“Growing up in Texas, Jesus, and football were the only gods that mattered. And while I learned to enjoy football despite being terrible at it, the whole Jesus thing never made a lot of sense to me. Jesus was alive, but then he died, but then he was alive again, then he died again. And he was a man, but he was also God, and now he’s a kind of man-god-spirit thing that loves everyone eternally…” - Mark Manson, “Everything Is F*cked: A Book About Hope”
BUYING a book because of its title is kind of “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” That’s exactly what happened with Mark Manson’s “The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fck” and “Everything is Fcked.”
Yes, it’s the “f*ck” there—made them sound interesting. This must be the result of reading Harold Robbins’ books during our high school days. Haha.
Bookworms are usually found inside bookstores, always browsing, always looking for interesting titles, book covers, and spines. Meaning, a good read may not be discovered if it has a boring title, book cover, or spine.
I used to read book reviews and note down the titles and authors of books that I might like. But the book reviewer’s gauge for a good read was sometimes not the same as mine. I’ve learned to visit a bookstore without knowing what will catch my attention this time.
I usually read a book months or even years after buying it, no thanks to my tsundoku habit. Tsundoku is the Japanese word for “buying books and not reading them.” It’s possible that by the time I’m finally reading the book, it doesn’t resonate with me anymore. Marie Kondo said that my need for a particular book was on the day of purchase and not months or years later. That’s why there’s her advice to keep only the 30 books that truly spark joy.
This goal of choosing the books that spark joy will always be a work in progress. Some books that I decided to keep last year, are now in the “give” box. Mostly books about diets and emotional eating—I can’t relate to them anymore.
Each of us is also a work in progress. My only constants have been my love for reading and writing. Everything else keeps on changing, most especially my age.
But the ones that can “relate na relate” with constant changes are the Transformers.
If “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts” is still showing at theaters near you, go watch it with some popcorn and diet soda because it’s a popcorn movie—fun to watch, with no drama. My favorite is still Bumblebee. Years ago, I thought it was because of his color. Yeah, those were the days. Now, it’s because he’s cute. The only yellow I love nowadays is my sunflower clay earrings.
Political candidates can also be Transformers as they change political colors while morphing from Autobots during the campaign season to Decepticons once they win. Such a plot can be entertaining in movies but disastrous in real life. And just in case this “Transformers” scenario is not crazy enough, there’s the barangay official who lives in another barangay. Hmmm.
