Guilty?

I've always had a love affair with books. Growing up outside the Philippines was probably meant to be ... it nurtured a love for books with the school library providing full access to whatever I wanted to read.

I used to have the longest bookworm in grade school. I’d gobble up my lunch to go to the library and lose myself in stories. My greatest dream then was to be locked up in a library. But somehow, I’d lost touch with my book friends and I wanted to make their reacquaintance. So I started up my first reading blog to keep track of what I'd been reading at aloireads (now defunct).

Reading in the Philippines was always a huge guilt trip because there are no public libraries. So I ended up having to borrow or buy books. I scoured secondhand bookstores, though the need to dig deep and dusty. And I begged people to lend me their books. Later, I Bookmooched them.

But then again, the money spent on a brand new book was very near the cost of a nice dinner out for three. Or a dress or two. Or a few days worth of groceries. The cost sure does put a damper on book buying.

Bibliophile? Guilty. 

The time has come to start a new blog. Where guiltless reading is possible. Where public libraries abound.

One of the first things I did when I got to this new city, this new country ... was to get my library card.


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