5 Things I Read This Week
Week 09/13 - 09/19
Published Sep 19 · 3 min readTable of Contents
Illustration by The Atlantic. Source: Wordsworth EditionsA few things I read this week that I thought was worth sharing:
1. Sometimes you just plant the tree by Solarpunk World
A future that sounds impossible, but a little thing called hope says it can be so. What does your ideal future look like?
2. Why I No Longer Read [Modern] Fantasy by E. Morgan
I mostly disagree with the author of this article but I think it’s still worth sharing.
I’m not a big Sanderson fan but I’ve read a few books in the Mistborn series and a few books on the Stormlight Archive. While Vin and Kaladin are characters that can only exist in the magical world that Sanderson has built, I still think their problems translate to the real world. If it didn’t, there wouldn’t be a story.
Even though the SFF genre is widely regarded as the genre to escape reality, at the end of the day the stories resonate because there is humanity in them and we find a reflection of us between the pages and the prose.
3. Malaya, Maharlika, and why the Filipino saga matters by Rexy
Decolonize your imagination.
This is a Malaya promotional piece but also a reminder that Filipino fiction matters, and how decolonizing your imagination is the most important thing you can do for Philippine arts and literature.
4. The End of Reading is Here by Rose Horowitch
A brief history and the emerging decline of literacy in America and what a postliterate society looks like. Lots of interesting facts, research, and statistics. Even though this is written with America in mind, I think it translates well to the current Filipino literacy and political climate (why voters choose leaders who seem populist instead of those who can demonstrate their expertise through writing and reasoning).
Looking at the history, the rise of short form content in platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube is not the first disruption or threat to the art and practice of reading and writing. There was the newspaper, then the television and televised news, then there were podcasts and audiobooks—these all changed the collective people’s habits and attitude towards reading and writing.
“Now that being a reader is optional, it can function as an identity marker. When you see someone on the train reading printed matter, it feels like a statement.” — Is that why there’s a trend of people thinking reading in public is performative?
5. Anne Rice vs. Fanfiction by The Book Baddie Diaries
A brief history of Anne Rice’s plight against fanfiction and fandom.
I’ve been reading fanfiction since I was in my early teens (mostly Glee, every time the writers didn’t give my favorite lesbian enough screen time) and I didn’t always know how most traditions and fandom culture came about. I kinda just took them as they are.
I didn’t know this piece of lore existed, but I had fun reading about it!