Fil-Am writer Jia Tolentino on fame, social media, the climate crisis, and more

Filipino-American writer Jia Tolentino did not expect her debut book "Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-Delusion" to make it to the top two of The New York Times Best Seller list this year, besting former first lady Michelle Obama’s book at one point.

At an early age, all that Jia wanted to do was write.

So write, she did, building quite the CV.

At present, the 30-year old essayist is a staff writer for renowned weekly magazine The New Yorker, based in the US. Previously, she was the deputy editor of Jezebel and a contributing editor of The Hairpin.

Jia’s raw, insightful and honest writing style has been compared to American essayist Joan Didion’s works. She is also recognized by the literary community as one of the voices of the millennial generation.

During her 48-hour trip to the Philippines during her book tour, she attended a book signing event and interacted with fans at National Bookstore, SM Aura Premier, on Wednesday afternoon.

Jia Tolentino had a book signing event on Wednesday. Photo: Angelica Y. Yang

Here are the six quotable quotes from this talented and gifted millennial writer.

1. On social media

“So, I've been writing on the internet for my short career. One thing that I try to think about a lot is that, the internet can — there's an asymmetry to the internet. We all of a sudden, live in this new — social media has created a new thing, where we live. We would be visible to our communities, right? Now, we can be visible to an unlimited amount of people and that, basically, it's like I'm breathing through a slightly magnified version of what everyone on social media is living through, where you are potentially visible to basically an unlimited amount of strangers.

2. On fame

“I don't wanna get famous from [starring in a reality TV show]. If I ever get famous, I wanna get famous for writing a book."

3. On writing

“You can't count on anyone reading you. You can't count on anyone liking it. All you can count on is the sense of fun and fulfillment you can create for yourself. I started writing, never thinking that I would ever be able to be paid for it. All that I focused on was entertaining myself.”

4. On uncovering secrets

“For me, one that helps is that I'm extremely open, like to a fault. I will like talk to [a] stranger [in a bar] and within five minutes, I will know that stranger's deepest secret and he'll probably know mine. I like to know things about people, which is why I like journalism. I'm also very open. I'm not that self-conscious.”

Jia at the book signing event on Wednesday. Photo: Angelica Y. Yang

5. On solving climate change

“There are no individual solutions to collective problems, right? And the biggest problems we face, is climate change, right? [It’s] something that really unites the entire world....there is literally no [solution]. I can be like, ‘Oh we should use reusable plastic...but that's not going to do anything.’

"I just hate the thing, where writers will write about structural problems and then give you a five-point, to-do list that will make you feel like it's solvable. We're not going to get out of this with like, ‘Here's the individual solution, right?’ The only way out of this problem is a massive, massive collective structural change, right?

6. On being dubbed as the 'voice of the millennial generation'

“I try to not let the internet, or publishing a book make me think that, I am like a 'voice of the generation.' I basically shut my ears to that. It's incredibly ridiculous. There are so many amazing writers in this generation writing amazing things. I actually think that people have said that, mostly because I write about capitalism. I think, one thing that unites what it is to be a millennial is this feeling that our systems — capitalism, being prominent among them — are becoming fully unsustainable. I write about that feeling a lot. I think that that's the only reason that people have said that, not because of anything about me.” — LA, GMA News

Jia Tolentino’s debut book Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-Delusion is available at a discounted price of P700, instead of P895, until December 1, 2019, in selected National Bookstore branches, and online.