decorum

Do you have “issues” with too much profanity or overly explicit (ahem) “romantic” scenes in books? Or do you take them in stride? Have issues like these ever caused you to close a book? Or do you go looking for more exactly like them? (grin)

let's say that i've learned about the birds and the bees through reading. and as i get older, i long ago stopped having issues about what others might refer to as "too graphic" and "too explicit" romantic scenes. i had a short stint as an editor of an online resource of erotic literature; i read neil gaiman, nora roberts and vc andrews; and as a pseudo-writer, i write some "romance" stories too. i have one restriction though, i don't want to read/write about it in my local language. and i have a rather valid reason for it.

during the rehearsal for the fifth grade comencement exercises, a naughty girlfriend handed me a local tabloid and pointed to a story. that was too explicit for me at that age. it was an eye opener, but it was also too "dirty" for an eleven-year-old. the words were easy to comprehend since it was written in our language, and maybe it was precisely because of that that i found it too "taboo".

some purist might argue that the change in language would not alter the meaning. afterall, the act and the actions described are the same. but still, i have those 'restrictions'...

comfort food

Okay . . . picture this really) worst-case scenario: It’s cold and raining, your boyfriend/girlfriend has just dumped you, you’ve just been fired, the pile of unpaid bills is sky-high, your beloved pet has recently died, and you think you’re coming down with a cold. All you want to do other than hiding under the covers) is to curl up with a good book, something warm and comforting that will make you feel better.

What do you read?

(Any bets on how quickly somebody says the Bible or some other religious text? A good choice, to be sure, but to be honest, I was thinking more along the lines of fiction…. unless I laid it on a little strong in the string of catastrophes? Maybe I should have just stuck to catching a cold on a rainy day….)

i often find myself reaching out for my comfort books whenever i feel depressed which, i think, constitute some 30 percent of my time.

when i read the question, two books came to mind. they are: charlie and the chocolate factory and harry potter and the sorcerers's stone. i like the writing styles of roald dahl and jk rowling. roald dahl is my favorite author. and though some might argue that the harry potter series is not really a very cheerful lot, i'd still say that harry's story, especially the first one, gives me comfort.

times like that, i'd go for some light reading thus roald dahl's books came to mind. truth is, i don't really mind if the first one that i have grabbed is matilda or the witches, as long as it is one of roald dahl children's classics. the good point about charlie and the chocolate factory is that i can almost smell and taste the chocolates, which in turn will make me grab /buy a chocolate and voila...intant happiness! hahaha...

of course, i don't recommend it if you are on a die-t...

other books i'd recommend:

robert fulghum's books

eoin colfer's artemis fowl series

edward eagers' children's stories

goldilocks

transported from my homeground

"So, this is my question to you–are you a Goldilocks kind of reader? Do you need the light just right, the background noise just so loud but not too loud, the chair just right, the distractions at a minimum?

Or can you open a book at any time and dip right in, whether it’s for twenty seconds, while waiting for the kettle to boil, or indefinitely, like while waiting interminably at the hospital–as long as the book is open in front of your nose, you’re happy to read?"

i recall that a colleague once commented that reading is like sex. you either see it as something to do with passion or something that should be done as an obligation. ^_^

my answer would be: it is relative to 1) how much i like the book and 2) how badly i need to read the book (or any reading matter).

to number one, i'd say i'm pretty much amenable to any condition as long as there is light; and that i will not risk myself to early demise being run down by speeding vehicles.

to the second, i'd say i am very much the pampered goldilocks, i need to have a very comfortable chair (preferably bed), the right lighting, background noise preferably minimum to none (so i put on ear phones or read when everybody is sleeping), proper ventilation and proper mindset lol

though everything blows when i'm already cramming. Happy BTT!

statistics

transported from my homeground

"There was a widely bruited-about statistic reported last week, stating that 1 in 4 Americans did not read a single book last year. Clearly, we don’t fall into that category, but . . . how many of our friends do? Do you have friends/family who read as much as you do? Or are you the only person you know who has a serious reading
habit?"

i've been very lucky to be born in a family of voracious readers. my dad likes to read filipino (tagalog) novels; although when he does read one of my books, he has the uncanny ability to predict the outcome after reading few chapters. my mother reads too much romance novels; maybe that was why my siblings and i went out of our way to broaden our reading genre because subconciously, we don't want to read too much of (what in our mind's) mommy's mushy novels. my siblings collect their own books, they are into fantasy and adventure. between all of us, i think we've read all the books in the house.

my friends den and kat read as much (or even more) than i do so i really don't have much problem on that part. though some of my other friends, mostly from grade school and high school, do have this rather insensitivity to tell me "reading again?" or that "would you honestly read that?" when they see me holding a rather thick book that in their mind would constitute giving up weekend night outs in bars and singing videoke or watching movies. they pretty much keep up on latest and "famous" books by "watching" it in a movie. ^_^

indoctrination

transported from my homeground

"When growing up, did your family share your love of books? If so, did one person get you into reading? And, do you have any family-oriented memories with books and reading? (Family trips to bookstore, reading the same book as a sibling or parent, etc.)"

I so wanted to answer one of these BTT questions I constantly read thru den's and kat's blogs. And now, indulge me... this is my first BTT post ^_^

I grew up being fed by stories; and grew big eating junks hahaha . Aside from the poignant memories of my older cousins messing up my favorite red-nosed stuffed toy (it's not Rudolph) when I was young, I remember being lulled to sleep by listening to the monotone of my dad or Tatang, my maternal grandpa, reading bible stories straight from the bible.

I can't remember being taught to read, like (B+A=BA; BA+TO=BATO) in grade school. I can't even remember struggling through reading. I felt that I always knew how to read. Maybe because I used to think that reading, like eating and sleeping, watching the television and taking a bath are daily rituals. My mom bought me my first book collection when I was four, five thin, glossy pocketbooks of 'Bible Stories for Children' and my first ever coloring book with poems in them. I can remember reading the books, and messing up the coloring part. I was always adept at reading as I always sucked in arts. I read voraciously, from 'Funny Comics' to 'The Plain Truth' to john grisham's to 'Lord of the Rings' and self-help books.

need i say i love reading? ^_^