When reading is a pleasure (1) By Gemma Cruz Araneta Published: August 1, 2013 Book worms like me have been distracted by a wealth of information so conveniently available on line. You can now own 30,000 books that do not occupy an inch of space because these can be virtually stacked in an electronic pad no bigger than your hand bag. There was a time when I had to burrow through mounds of books just to confirm a historical date or get the full name of a Filipino hero. How amazing that the youngest members of my family now conjure all that information with a single click and make it disappear just as quickly, before heaps of pulp clutter vacant corners of the house. Despite the awesome efficiency of an electronic book, it leaves me cold. Books should be touched, I believe, caressed, and taken to bed. I like scribbling marginal notes; I am elated when books have cryptic dedications written with a fountain pen and in script, indelible reminders of those endearing moments when the precious tome was offered. I have a mania for real books, have continued accumulating them, enjoying not only their content but also their inexplicable tactile allure. One such pleasurable book is the literally heavyweight and luxuriously bound Under the Stacks, a title I could not quite figure out until its author, Saul Hofllena Jr, explained it to me. Hofilena is a practicing lawyer and professor of criminal and international law in the San Beda College. His compañeros are probably unaware of Atty. Saul’s secret passion for collecting primary source materials about Philippine history, rare manuscripts and vintage books, excavated artifacts, paintings and art works of famous Filipino masters from centuries past and National Artists of the present. There are other Filipinos stricken with this non-toxic malady of collecting, but Atty. Hofilena is not merely acquisitive; he also reads, analyzes, and interprets what he collects. His first book was pulled out from “under the stacks” of precious documents, rare photographs, and illustrations he is sharing with us. Frankly, I expected Under the Stacks to be unreadable because lawyers are verbose and known for incomprehensible “legalese.” Admittedly, I had judged the book by his avowed profession (not by its dust jacket) and am happy to be proven wrong. (ggc1898@gmail)
Posted on: Wed, 31 Jul 2013 21:23:21 +0000