IT WAS said that upon my birth my father laid my head upon a battered dictionary, the only book in the house, hoping that I’d grow in knowledge if not in wisdom.
Thanks to dear Tatang, the back of my head is flat as tabletop, forcing me to grow my hair a bit longer, else my sapad will offer an open invitation for a whack.
But that dictionary for a pillow may have indeed induced in me some thirst for knowledge, may have ingrained in my system the love for books. For as long as I can remember I’ve been devouring books since I learned how to read. Yeah, it helped too what Francis Bacon wrote: that a full man reading maketh.
No day passes without a book passing my eyes. Summer though is one special time for me to really bone up on more readings.
I just finished crying over The Last Lecture of Randy Pausch. Truly, “we cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand.” Indeed, carpe diem – seize the day, as time is all we’ve got.
Now I am crying again with Letters to Sam, a collection of intimate letters that Dan Gottlieb, paralyzed from the neck down for over two decades, wrote for his grandson Sam, diagnosed at 14 months old with a severe form of autism.
Yeah, I read sob stories. I find crying cleansing – not only of the nasal passage but of emotional baggage. Tears never fail to bring out some catharsis in me.
Where some books are for the heart, there are others for the mind. An intellectual wrestling match I can only lose against Santayana’s Scepticism and Animal Faith. Then of course, not a week passes without me re-reading, in some vain efforts to fully comprehend, Nietzsche, especially his Human All Too Human.
Books nourish the soul too. So there’s the Tao Te Ching of Lao Tzu, theDhammapada or sayings of Buddha, the Koran, the Bible, as well as the Tibetan Book of the Dead. All these, taken not just for summer fare but as daily dose for continuing spiritual growth.
Santayana’s proscription on those who never learn their lessons from history is one impelling factor – besides my fascination with the past – for me never to miss a travel back in time. My current historical read: Rousseau and Revolution, Book X in the magnum opus The Story of Civilization by Will and Ariel Durant. Plus yet another bio of Che Guevara, A Revolutionary Life by Jon Lee Anderson, the nth book on the hero’s epic life that I am feeding on.
Trade books, to further enhance my craft, are must-read too. My daily reference is of course The Associated Press Stylebook and Briefing on Media Law and Strunk and White’s The Elements of Style.
Really outstanding read for an editorialist is Outrage, Passion & Uncommon Sense by Michael Gartner and the Newseum on How Editorial Writers Have Taken on The Great American Issues of the Past 150 Years.
And with elections coming, a great aide memoir for the spinmeister is What Orwell Didn’t Know subtitled Propaganda and the New Face of American Politics.
Great reads all these. Great finds there are – at bargain prices at that! – at Booksale.
There indeed is no excuse not to read. Summer, or not. Reading is one addiction that is prescribed to all. No age restriction.
So what have you been reading lately? FHM? Jesus!
Thanks to dear Tatang, the back of my head is flat as tabletop, forcing me to grow my hair a bit longer, else my sapad will offer an open invitation for a whack.
But that dictionary for a pillow may have indeed induced in me some thirst for knowledge, may have ingrained in my system the love for books. For as long as I can remember I’ve been devouring books since I learned how to read. Yeah, it helped too what Francis Bacon wrote: that a full man reading maketh.
No day passes without a book passing my eyes. Summer though is one special time for me to really bone up on more readings.
I just finished crying over The Last Lecture of Randy Pausch. Truly, “we cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand.” Indeed, carpe diem – seize the day, as time is all we’ve got.
Now I am crying again with Letters to Sam, a collection of intimate letters that Dan Gottlieb, paralyzed from the neck down for over two decades, wrote for his grandson Sam, diagnosed at 14 months old with a severe form of autism.
Yeah, I read sob stories. I find crying cleansing – not only of the nasal passage but of emotional baggage. Tears never fail to bring out some catharsis in me.
Where some books are for the heart, there are others for the mind. An intellectual wrestling match I can only lose against Santayana’s Scepticism and Animal Faith. Then of course, not a week passes without me re-reading, in some vain efforts to fully comprehend, Nietzsche, especially his Human All Too Human.
Books nourish the soul too. So there’s the Tao Te Ching of Lao Tzu, theDhammapada or sayings of Buddha, the Koran, the Bible, as well as the Tibetan Book of the Dead. All these, taken not just for summer fare but as daily dose for continuing spiritual growth.
Santayana’s proscription on those who never learn their lessons from history is one impelling factor – besides my fascination with the past – for me never to miss a travel back in time. My current historical read: Rousseau and Revolution, Book X in the magnum opus The Story of Civilization by Will and Ariel Durant. Plus yet another bio of Che Guevara, A Revolutionary Life by Jon Lee Anderson, the nth book on the hero’s epic life that I am feeding on.
Trade books, to further enhance my craft, are must-read too. My daily reference is of course The Associated Press Stylebook and Briefing on Media Law and Strunk and White’s The Elements of Style.
Really outstanding read for an editorialist is Outrage, Passion & Uncommon Sense by Michael Gartner and the Newseum on How Editorial Writers Have Taken on The Great American Issues of the Past 150 Years.
And with elections coming, a great aide memoir for the spinmeister is What Orwell Didn’t Know subtitled Propaganda and the New Face of American Politics.
Great reads all these. Great finds there are – at bargain prices at that! – at Booksale.
There indeed is no excuse not to read. Summer, or not. Reading is one addiction that is prescribed to all. No age restriction.
So what have you been reading lately? FHM? Jesus!
