One of the things I regretted leaving behind (and having to give away in the process) when I moved to New York in 2000 was my then rather modest library of books I had collected through the years. I leftthe paperbacks back in San Juan but I selected friends to whom I gave away the hardcover books and CDs I had decided were too cumbersome to bring with me as I moved across the oceans.
I have always loved to read. My dear Auntie Lydia had turned me on to reading fairy tales and nursery rhymes as soon as I could do my ABCs. I still remember how she introduced me to Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales
She also introduced me to Reader’s Digest when I was in first grade. Then I discovered Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys sometime in grade school. I managed to read around 75% of the books on the list and to this day I regret not having completed all the Nancy Drew mysteries. My encyclopedia set at home came with an accompanying set of children’s books which I loved to peruse and read. In that series I was introduced not only to our beloved children’s fairy tales but fables and Greek mythology as well.
In high school, I read more purposefully and while reading homework took a lot of my time, I continued to try and read a wide range of books, spurned on primarily by our guidance counsellor’s advise to read and read when I asked about how I can increase my IQ. (That’s another blogpost altogether.) But who can forget Antoine de Saint- Exupery’s The Little Prince
In college, I decided I would start my own collection. I discovered my now favorite authors Richard Bach (more popularly known for “Jonathan Livingston Seagull
In this day and age of e-readers, I continue to share my love of reading, giving one of two kindles I received two Christmases ago to my sister, Ofie. And just recently, I shared the wonders of Kindle for PC with a dear friend who now has the books in my e-library to peruse and pore through. It’s such joy to find someone who loves the written word as much as I do — sifting through the stories and plots and immersing one’s self in another’s point of view.
I feel like a “Book Santa” who has opened new doors for a friend to continue reading again. As someone who loves reading and chalking up “books read” on my list, I know what getting to the end of the story feels like — and how it signals you can go to the next book on your list.
Enjoy the books, and when you read them, I hope you feel me right there beside you reading them, too. I look forward to the conversations on the common books we read — and will read together — in the coming days.
I have actually vowed NOT to buy any books until I can jumpstart my reading again, and while I have been cradling my 
and I have to admit I’m hooked, and eagerly trying to ready on to get through all three. I didn’t even know about this series until my goddaughter Eeya told me about it as I tried to probe her if she read and what kind of literature she is into, etc. I had my own ulterior motives for asking (which I cannot reveal here because she takes a peek into Ninang’s blog from time-to-time), but she told me about trying to get her hand on a copy of the third installment of the Trilogy, 
.
, and now I feel as though we are reading together. I just started the second book in the series, 
and just when I thought it couldn’t stir up any more excitement, it does as a new element of the story is introduced. (Okay, no spoilers here.) I’m just happy to be back into reading again, and as Eeya said, although she hasn’t had the time to go back and get to the third installment, she figures by the time I start, she will be reading it, too.
Pinay New Yorker 