IMAGINING MYSELF IN AN INTERVIEW by Brooklyn Book Festival

In the last five years, I had been following the BKBF and one of the things I really wanted is to be interviewed because they usually make the author reveal the start of their love for books. Here, I adapted the questions fielded to one author. One Caveat, BKBF has no participation in this post and I used their banner and questions as an inspiration of this post. Had there been no pandemic, I would have been there to join them September last year. I am looking forward to joining BKBF in the future.

The BKBF Interview: Gerlie Uy

The BKBF Interview kicks off this week with author Gerlie Uy. This weekly series of Q&As features some of this year’s Festival authors. BKBF interviews Gerlie Uy, author of Framed Words, Specks,  and most recently Guilty Your Humor, My Proofs Beyond Reasonable Doubt. 

Where is your favorite place to read and why?
Usually, I read in my bed which takes in natural light in the morning and has good lighting fixture for reading in the evening. 

Who made reading important to you?
Wanting. Growing up in the 80s in the Philippines means less reading materials so I grab anything I can read. Luckily, my mother allowed me to skim books even if it meant tearing them up. I think that fortified my relationship with books. By highschool, my mother, who is not a reader herself, allowed me to read her social work pamphlets with topics from stds to raising goats and monitoring growth of babies. So, I think wanting (in two sense, lacking and desiring) made reading important to me.

What’s the last book that had you reading past your bedtime?
I just finished the trilogy of Yuval Noah Harari consisting of Sapiens, Homo Deus and Lessons in the 21st Century. He made very relevant and interesting philosophical and political arguments using history, science and technology. 21st century is embracing a global village so it needs new mindset, one that improves on from the past. I'm waiting for his other book on Money in the mail. 

Tell us your best book-receiving experience.
My mother and sister went to Manila and when asked for a pasalubong, I requested for The Hunchback of Notre Dame. I think that was my first pretty book because it is new which I can call my own. 

What books are currently piled in your “To Be Read” stack … and where can the stack be found in your home?
Usually, I wanted my TBR to be near me but since we had a family gathering recently, I was forced to clear up the spaces. Now, they're In the shelf beside my bed, under the printer table and on my giant bookshelf by the stairs.