11 - My Hobby

Hobby: Reading Light Novels

            Ever since the start of my new school life, there is one hobby that I’ve developed and it seems that I’ve become an E-bookworm of sorts, because I’ve been reading webnovels whenever I have free time. Although this may not be all that bad since it even improves my skills in the English language, the problem lies in the fact that even while commuting, I couldn’t help but read! Whether this is a good or bad hobby, well, you can write about it in the comments section. :-)

Before I discovered light novels, I’ve only ever read short stories that interested me in my elementary and high school English books. One of the stories I remember is “The 51^st Dragon”, which is about Gawain Le Coeur Hardy and his legendary dragon slaying skills, but unfortunately, it was implied that he was killed by the 51^st dragon he encountered. Funny story right? Another one I remember is a short story entitled, “Creation of the World”. It seems this was the English translated version of the story about Malakas and Maganda. I assume you already know the story so I’m not going to summarize it for you. Haha!

Anyway, there were many more of those stories I read when I was 10 or so, but I’ve never really touched on long stories such as novels until now. I think it started when I was so bored I got nothing else to do (I guess everything starts at such times. XD) At that time, I was still living in the province, so I don’t have constant internet connection. Even when I do purchase load for my Smart Bro, the speed won’t even surpassed 100 kbps. I was staring at the ceiling thinking of things to do. I could have played computer games, but it seems I was bored of that too. It just so happened that I remember passing some romance   E-book files from my brother’s girlfriend’s hard drive. So with nothing better to do, I started reading the files mentioned. Who would have thought that I would keep reading it until late at night? I guess reading stimulated my brain in a way that is different from playing games. That feeling of experiencing something new must have been what kept me reading that long, even if it was a romantic novel full with cheesy lines. By the way, the title of the E-book was “Diary ng Panget”, a fairly famous novel by Ate Denny. It was such an amazing story that I immediately became a fan of Ate Denny. Haha! I recommend you this piece if the time comes that you have nothing to do. Also, this is accessible in wattpad.com, so just type away and start reading! Right after reading my blog of course. XD

I read many more romance genre novels after that. But some time later, I ran out of interesting novels to read. It so happens at that at that time, I was moving from Leyte to Manila, where I live now. A gigantic difference I would like to point out is that I now have unlimited access to the internet. Hurray! With it, I can watch animes, see posts on 9gag, and check my facebook whenever I want to. Moreover, it was summer break, so I have all the time in the world! With that, I deviated a little from pure reading and I got interested in manga. It was no less interesting than reading a novel since all images are provided. I read a lot of manga, ranging from various genres like mystery, action, and comedy. Some of my favorites are “One-punch Man”, “Tower of God”, “Combat Continent”, and “My Hero Academia”. I highly recommend these manga, Especially "One-punch Man". You'll definitely laugh your guts off. XD It is truly a work of art!

           Even though I’m reading a lot of manga, none of them are complete stories and once I reach the latest chapter, I have to wait for more updates then. Since I’m a patient man, I didn’t mind waiting. But I didn’t want to do nothing while waiting for those good manga to update, that’s why I searched for more interesting manga. This one manga led me to a path that would need a lot of willpower to get away from. A path of endless literary pleasure that made my brain burst forth with imagination! This manga’s title is “Mushoku Tensei: Isekai Ittara Honki Dasu”, translating to English, it means, "Unemployed Reincarnation, I'll Do My Best When I go to a Different World". This is a story about a Japanese guy who lived a useless life until he was 35. At the funeral of his parents, he stayed in his room cooped up without a shred of care to the outside world. Because of that, he was pathetically driven away from his house by his own family. With nowhere to go, he wandered as the chilling air invaded his body. After some time, he saw some people arguing in the middle of the street. At the far back, away from the notice of the group, a speeding truck could be seen. Without thinking, he rushed in to push the three or so people away from the street, which in turn caused him to become nothing more than a desecrated pile of meat. Yes, he died. He thought he’d never wake up again, but mysteriously, he felt like he could open his eyes. When he did, an unfamiliar place appeared in his sight. He was unable to move and thought that he was in a coma. But then, he saw a kind-looking lady lift his tiny arms so he can see them. It turns out that he was reborn to a different world where magic, monsters, and fairy tales exist. Henceforth, he was known as Rudeus Greyrat! Amazing story right? If it interested you, you should start reading it right away! (But please finish my blog first. ok?) 

The manga itself is fresh with only 5 chapters available. Upon reading the comments, I learned that this is only a light novel adaption. And the light novel is approaching completion. If I start reading now, I’ll just be in time for the finale. So without hesitation, I started reading the light novel at baka-tsuki.org. They are a group of translators that translate webnovels of other languages to English, so as to share them to the whole world. Honestly, they are good guys. If I get the chance to learn to read other language, I’d like to contribute. :-)

Anyway, that single light novel was only my starting point. After finishing such a long fulfilling journey with Rudeus Greyrat, I wanted to read more! After which I discovered a lot of other webnovels such as The Legendary Moonlight Sculptor, Coiling Dragon, Stellar Transformations, The Rise of the Shield Hero, Martial God Asura and many more! 

THEY ARE ALL AMAZING STORIES!!!! Unknown to me at that time, I’ve become addicted. Whether it is good or bad, time can only tell. Or maybe you my dear readers.

Anyway, I just wanted to share my hobby to you. But since its been too long and I think I’ve said more enough, I would just like to squeeze in some encouragement for you to read the novels that I’ve mentioned. I can assure you that It will neither waste your time nor make you regret doing it. Furthermore, it is also a method to increase your vocabulary and learn to write more creatively. With that, I bid you farewell. G’bye! :-)