Well, as a seventeen-year-old, I don’t possess an endless inventory of books to boast on. But amongst the few that I had the opportunity to experience, a few of them are stories I still hold close to my heart. They encouraged me to read more, to write more, and to be a better version of myself. So let me commence.

So, the earliest books I read were, most probably, the textbooks of my lower classes; But we only have to analyse fiction. In that case, I assume it was the children’s magazines that my parents bought me. As time passed by, the entire magazines transformed into continuous reads completed without a halt; I could never control my fascination to know more.

Then, after years of waiting, the school administrators permitted us to access our school library. It was a dream come true; The place was described as paradise by my sisters, who received the permission a few years back. However, the opening days were not as bountiful as I hoped it would be. We could only read the small books allotted to us by our librarian, Sophie Miss. But a few months later, after more than adequate persuasion, we were granted the liberty to choose books on our own.

Most of my peers were not into reading those days, but I was, maybe more than I should have been. My visits to the library became more and more frequent; So that I even made friends with Miss Sophie. After a few books, whose titles I can’t quite recollect, I discovered the Magic Tree House series by Marie Pope Osborne. It grabbed me so tight, that I read all the books in the series, available in our library, back to back, until no more were available.

The series was so compelling. The stories portrayed Jack and Annie, two siblings, who travelled to other timelines, dimensions, past, future, other planets and all, when they entered, well, the Magic Tree House. There were a lot more intriguing plots as the series advanced, but unfortunately, I never was able to obtain all of them. Those books were also a lot informative; That was also one of the reasons behind my love for them.

But then, I reached back to the enigma, where I no longer knew how to recommence. I did find some interesting books, whose names I don’t remember but, one of them had a Lord Sparr as the antagonist. It was then I unearthed the one and only, the great Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The adventures of Holmes and Watson carried me forward for a long era, but in the end, I had to bid farewell to 221 B Baker Street as well.

Then, my mind swirled onto other detective novels. I read some works by Agatha Christy, moved on to the Hardy Boys and even reached out to Nancy Drew in the end. But, crime and punishment were having its toll approaching. Afterwards, I finished the Diary Of A Wimpy Kid series which I somehow found quite interesting. And ultimately, I ascertained which fantasy realm was beckoning me aboard from the bookshelves, which I now knew like my palm; I successfully became a Potterhead.

JK Rowling and her characters from the World of Wizardry, particular regards to Sirius Black, bestowed me with a seven-book long broom ride, from where I got irrevocably expelled in the end. The spell was considerably powerful that I could never return to the fantasy genre anytime soon. Outside Hogwarts, it was indeed Albus Dumbledore himself who revealed me the route I could follow next, to my favourite novelist of all time, Mr Dan Brown.

Dan Brown is one of the finest authors, whose books I was extremely fortunate to have discovered. His novels are one of the main reasons I began my writing journey. The amount of research and effort he put into each book has always amused me. He is such a dedicated writer with one of those extraordinary bestselling collection ever, from Angels and Demons and The Lost Symbol to Deception Point and Da Vinci Code, each one of them is a masterpiece finely crafted by this dedicated man, who I respect. His works are so vivid and enlightening so that we can immerse in all those sequences. We could close our eyes to escape into this exciting world that he designs while sticking close to our reality.

After I finished all his books, I did read some other novels; But none of them could capture my spirit like Brown’s. The adventures with the Cambridge professor, Mr Robert Langdon are the ones I would never be able to forget in my life.

Well, that’s where I stand presently in my reading journey. I have not reached anywhere, I have such a long distance to travel, and I will continue running until I can no more.

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When I browsed some comments, I felt like I was presenting some sinister version of our library. But never, it was one of the best spots in my life. And it wasn't just books that made my adventures in the library special. Most of my treasured teenage memories were born there. A lot of fun, a lot of laughs, a lot of crying, talking, chattering, sneaking, it was so good. I miss it so badly.

There is some happy news. I found a batch of a hundred people who actually like the things I write. Thank you so much for the support, guys. I could never have done any of this without you guys. Thank you, thanks a lot!

#nonfiction

Novels appeal to me so much since high school, where I started reading this genre as a part of the home reading assignment (HRA). And to my amazement, through the text-heavy and almost non-existent pictures in the novels lie a wonderfully crafted story.

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Saying my favorite book(s) will reveal part of my identity, as I like the two novels of Jose Rizal. Yes, I am a Filipino, and the wonderful story and connections presented between Noli Me Tangere (Touch Me Not) and El Filibusterismo (The Filibuster) is what motivates me to read those books.

They were required to be read during my second and third (which is where I am today) year of high school. When I first read Noli Me Tangere, I didn't understand it much because of its text-heavy pages, together with the deep usage of Filipino.

But with my teacher's help and an app he uses to teach it, I understood the novel little by little until I finished it in the 63rd chapter. Since I borrowed a copy of El Filibusterismo this quarantine, I had read it until I also finished it in the 39th chapter.

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El Filibusterismo is actually a sequel of Noli Me Tangere, where Crisostomo Ibarra, who lost his riches and his sweetheart Maria Clara after a false accusation of rebellion in Noli Me Tangere, returns to the Philippines under the identity of Simoun.

As a rich jeweler and a close friend of the Captain-General, he helped "rotten" the government to the core and plans to get revenge to those who made him lost everything years before. However, his plan fails, and he dies in the house of a Filipino priest.

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Well, there you have it. Thanks to high school, I had enjoyed the well-crafted stories that hid under those text-heavy books.