2013 wasn't entirely a productive year of blogging for me, but I could at least count a win for my reading list the past year. This blog's category on books is one that I have to shamefully admit I've neglected, particularly because it's hardest for me to discuss my thoughts about what I've just read. Reading has always been the most sacred of my hobbies, and I feel like I always fall short in coming up with the right words to properly honor great works of fiction.
The other reason for my neglect in posting about books is that with so many anime, TV series and films to watch, I fell out of the habit of reading....
I have to pause after typing that sentence, because I feel like I should be struck by lightning or that the ground should swallow me up.
But in the past year, I made sure to change that, even if I kept missing out on opportunities to write about everything that took up my free time outside of work, which was precious little. I started reading again, even if it meant accepting that I will never catch up with my viewing list, or that I would have to escape from babysitting my adorable goddaughter, or that I was in the midst of wedding planning.
I just had to make a giant concession about the ebook format.
I have and always will be more partial to the printed book form. There's nothing quite like holding an actual book in your hands, the environment and trees be damned (okay, I don't really mean it in that way). When people started transitioning to reading on their devices, I lamented the fact that books were now more prone to piracy. And as much as I have partaken in one form or another of piracy over the years, reading bootleg ebooks was something I vehemently refused to do.
Then, I ended up buying my friend's Android phone. I just had to download the Kindle app, if only to find free ebooks to help me discover new authors that I would never have encountered in a local bookstore in the Philippines. Somewhere along the way, I started checking out the Amazon website's listing of books by my favorite authors, mainly out of curiosity, and to see if the price difference locally and abroad would warrant calling relatives who might be traveling to the Philippines to purchase books for me.
It was during a visit to the Amazon page for The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman that would push me to finally taking the plunge and making a purchase. I originally planned to purchase the book when I made my annual trip to the Manila International Book Fair Festival, but both my schedule and finances were tied to wedding planning, so I knew I was going to miss the 2013 run of the book fair and end up buying the book on regular price after September. So, there I was, visiting The Ocean at the End of the Lane Amazon page and I realized that there was a price drop that would save me about P300+.
Really? Could you really pass up an offer like that?
So, I swallowed my printed book purist pride and made the purchase. And subsequently developed a new hobby of comparing Amazon prices with those that can be found at the National Bookstore and Fully Booked websites, as well as subscribing to email alerts that would give me a heads up on price drops on books by my favorite authors (though, I have since learned that not all discounts are available worldwide and that certain Kindle versions aren't available in my region). It was this hobby that led to my purchase of Steelheart and The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson at a little over P100 each.
But the more important outcome of making the transition to reading ebooks (not completely, just for really greatly priced titles) is that I did end up reading more. The convenience of being able to read a book as long as you have a smartphone or tablet with you made an impact on my reading habit, although I did lose sleep when it came to reading Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card and The Emperor's Soul by Brandon Sanderson because I didn't have the excuse of it being too dark to read, courtesy of nighttime reading settings. It also didn't hurt that you don't have to worry about losing your purchase, even if your chosen device for reading conks out on you.
I ended up reading 12 books last year, eight of which were in the ebook format, plus the novellas and short stories I found online and read when I'm taking a break from work. Though the number is still low, considering how voracious a reader I used to be, it's considerable improvement compared to 2012 and 2011.
And I'll take that as a win that I can build on in 2014.
Here's to happy reading in 2014! :)Labels: Books, Musings, Reading List