from a bookworm to a worm who reads to me now

All I remembered was that, growing up, I had my own room. And in my own room, I had my own bookshelf. And on my bookshelf, I had tons and tons of books that my parents happily surround me with once they realise that I devour books on a regular basis. I love reading as a child, I adore reading. I read while waiting, I read while I eat and I also read while in the toilet when the book is too exciting. The reason is very much cliche, but it is a reason that I'm sure many will agree with. Reading affords one the luxury of entering a multitude of worlds. And so I travelled. I travelled from the cutesy world of Little Men and Little Miss series by Roger Hargraves (my favourite is Little Miss Chatterbox!!) to the Ladybird series and then, to the amazing worlds that Enid Blyton has created. From the Faraway Tree series (can you imagine climbing a tree to visit many many exciting lands that just come and go?! It still fascinates me), to the Famous Five, to the Secret Seven, to the Naughtiest Girl series and to Malory Towers among others. I love Blyton's books, including her usual short-stories version. Oh, and not forgetting Mr Pink-whistle series!!! He was funny and whimsical and cheeky and I remember re-reading the series plenty of times without feeling bored. 

From Blyton, I progressed to Roald Dahl's heart-warming with twisted humour stories such as Matilda, The Witches, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I also read Carolyn Keene's Nancy Drew series (Nancy is so cool! But I never made it to the Hardy Boys), Ann M. Martin's Babysitters Club series and for awhile, I was pretty amused by Tintin comics. Also.. I must confess that I have read Sandra Brown's books in my upper primary years. Brown introduced me to my first adult-detective stories so I was pretty drawn into her world and yet I remember feeling discomforted by certain aspects of her books (okay I'm sure you know what I mean) so I tend to skip those pages because I always feel confused by the graphic imagery. 

At the same time, when I was 9 years old, my then-best friend introduced me to Harry Potter. I remember thinking, "What is this Harry Potter? He sounds like a chef." And wow, was I so far off from the truth. From that first book of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone I was hooked. I raced through the series in excitement and when Rowling was still penning them, I waited eagerly and was all ready to pre-order my Harry Potter books! I still read the series every now and then sometimes, because the world that Rowling has created is too magical and detailed and exhilarating for just one read. Also, whenever I read them, I realise that I will pick up new details that I may have overlooked in the past. 

In secondary school, I remember feeling excited for Literature because I thought that Literature is a subject that is about reading. I was somewhat right in my assumption. What I did not know was that literature will equip me with a critical eye for reading, to realise the significance between the lines, to draw meaningful connections across the plot. And so, I kept devouring books. I read Animal Farm and Roald Dahl's short stories anthology in Sec 1, followed by Roll of Thunder Hear my Cry and Clay Marble in Sec 2. I was quite affected by the issues brought up by my Sec 2 books, I felt quite frustrated and sad when I read because, how can there be so much unfairness in this world? And how can people be so mean? In my upper sec years, I read Shakespeare's Macbeth (unsex me here!!! well, not really) and the anthology A Sense of Belonging. Among the many short stories within, I find Ray Bradbury's A Sound of Thunder to be the most compelling. I remember, in the few days after reading the story, I kept imagining how my every little movement will affect some other epic movement in this world. My imagination kept running. 

Apart from my Literature texts, I was reading outside of school too. Still drawn to mysteries and thrillers, I was introduced to Sidney Sheldon by my tutor who was an avid Sheldon fan. I had a phase in which I read mostly those Mills & Boons kind of romances (don't judge guys, no hate!) before getting tired of the same storyline of women in corsets and guys who appeared out of nowhere and ravished these ladies often in the middle of nowhere. Later, (thankfully), I discovered Terry Pratchett's Discworld series which kept me entertained and I literally laughed out loud while reading Pratchett because it was too ridiculously good and witty. A good friend introduced me to Haruki Murakami's books too and I was drawn to his enigmatic style of writing which seems to talk about everything and nothing. However, I would like to re-read them again because I think, I may have been too young to fully appreciate Murakami's writing. I was also a fan of Nicholas Sparks with A Walk to Remember being my favourite and Message in a Bottle at a close second, and of Jodi Picoult, with My Sister's Keeper being my favourite one. 

While in JC, I read John Webster's Duchess of Malfi, Juno and the Peacock plays, Wilfred Owen's war poetry (dulce et decorum est pro patria mori!), Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby and Dickens' Great Expectations. I had an awesome teacher at JC whose name is Mr Ho. I love the way he guides our critical thinking, pushing us with a constant "so what?" till we reach an insightful point. It was tiring but well worth it. And I enjoy the feeling when the understanding dawns upon you and you get the significance of what you read. I was particularly moved by The Great Gatsby and Great Ex and these have become some of my favourite books. Outside of school, I was now reading adventure thriller stories like that of Matthew Reilly's Jack Reacher series or his individual books and Dan Brown's. I enjoy stories with a mix of adventure, thriller and a dash of twisted history. I think that here, I was already vaguely aware that I was reading lesser because of the lack of time. 

When I reach NUS, I felt overwhelmed by the amount of books that was on our reading list. I realised that I was incapable of reading anything more beyond the reading list and when the holidays came around, I was tired from the many readings during the semester. I concluded that, perhaps my love for reading was not enough. Despite that, I enjoyed the books that I read at uni. Studying literature at uni was mentally exciting and stimulating! I enjoy and appreciate the relentless push in critical analysis, I felt that I really took away alot of learning points from studying literature. And I am glad that my love for literature is still here, and can only grow stronger. So, here are some books that I have soft spots for: Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights (for the passion and tragedy), Samuel Richardson's Pamela (because virtue in your face is never virtue), Jeanette Winterson's Oranges are not the only fruit, Shakespeare's Hamlet, Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale (this was a terrifying book, I am especially disturbed by the way they have sex), Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart, Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go (I really love this one), Emma Donoghue's Room (for the 5 year-old's refreshing perspective of rape), Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 (I was happy to read Bradbury again! I enjoy his uncomplicated writing yet compelling and thought-provoking ideas), Aravind Adiga's The White Tiger, P.D. James' The Children of Men (because a world where we can't reproduce will be a world with sad women who keeps cats as babies among other things okay not really) and Jean Rhys' Wide Sargasso Sea (because it was imaginative and smart and powerful).  

I try to read books that I have always wanted to read but it is a tough struggle and this struggle continues as time becomes more squeezed and the to-do list becomes lengthier. Though I enjoy reading in uni, I do not want to continue having the feeling of "intense" reading anymore. Having been in NIE for over a month now, I realise that my time will become increasingly precious and so I have been trying to set aside time for leisurely reading. My next book will be Matthew Reilly's The Tournament (it is just out!!!! I will read it! don't judge!) and hopefully, Ishiguro's Remains of the Day and An Artist of the Floating World because I really like his writing in Never Let Me Go. Also, I would like to expose myself to Singapore Literature as I am not familiar at all to the works of our local writers and that is very embarrassing so I would really like to read more of our local works. 

I hope to continue my travels through books, with renewed joy and pleasure.