I can’t remember a time when, if faced with difficulty, there wasn’t a book that could offer me some kind of solace. My love for books started at a young age. Without a lot of distractions, I found I could escape the four corners of my walls simply by turning a page.
I still remember the first book that transported me, Hubble Bubble by John Patience. It’s a collection of stories, but the one that stayed with me was about a little girl who never quite felt like she belonged and a neighbour who happened to be a witch. With her help, the girl slowly finds her place and learns that being different is not something to fix, but something to live with a little more bravely. Looking back, it’s one of the stories that opened the door to every other world I would fall in love with after.
So this National Book Week, I’m celebrating the five books I would gladly forget, just to read all over again for the first time.
1.“If one does not master one’s circumstances, one is bound to be mastered by them.”
I begin every year with Amor Towles’ A Gentleman in Moscow. Count Rostov may be confined to a hotel, but he builds a life rich in connection, routine and small joys. It’s a reminder that grace is a choice and that richness has nothing to do with wealth, but with how we live quietly and kindly with others.
2. “Those in the wrong just keep on going if those in the right have nothing to say.”
A Book of Whys by Gianni Rodari is something I share with my little one. It treats children’s questions with the seriousness they deserve. Their curiosity cuts through the world in ways adults forget, and this book nudges me to answer with earnest honesty instead of convenience.
3. “The truth is the thing I invented so I could live.”
Nicole Krauss’ The History of Love is a story of love, part mystery, part moving on. It weaves together an old man, a lost manuscript, and a girl named after a character in that very book. It’s the kind of book you hug after reading, because it feels like letting go of someone you’ve just met and already care about.
3. “You should employ those little grey cells.”
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd was the first book I ever read by Agatha Christie and it sparked my love for mystery. I was ten when I fished this book out of the buy-one-take-one bin from National Book Store. I still remember racing through the pages and the thrill of finding out who the killer was. It taught me to notice the small things and enjoy being completely fooled by a clever twist.
5. “A whole minute of bliss! Is that really so little for the whole of a man’s life?”
This line from Fyodor Dostoevsky’s White Nights stayed with me long after I closed the book. It’s about a lonely dreamer who spends four nights walking and talking with a young woman, falling in love even though their story is brief. I wasn’t a fan of his ramblings at first, but now that I’m older, his sentimentality is what gets me. It reminds me to celebrate what is good and pure, and to treasure even the shortest moments of joy.
Bonus
Nick Joaquin’s Pop Stories for Groovy Kids — the entire Pop Groove series — is my forever doorway into fantasy. From Lilit Bulilit to Elang Uling, those stories made ordinary streets and old houses feel magical. They were my first taste of how Filipino stories could hold wonder, and they’re a big part of why I got really hooked on fantasy in the first place.
So as we celebrate National Book Week, maybe this is your sign to pick up a book that once comforted you, or to finally try that story you have been saving for “when life is less busy.” Visit a library, browse a shelf, read with a child, or swap favourites with a friend. Somewhere out there is a story that will feel like home right when you need it most.
What are the books that changed your life?
