The Prodigal Bibliophile
I will be the first to admit that the title is a bit paradoxical. Prodigal pertains to “profuse or wasteful expenditure”, and for yours truly, spending money on books isn’t wasteful expenditure. In fact, books are some of the best items a person can invest in, both in terms of material and immaterial value.
Maybe the analogy I’m gunning for here is with the Prodigal Son — I, a former bookhound, have now been fully restored to being a bibliophile. Or so I declare.
The descent to near-dyslexia (like many things I write, an exaggeration) was the descent to programming and a college lifestyle that didn’t allow much time for reading. Back in UP, my days had a rehearsed, monotonous cadence — study code, write code, do student org stuff, play video games, exercise, fall sick. Towards the end of my four years, I even managed to squeeze in blogging, which scooped up the littlest remaining time for books.
The ascent to near-bibliomania (which might not be an exaggeration) was the ascent that began last November, when I bought my first books in almost a year. The buying spree gained steam this January, with the addition of three expensive books.
What I failed to write here on this journal for the past six months — February to July — is that I’ve acquired 25 new books. The count would’ve been much higher, if I hadn’t conserved my cash in March and April. And the count will be much, much higher before the year ends, that I can assure my wailing wallet.
The thing I’m loving about this ‘prodigal bibliophile’ pa-uso is that with every book that I buy and finish, the desire to buy more and read more amplifies. It’s good that this coincides with the recent developments in my literary ‘journey’ (Philippine Star-LIRA- Komiks.ph), and better that it tells me: The resurrection is complete, and the phoenix that is my love for books has risen once again.
