Expanding Horizons Through Reading

 Books always have a special place in my heart

I grew up reading books, encyclopedias, story books, short novels, etc., as my mom was once a book seller when me and my siblings were young, even as young as when I still couldn't hold my head up! This did not only teach us that books are material things that can be sold and bought, because our mom sells them, but it can help us understand the world better. What do I mean by this?

Like I mentioned, I grew up surrounded by different types of printed materials like books, because of my mom’s work, it is quite inevitable. She would leave me and my little sister to their office and showroom as she roams around and offer people their products. To fight boredom, my sister and I would open one book each and little did we know, we finished a whole volume of encyclopedias. This was how we were introduced to loving reading. As we grow older, the types of materials we read have also evolved, from printed encyclopedias, to more complex ones, to young adult novels, and by the time we reached high school, were “forced” to read research papers as we need to use them as references for our own researches.

Books have always helped me broaden my horizon and my view of the world, if my mom did not expose me to reading, I wouldn’t have the imagination and understanding of the world I have now, I wouldn’t be curious about culture if I didn’t come across a book that wrote about ancient civilizations, I wouldn’t be taking up a course that has enhanced my values like I do now – I would not be an Anthropology student that aims to understand people from different perspectives. Not only that, but I also will not be able to have a little skill on arts if I wasn’t able to open an art activity book and did the fun activities in its contents.

Growing up having books around us has given us the imagination and creativity we won’t be able to acquire with just the technology and internet. Because with books, we have to do things as it is written and do them as how we understand them as we cannot completely visualize how things are done if we don’t use our creativity and imagination, there were no videos to follow through and there were no audios to tell us what to do – it’s all about understanding and critical thinking. In Filipino I would say “nahasa ang aking galing at pag-iisip sa tulong ng mga aklat na nakapaligid sa akin noong ako ay paslit pa”, in English it would be “My skills and understanding were honed by the books that surrounded me when I was young.”

Don’t get me wrong, I love how the current generation have grown to be curious about things and they became hyperaware of their rights, which we can admit we lacked when we/I was younger. But my heart breaks for the population of those who cannot enjoy the privilege of literacy – especially through books. I take pride in being the generation that and enjoyed printed media and witnessed the rise of digital media at the same time. But I still firmly believe that reading books is essential in learning new skills and getting a better understanding of the world; even the rights we enjoy today. We cannot simply fight for our rights if we do not understand where they came from and how they came to be, we will not have the conviction of fighting for them if we cannot grasp the tragedy behind them.

I feel bad for those who belong in the population of illiteracy or those who simply are challenged with comprehension. I believe that these are brought by the lack of efforts in education, especially the lack emphasis on the importance of reading, may it be digital or printed media. But not everyone can afford the pleasure of owning a book, much more of a gadget to use for reading.

Books are expensive, but much more the gadgets. We can get books that are sold in stores, but we can also buy them on bargain, I remember doing a barter trade in the middle of the pandemic in 2020 where I bartered two already-read books for a box of chocolate cake. Did I miss those books? Yes, but the joy I know it brought to the person who got them is priceless; and back in 2018 when I got hospitalized and didn’t tell my friends, books were my company.  As someone who grew up surrounded by books. It will always make me happy seeing people reading physical copies of their favorite books – whatever genre it is. 

Back in 2019, when I was working as a college instructor in a big university, I remember a workmate telling me to sneak out (not promoting this but it was worth it) from work and go with him somewhere. Little did I know that he will take me to Azuela Cove Tent where the Big Bad Wolf Booksale is – it was the first time I’ve heard about the book sale. I was so ecstatic to see millions of books on sale right before my eyes. It brought me back to my childhood remembering how mom was encouraging parents to make their children read. It reminded me of the excitement flipping one page from another feels. I spent thousands on that same day, and went back for two or more days after; and the years after. 

Did I regret sneaking out? I did, because it caused me a day of absence in my record, but I will never regret sneaking out to discover that these kinds of book sales exist. Buying my dream titles cheaper than they are in other bookstores brought me so much happiness and I want to share that happiness to others. I want people to enjoy reading physical copies of books as much as I did. I was excited to tell my friends about it when they returned years after, and I will not get tired of telling people how much joy it brings when you open a book and let your mind wander.

Finding out the same book sale is coming back to the city, makes me ecstatic. They share the same values with me in some ways and there’s no better way to act upon those values but to share and show people that it is possible. To educate people through books, fight ignorance through reading, and expand horizons through comprehension, on the move to making these values work by moving from one city to another, introducing books to people, readers or not. The wide variety of titles and types of books they have can surely fill-in the needs of every person and I can’t wait to witness it happen again. I want to see how this book sale will change lives and make the world a better place, one book at a time.

Don't get me wrong, this isn't an ad for the booksale - I've already written something about it, but rather an admiration to the efforts put in by people who loves to see people continue reading. Book stores, book sales, or book bargain sales, they are the same. It's amazing how books can change lives and can be passed on from one user to another, expanding horizons one person at a time.