely read books by Filipino authors, save for some who reads books by Bob Ong or Eros Atalia. If one would spot Filipinos reading Filipino writings, I would be guessing they are students and they are required by their Filipino professors to read novels by F. Sionil Jose and the like.
There are many ideas of the author that I have agreed, there are also ideas we differ. The author said that Filipinos will never become book readers and even paraphrased George Bernard Shaw. In my opinion, there are really many Filipinos who dislike reading; however they are not the representative of the whole population of Filipinos. I think only the population who do not read is highlighted in this article because it is all about Filipinos as non-book readers. And also I think that these non-book readers would eventually develop a liking to this matter.
Lastly, I donāt think that a book must be met in a certain solitude so that the sentences and chapters will seep through the readersā consciousness. There are many book readers who can read books within a crowd or while listening to music but still can afford to understand the whole context.
I think that the title of this is too much of a negative. Yes, Filipinos are not book lovers but change is not an impossible thing. Maybe in the future the majority of Filipinos will become book readers. Maybe in the future, I would become a book reader myself.
we must accept the truth that this problem is not resoving unless the source of thier mentalility that they want read and learn are changing.
in my opinion, these reasons are resonable, and effective.
in case that book brings many advantage, giving an oppurtunity travelling an unknown place where we can’t do in the reality, we can enjoy. we can realize and renew ourself to read book. sometimes, it brings a new life that you will challenge on something.thinking advantage for reading book is being happy although being solitude, and silence are tired.
my opininon is thinking not only a case that you should be patient
but the fruits and results that you will get after a silence.
we must accept that this problem is not resolving unless the source of their mentality that they wnat read and learn are changing.
in my opinion, these reasons are resonable.
in case that book brings many advantage; giving an oppurnity that we can travel in fascination, we can enjoy reading a book.
sometimes it bring challenge on something.
thoug reading book is
very hard ,my opinion is thinking not only a case that you should be patient but considering the results that you will get after a silence
The author of the article is very negative about us become not book lovers. It is certainly that we are not BOOK lovers. Books are JUST mediums of what it is that we want to read, right?
We now have the internet. We can now READ on our laptops, pc’s and whatever gadget we have that has internet connection. That way, we save money (blame it on the GLOBAL RECESSION) and less hassle. Nowadays, it’s as if we can’t go without our laptops or pc’s, right? Wifi (wireless connection) places are scattered at almost EVERYWHERE.
It’s not the problem that we are NOT BOOK LOVERS.
The problem is that WE DON’T USE BOOKS as mediums.
‘Inside The Mind Are Gears Used To Think,Books On The Other Hand Is The Grease That Kepps The Gears Of The Mind Moving!!!!!’
i just wanna shout this out..this is my concept of what the importance of books are..^^
that’s the point of it… Boooks are basically a plain instrument.. it may give you information but if you don’t fully understand it’s contents, well i guess it’s useless.
Well to some degree I agree that Filipinos were not book lovers. I mean by the time the article was published Filipinos did not like books at all. The time that you would only see a Filipino with a book in 1983 was if he was either reviewing for a exam or he doesn’t have money to go to the movies and he would get distracted most of the time. And that’s a fact. But it’s less applicable these days as more people especially the youth/our generation as more of them start crowding the bookstores like Fully Booked and Power Books. More of them are starting to like books and write their own rendition of their favorite novels.
nag comment lang ako dito kasi sabi ng PROF.NAMIN eh
c sir ANDREW hehehe….
ako si kellvin monato…
wahah magaaral..bow…
this is my simple explanation…
yes filipinos are not book-lovers
bcoz….we only read if we wanted too..needed..for ourselves..and
for information…
1lit
-xenosyd-
:))
Partly true, because Filipinos are more likely to be with friends or barkada. Rather than be caught reading books alone.
Tama ka, we only read books that we like or books we are force to read, especially in class(by our teachers).
Marami kasi enjoyable gawin, kesa magbasa. Pero sa akin I like it, Siguro acquired taste lang ang pagbasa ng buks. m/ enuff said. c”)
for me i disagree because most of the filipinos love to read books especially novel and fictional books if they have their free time.
E may kwenta ba at makakatulong sa intellectual developments nila ang mga pinagbabasa ng mga sinasabi mong Filipinos?
well, this is somewhat a sad truth. most filipinos are more fascinated with the physical beauty rather than the sense an individual do. maybe soon it would change, filipinos are slowly becoming more of a book enthusiast.
In my own opinion, not all Filipinos are not book lovers. There are still some Filipinos who enjoy reading books. I have friends who really save money to buy thick and expensive books like Twilight Saga, Vampire Kisses, Angels and Demons and etc. But I admit that I am not a book lover. I will only read if needed or if I like the book. š
Do you really think those books will help lift the level of consciousness and thinking of your friends? Do you think those books can help us decide whom to vote in the coming elections?
The bottomline: The problem is not merely lack of reading; it is also the case that not all Filipino readers actually read quality works.
“life without reading is unimaginable”. Filipinos love to read books and I’m one of them!
Hi. I'm researching about the readership of the Filipino people. I'd be happy if you can support your assertions with statistics. There is this National Book Development Board (NBDB) survey in 2007 which claims that 92% of Filipinos read, only with 2% decline from a similar survey in 2003.
Actually, I believe too that Filipinos aren't great book readers (although I dare say I am) however, with this statistics, my opinion is totally futile. Do you have a source so we could refute this NBDB survey?
(http://www.quezon.ph/2009/05/12/we-the-people-as-…
Sa palagay ko, malaking problema ito. Kasi kahit naman mahilig tayong magbasa pero hindi naman ganun kaganda ang mga binabasa natin, wala rin. May book akong gustong i-recommend na gawing gabay: How to Read a Book by Mortimer Adler and Charles van Doren
I think generally Filipinos does not read as much as they ought to because it’s not inherent in us to do so. In highschool we read works by Balagtas or Rizal (which ofcourse we are very proud of) but that’s about it. Our Literature is not as rich as those of foreign countries, US for instance have Ernest Hemingway
John Steinbeck, J D Salinger, et al. Jane Austen, Charles Dickens and more for UK and why would they be included in our curriculum, right? Such counties encourage their younger generation to read and learn from this ‘classics’ and hone the talents of those inspiring writers. I just hope the same can be said to us.
As for reading quality works? Do you mean literary fictions? As much as I would like to read those they can be quite a drag and may only be consumed once in a while (in my opinion). I’m a fan of of popular fiction ie young adult, chicklits, mysteries and between watching those popular crap on TV I’d rather do it reading. I have a little pet project — http://pretentiousreader.blogspot.com/2009/10/never-give-up.html . You guys can do your own =).
I somehow agree and disagree
I disagree with what the author wrote- āFilipino hate solitudeā. I have seen a lot of Filipino people who wants to be alone while reading. They hate to hear noise while reading because they got distracted. But this is one proof that Filipino people really wants to gain knowledge.
I donāt think that Filipinos hate reading books. There are lots of bookstores here in the Philippines but they are located inside the mall. And a lot of people go there to buy books of their choice. Sometimes, we have a lot of things to do and we canāt find the right time to read a book.
I somehow agree that SOME Filipino are not booklovers because they are fond of using the internet and other gadgets such as an ipod for fun and relaxation. Some people tend to get bored and sleepy while reading a book so instead of reading they just do something adventurous.
I think, it depends on the interest of the person. He or she could only tell what kind of books he or she would read.
When I first saw the title of the article, it made me feel disappointed because I am a book lover myself. I love reading especially if it’s my kind of book. But after reading the article it made realize that some Filipinos really don’t enjoy reading. I know of a few people who read just because they are required to and not because they want to. Maybe one reason is because they still don’t know the genre that they like. Two things in the article that I disagree with is the part where it said Filipinos hated solitude and that there is only a little band of Filipinos that read. I disagree that Filipinos HATE solitude because in my opinion every person is supposed to have a quiet time or a time for relaxation. After a stressful week from work, you need to rest and relax yourself. And why would Filipinos hate that? I also disagree that only a LITTLE band of Filipinos read because there are many literate Filipino citizens out there. A proof of that is the fact there are plenty of local books( school books,reading materials,etc.) in the market and there are also many writers, authors, and composers of local books.
I do agree that Filipinos are not booklovers. But I can say that, Filipinos do read books. The only thing is that, Filipinos are not so interested into those stuffs. Majority of us Filipinos would actually prefer to watch television, listen to music, surf the net and the like. Filipinos always want to keep themselves busy by doing activities which are not boring. Reading for them is a boring stuff. It requires too much thinking because some words are hard to understand. We Filipinos react better visually. Most of us would love to see things that are real like watching movies. We are too lazy to imagine situations that are not presented visually. We are too lazy to read because it requires too much time and our mind do not explore the thoughts on what we read. I’m not saying that most Filipinos are not knowledgeable because we are not interested in reading books. The only thing is that, Filipinos are too lazy to read books and we are too engrossed in doing other things.
I agree on SOME points of the author. But I think i need more proof showing that Filipinos are not book lovers. Maybe some are NOT and some are Book-LOVERS.
For me, this article is so opinionated.
But, my concern right now is that I think I need more proof or evidences showing whether the other countries of different cultures are the same with the majority of the Filipinos who doesn’t enjoy reading that much.
Actually, I really wanted to compare whether the other āprogressive countriesā are well-read people or not. I’m curious whether those in power of those other āprogressive countriesā are bookworms or booklover. That is because it is mentioned in the article that some people in the country of the Philippines, especially whose in position of power are non-readers. Again, I need some proof.
The reason behind that is for me, Filipinos especially those who are in power must be really intelligent-or book intelligent.
We Filipinos should really be knowledgeable. That is just one step toward the progression of country. And by being knowledgeable, we must thirst for knowledge and wisdom. By being thirsty for that, we can start by loving to read and being a good lover. And we Filipinos can be a BOOK-LOVER whatever personalities we have, and despite the fact that majority of us are too happy-go-lucky and doesnāt enjoy much spending our time being alone and in silence.
Is it a bad thing that I agree with most (not entirely) of the article? Let's face it, most of us doesn't like reading. Some
read only because the school requires them. Then there are others who only read because a particular novel was made into a movie. It seems half-hearted.
The author points out three reasons on why Filipinos are not inclined in reading: solitude, ideas and silence. They are contradictory to the Filipino culture. The fact that most Filipinos prefer to watch tv and listen to music than sitting down and read a book is obvious.
However, I disagree with this part: "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." It seems that the author is quite haste in generalizing the Filipinos. It's like pointing out that just because few Filipinos don't really read means that all Filipinos don't really read at all. I won't necessarily call myself a bookworm but I try to read beyond the school's assigned/required readings. Also, based from my
personal experience, I do know people who absolutely love reading.
This article was written more than 20 years ago and it's really shocking that it's still applicable today. Most young people today are preoccupied with television, video games and the internet and they think of reading as boring (unless it was some popular novel).
I guess it's our choice in the end whether to continue this perception of not being book-lovers or to break it.
I agree with what the article said that Filipinos are not totally in to reading books, especially long ones which will make them bored. We have this certain attitude called the Ningas Cogon which was also mentioned in the article that whenever we start doing something, we get tired of doing that as time goes by. Sometimes, we do not even finish what we've started and start again with another one. The article compares Filipinos with other nationalities regarding book reading and it's a shame to know that instead of having bookshops along streets, we find beauty parlors and other unnecessary shops. Books are essential to because they give new knowledge to us but we're not putting effort into gaining new knowledge. We don't care about books and I think only 3 or 4 out of 10 Filipinos are interested in reading books. The government should make a move in making Filipinos like books. We should not let this pass or else, the future generation will suffer.
I agree and disagree. After reading the article, I realized that Filipinos are not book lovers. Majority of us Filipinos would prefer to do other things than reading a book. For me, they enjoyed other activities than reading. Maybe because they find reading as a boring activity. it also takes time, so instead of doing that, they choose to spend their time in other activities. Aside from that, for me, Filipinos are too lazy. Reading requires understanding. There are times we start to read but after 1 hour or 2, we just stop and never continue it. Sometimes we just read because it is a requirement or a homework. And as time goes by, Filipinos spend most of their times in electronic gadgets and other activities. On the other hand, I disagree. because every time I visit a bookstore, I see a lot of people reading . Not only in a bookstore but also in streets. Few people use reading to relax their mind and to gain knowledge. Sometimes it is their hobby and way of spending time.
Let’s take into consideration that the new generation of Filipinos now are not booklovers. Ergo, it’s like the past generation of Filipino writers and readers are now deteriorating in a sense that the new generation lacks the enthusiasm to read a book. If ever one does, it’s all about the fad of neither romance nor fantasy fiction. The literary taste of readers is only limited for the reason that most of them do not extend their view on the different genres of literature. Nonetheless, the past generations of Filipino readers are more inclined to neither literature nor books. I would say that the issue of “Filipinos are not booklovers” has evolved through time because of the preferences of readers. I could not generalize all Filipino readers because each reader has its own preferences but the only I am certain about is there are more readers years ago compared to the present time. Let’s face it we lack the enthusiasm to read books for we enjoy doing other things rather than finishing the book in how many days and sometimes we may not even get the exact meaning of the story.
The other points of this article are agreeable for me but it is not convincing for me to say that all are not booklovers. I think the readers are the ones who are open minded to the ideas offered of reading books. The non-readers are probably the ones who are still blinded of the fact that reading is a dull past time. I believe that reading enhances your intellectual ability needless to say that poverty does not disables you to read. It is saddening to say that we lack Filipino writers at this time compared to what has been done before. I do believe that every Filipino is a writer on his own ways. We just lack the enthusiasm of developing such idea. The queer thing is, I think that some of the new generation writers are financially disabled so as to develop a print of their own writings.
I am startled of how the Filipino literary works were written. I would even read books written by F. Sionil Jose. I am awed of the Filipino talent. I think that the number of Filipino writers decreased for the fact that few have been reading books and thus is the beginning of the Filipino readers and writers deterioration.
My concern right now is that I think I need more proof or evidences showing whether the other countries of different cultures are the same with the majority of the Filipinos who doesn't enjoy reading that much.
Actually, I really wanted to compare whether the other “progressive countries” are well-read people or not. I'm curious whether those in power of those other “progressive countries” are bookworms or booklover. That is because it is mentioned in the article that some people in the country of the Philippines, especially whose in position of power are non-readers. Again, I need some proof.
The reason behind that is for me, Filipinos especially those who are in power must be really intelligent-or book intelligent.
We Filipinos should really be knowledgeable. That is just one step toward the progression of country. And by being knowledgeable, we must thirst for knowledge and wisdom. By being thirsty for that, we can start by loving to read and being a good lover. And we Filipinos can be a BOOK-LOVER whatever personalities we have, and despite the fact that majority of us are too happy-go-lucky and doesn’t enjoy much spending our time being alone and in silence.
dude wth?! Well first of all, in my opinion its too much for you to conclude that Filipinos are not book lovers. Dude even though we donāt see much bookstores around our country as much as those countries you mentioned, I could confidently say that tabloids or newspapers are sold in sari-sari stores. Tabloids and newspapers may not be books but Iām pretty sure that both are reading materials. Dude even tricycles and jeepney drivers, which both are considered under the poverty line, and are pretty much uneducated reads these tabloids. These people read during their free time, isnāt it maturity is shown with what we do during our free time? Reading is one hell of a mature way to spend their free time, considering their status. Therefore, how could you say that Filipinos are not book lovers? Maybe, youāre the one who needs to do more reading.
dude wth?! Well first of all, in my oipnion its too much for you to conclude that Filipinos are not book lovers. Dude even though we don't see much bookstores around our country as much as those countries you mentioned, I could confidently say that tabloids or newspapers are sold in sari-sari stores. Tabloids and newspapers may not be books but I'm pretty sure that both are reading materials. Dude even tricycles and jeepney drivers, which both are considered under the poverty line, and are pretty much uneducated reads these tabloids. These people read during their free time, isn't it maturity is shown with what we do during our free time? Reading is one hell of a mature way to spend their free time, considering their status. Therefore, how could you say that filipinos are not book lovers? Maybe, you're the one who needs to do more reading.
Hello!
Well, based from what I've read, what the problem is, SOME PEOPLE ARE FOND OF GENERALIZING.
"I am not a book lover. I am a Filipino. Therefore, Filipinos are not booklovers." Not true, so false.
Admittedly, I am a selective book lover. I just select books of
my interest and then read, when it already bores me. I stop. But there are still a lot of Filipinos who really find joy in reading books. I can attest to that because I have came across Pinoys who will surrender everything for just the sake of finishing all chapters of the book they are holding. Being a booklover really depends on the person whatever race they have come from.
I would like to quote a sentence in the article that said "Filipinos hate solitude". I also disagree on that. I do like being alone. That's one thing that can make the statement invalid. The author generalized what the Filipino race can offer. As I continue reading the whole article, it only fed my mind with negative vibes towards what Filipinos look like to other people. Yes, SOME Filipinos can be really not into books but there are still SOME who are really interested in reading. Some may also conclude that why Pinoys are not booklovers because we are lazy, and that really irritates me. Progressive countries may also not have booklover leaders but they flourished. In the Philippines, though we are not as progressive as other countries are, there are people who get ahead of the game regardless of being a booklover or not. What I really want to point out is that if people would actually look at Filipinos in a differnt way and stop generalizing our nation and the youth, they can see that Filipinos really have something to offer. Even though, some Filipinos would find books as something that can make them sleep or snore.
Reading is one way we can get out of our shell and be the persons the society wants us to be. Booklovers are those who gave reading a devotion that helped them shine as citizens. But you don't have to be really a booklover just to prove others that you have something significant. Reading is helpful, yes. Books are helpful, yes. Being booklovers, is helpful too but being aware is a lot more helpful.
As a conclusion, Filipinos have their own way of accomplishing things. If reading won't be a part of their methods then we should just let it be. š
I agree to the interesting and catchy article of Arlene Babst – Vokey. Yes, Filipinos are not book lovers. From Luzon to Mindanao, I think the majority still do not read books. Most Filipinos hate solitude because Filipinos likes chatting, gossiping, singing, going to malls or any recreational place, tambay, story telling, net-surfing and all other acts of socialization. Because it is in our culture though. We are happy people and festive.
Yes, Filipinos don't enjoy being alone and being alone with a book. "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." Because some Filipinos started doing a tasks or chores but not finishing it. Therefore not accomplishing anything!!! Like the author said Filipinos lacks of patience and organization. They don't provide a TIME for reading and if they have time they will start reading only few pages but not finishing the chapter or the whole book itself.
We Filipinos should balance our time. There's a time for everything: a time to chat, a time to read, a time study, a time to do net-surfing and all other stuff that we need and want to do. Proper time management is just needed.
Besides BOOKS are TREASURES and GOLDS. It is the form of INTELLECTUAL ENGAGEMENT. We can learn anything from it. There is literature and monographs; novels, magazines, journal and history books. They will feed us with KNOWLEDGE, INFORMATION and LEISURE. We obtain knowledge and ideas. We LEARN. Reading books can lift our status, save us from poverty and problems; it can bring progress in our life, society and country. And get a better and brighter future.
So let us begin reading books on ourselves.
In my own point of view and also based on my own experience I can say that we can never conclude that Filipinos are not a book lover.
Maybe some but not all, why?
Because it is affected by our lifestyle and culture as a Filipino. We are very family oriented type of person, we always want to have a conversation with our relatives and friends while doing many activities to enjoy, and relax. A lot of Filipinos that belongs to the lower and middle class are very sociable and spend their spare time with love ones and have a good time to somehow forget their problems in life. And Filipinos enjoyed more when things that are interpreted visually. Like watching movies, looking at pictures and etc. I think some of us Filipinos don’t get that fun in reading books and the other one is some of the Filipinos don’t have interest reading at all. I also think that a high