My weird reading habit
I started having this habit of reading several books at one time when I was in college. Silliman University had the biggest library in Asia during the early 90’s and the fact that my dormitory was just 3 minutes walk away made it easy for me to come visit it anytime I wanted to.
It was just a different world in there. Rows and rows of books on shelves beginning from floor to ceiling. It was amazing for me see. Three whole floors of plain reading materials. I was dumbfounded. It never occured to me that such a library existed. It was as big as the ampitheatre!!! I think even bigger.
I started being the typical borrower doing typical reading. Borrow a book, read it, return. That’s how it goes. But there were too many books and only 4 years of study. I began hoarding books. Students were allowed to borrow up to a dozen books at a time and believe me, I always had a dozen book written on my "borrow card". In my room there were 4 piles of books classified as books "just borrowed", "reading now", "to be continued", and "to be returned". It was always a mess in my study table(it was too small to begin with anyway), and my bed( which was just a little bigger than my study table). All those books borrowed and magazines bought classified into what I call an " organized mess ". Within my area I called home while in Silliman, books always surrounded me. Literally!! In the confines of my room, within the organized mess that I managed to attain, was a small clearing on my bed. A space just enough for me to curl up in everynight when I finally can’t prevent my eyes from closing. Reading had been an escape for me. Then and now. It’s a way for me to get away from it all. It’s the fastest and cheapest way to do so. This weird reading habit of mine was my coping mechanism, a way for me to wait things out. Throughout my life, I’ve discovered that sound judgement is rarely done in haste. That patience is indeed a virtue.
Right now I am reading 4 books. All providing inspiration for me. The main book that I’m reading now is "All Things Made New by John Ferraby"," Created Rich by Patrick Barker", "DayBreak By Christine Kurzius-Krug" and "House of Bush, House of Saud by Craig Unger". The first 3 books are all Baha’i books, thus very inspirational for me. And the last book was lent to me by my friend Melrose Oquendo-Tan, this book is purely for entertainment.
Each book has it’s own character, that’s why I prefer reading many books at a time. When I’m in a dark mood I read All things Made New. When I’m in a dilemma, I read "Created Rich" Or "Daybreak", when I’m ecstatic, I read my prayer book, just to say "thank you", and when bored I’ll pick the "House of Bush, House of Saud". It’s pretty simple, I have a book in every mood and I’m really not in a hurry to finish reading a book. I believe that books should be enjoyed. The pleasure is in reading it. Not in finishing it. Though back in college, this weird reading habit started because of my impatience, today it’s my method in gaining patience. Nice no?
