Jean's Reading Biography

When I was as a child, I like to re-read my books and immerse myself in the world of the characters. I used to own many fairytales and I would re-read them and pretend that I am the main female character in the book. I remember there was one time when I was hooked on “Cinderella”, I constantly bugged my mother to buy me a pair of glass slippers. There was another time when I was absorbed by “Rapunzel”, I told my mother that I did not want to cut my hair because I need to grow it long for my prince.

Like most of my classmates, when I was in Primary School, I enjoyed reading Roald Dahl’s books, Enid Btyton’s books, Francine Pascal’s Sweet Valley series, The Adventures of Mary-Kate and Ashley and the Bookworm series. As I was quite free during my Primary School days, I remembered I was able to re-read most of my books. I certainly missed those days when I could read books repeatedly without getting bored.

However, when I entered Secondary School, movies, k-pop and dramas took over my life. I didn’t read as much when compared to my Primary School days. I felt that movies and dramas could enable to give me narratives faster. Unlike most of my peers, I did not read the Harry Potter series because I felt that the movies provided me a better visualization of the story. Nonetheless, I did not stop reading totally. I still read romance novels and biographies. Reading still provides a platform where I can imagine and escape reality.

Reading finally took a change when I entered university. I started reading wider varieties of books from different genres. I remember hating Charles Dickens when I was younger because his books are very thick and boring. However, my university professors helped me to change my views about him and I start to appreciate his works more. Although reading was a chore during university due to the enormous amount of readings to do, I was glad that I picked up books from the different genres. I enjoy reading plays and dramas, especially absurdist dramas written by playwrights such as Beckett, Pinter, Stoppard and Pirandello. I feel that such plays allow me to put in lots of hypothetical thoughts that I enjoy very much. Reading in university trained me to read widely; regardless if I enjoy the topic, think more critically and see things in wider perspectives. Through university, I’ve also learned the importance of reading because films alone cannot provide us the same “richness” that texts contain.

Now that I’ve graduated from university, I’m quite sad that I cannot find much time to read. I missed the times when I had the luxury of re-reading my texts. I hope that I will still be able to set aside time to read widely and share the love of reading with my students in future.