Reading has always brought me many fond memories. I remember my mother playing the cassette player to teach the alphabet and its phonetics. That built a firm foundation for me to pick up reading beginning with the Peter and Jane series. When I started reading, the genre of book I had in my hands did not matter. All I wanted to do was read; I developed a hunger for stories. On Sunday, I would read 2-3 books on Bible stories at my church’s library and borrow another 4 books. I was exposed to stories like Samson and Delilah, Daniel and the Lion’s Den, Abraham and Isaac and many more. Just like everyone else, the Enid Blyton Series was a staple together with books like the Mary-kate and Ashley Adventures, Russell Lee’s Singapore Ghost Stories and the light-hearted Singapore publication of The Bookworm Club. There was always a book fair in my school’s canteen when I was younger and would constantly ask my parents for money so that I could buy more books to add to my library. Somehow or rather, I disliked the Roald Dahl series due to the sketchy drawings on its covers. But I am determined to pick up a few of his books to find out why many have been drawn to his books. Other books I read were Oliver Twist, Robinson Crusoe, The Swiss Family Robinson, The Famous Five, The Hardy Boys and Agatha Christie’s short stories.
In secondary school, I started reading the Sweet Valley High Series and secretly dreamt that I would meet my soul mate. I liked reading romance, mystery novels and biographies in my teenage years. I also took a liking to non-fiction books like the ones about the Titanic, dinosaurs and history related texts – the rape of Nanking. I didn’t read as much in comparison to my primary school days as Chinese, Taiwanese, Hong Kong and Korean drama began occupying most of my time. As the work load in school increased, I felt that watching TV and films allowed me to swallow narratives faster with little use of my brain. However, this was when I became exposed to literature and books like Red Sky in the Morning, The Merchant of Venice and Macbeth. I realised that I loved ShakespeareJ However, the liking for the subject did not last as I didn’t have good teachers who could scaffold my learning and ignite the love for it. I left my secondary school days finding literature boring.
Thankfully things took a turn when I had to take up literature as part of my JC curriculum. My JC teachers, Mrs Razal and Mr Tim Dore, made me fall in love with literature. I was in awe of what I could learn and do with literature. Mrs Razal helped me developed skills in close reading while Mr Dore literally made the texts we studied come ALIVE! Out of all my literature texts I studied, I loved Brave New World, A Comedy of Errors, Silas Marner and A Handmaid’s Tale best. Books by Malcom Gladwell like Blink and The Tipping Point also became part of my reading library.
When I entered university, reading Literature was one of the best things that happened in my life. It is almost as if, I am indebted to it. All the books I read and lectures that came along with it opened up my eyes to the world. Reading literature broadened my worldview and taught me how to view things with different perspectives. As cliché as it may sound, the world never seemed the same again. However, it took me a year before I came to that conclusion. Being a Christian, I struggled trying to reconcile the things I was learning with my Christian belief. I felt that some things I learnt went against my belief system which I held very strongly to. But, I am very thankful for this process because it led me to read my Bible more, to know and affirm my beliefs. I have come out stronger and clearer about what I believe and stand form making this journey a very personal one. As such, I chose to write about God in relation to various texts I studied like Lycidas by John Milton, I.M.M Memorium by Alfred Tennyson. I also explored God’s place in The Canterbury Tales and its poignant closure in my Final Year Thesis which somehow reflected my own journey on earth. In university, I discovered my love for things of old; I love reading works from the medieval to the nineteenth century, especially those from the fourteenth century. I am fascinated by the language and the narratives which are hardly found in modern works. Here are other books I enjoyed: Gulliver’s Travel, Frankenstein, Metamorphosis, The Heart of Darkness, Love in the time of Cholera, The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Waiting for Godot, Jane Eyre, Lady Audley’s Secret, The Quiet American, An Idela Husband, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Benito Cereno and Beowulf.
Today, I feel that reading is a luxury. With more responsibilities in life, sitting in my cosy corner and reading throughout the afternoon seem almost impossible. Nowadays, I have to read on the bus and in between appointments which makes me feel a little sad. But I will never give up this hobby of mine nor let my passion for literature get snuffed out.
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