Read or die!

MANILA, Philippines - Young people don’t read anymore — at least that’s the common sentiment. Not when they’re busy fiddling around on their iPads. Not when they’re glued to their laptop screens. And not when they’re tweeting 140-character nuggets about how much they hate Anne Hathaway.

But we’d argue that young people have never read more and more diverse things than right now. The Internet’s hitting us with a torrent of information at previously unheard-of speeds. And as far as changing mediums go, they can be a boon instead of a bane to reading.

It’s all about perspective. You could argue that we’ve never had more opportunities and ways to read than now. You can read Ender’s Game on your cellphone, the latest GQ on your iPad, and any New York Times article ever on their site (well, provided you pay a fee). If anything, the world’s opening up into one big library we’re free to pursue our interests in.

For this week’s issue, we’re posing a kind of challenge — in a world where any text is accessible, challenge yourself to read the best. From our in-house Palanca awardee Luis Katigbak writing about the essential Filipino fictionists (Page G-2) to Marga Buenaventura writing about 10
“hard reads” every one should at least attempt, we’ve got your summer reading lists lined up. On the cusp of summer break, clear some space in your beach bag (or iPad) for some nourishing summer reads.