Being the first child, my parents bought this entire volume of science encyclopedia (designed especially for kids) for my elder sister but she never took to it. So I had them as pass-me-downs and I absolutely loved it. They also bought the complete ladybird fairy tale series and tons of Enid Blyton for her and I loved those hand-me-downs as well. I guess you could say that that was what started my love for reading.
When I was in primary school, I was obsessed with Sweet Valley High, Princess Diaries and Singapore Ghost Stories. I picked up anything that was remotely girly. I remembered going to the public library and picking up books based on how pink and princessy the covers were! Hahaha, looking back I guess you can say I've come a long way since then because I can't stand the sight of those princessy books now. I also remembered getting very angry at Mr. Midnight when I was in Primary 5 or 6. Mr. Midnight had a tour in my school at that time and some of the younger kids were going absolutely crazy over the books. Everyone kept talking about them but my 11 years-old mind was convinced that Singapore Ghost Stories is THE leading authority of local ghost stories.
I had my first brush of literature proper in Secondary school. We did Romeo & Juliet and Animal Farm and I was quite mindblown. It was the first time i read something of substantial weight. I loved the cleverness of Animal Farm but I just could not, for the life of me, wrap my head around Romeo & Juliet at that point of time. It seemed really straightforward (usual boy meets girl/forbidden love story) in my 13-years old eyes and I just could not understand why Shakespeare used this sort of language to describe something so simple and neither could I appreciate it. This perception somewhat changed when my literature teacher showed us the 1968 film adaptation of the play; I finally saw how beautiful and fluid the language was when performed. Plus I was thoroughly enthralled by the handsome Romeo. He looks like Zac Efron does he not?
See the likeness? Needless to say I fell in love with
Zac Efron few years later (don't judge me, I hate him now).
I had my first brushes with Harry Potter somewhere along the way. I put off reading the series even though it was wildly popular in my primary school simply because I did not have access to it. So when the movies came out, I watched them with a vengeance. I loved the movies so much that I told myself that I HAVE TO read every single book. So I had to beg, borrow and steal to get my hands on them because my parents never indulged me with books the same way they indulged my eldest sister. (sad realities :( of the second child syndrome). I also went crazy over C.S Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia (book and movie) and Tolkien's The Lord of The Rings (only the movie. I tried reading the book a couple of times but never got around to finishing it).
By the time I got to JC however, the metaphorical "reading light" in me when out. I only read what was required, when I was required and never found as much joy in reading as I did in my earlier years.
The same goes for uni years as well because I was quite put off by the idea of reading by then (which is ironic seeing how I was a lit major). I mean I would read whatever was on the reading list and I could analyse and make notes and comparisons and think to myself 'wow that book was really cleverly written' or 'okay that book was quite nice'. But I could never bring myself to say 'wow that book was so enjoyable and captivating that I am going to read it again'. You know what I mean? The pressure to read the 'smart stuff' smartly somehow just killed it for me.
That said, after uni, I have regressed to my wayward ways and have started to read popular culture again. Some I enjoyed (Percy Jackson series, yes I was compelled to read the entire series at the age of 24 because my 1NA kids were obsessed with it), some I loved (Game of Thrones) and others I have absolutely despised (Fifty Shades of Grey, the most horribly written series since Twilight). I have also started shaming myself into rereading some of the classics (to counterbalance all the mischievous pop culture I have been ingesting lest I forget my literary background) and am now almost done with Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. My favourite part?
heyy Siti, I can completely relate to you wrt three things that you mention: 1) sweet valley high (hahahahaha elizabeth and todd, that's all I can remember and her sis jessica la), 2) harry potter: I think it's interesting that you watch the films first before you read the books! wondering whether the films affect how you imagine Hogwarts and the wizarding world to be... and 3) can totally relate to "the pressure to read 'smart stuff' ", am in the same boat. I'm glad to read towards the end that youre back to reading books that you really enjoy or have interest in! I'm trying to do the same too, let's not let the academic/work life drain away our love for reading! (:
ReplyDelete-syikin
Oh no, poor second child syndrome. There is surely a tendency to do that and we make conscious effort to buy for both when we are out. Glad that you are toggling between the classics and contemporary. I don't know why, but I myself continue to love YA literature, maybe partly because I can finish them quite quickly, and since it is hard to find "me" time, I have to utilize it as much as I can.
ReplyDeleteHi Siti,
ReplyDeleteI remember begging and borrowing HP books from anyone who had a copy. And that meant that I often only managed to read it after many of my friends had read it. I had friends in primary school who would role-play as the different characters in the book. They would cast spells on one another, and have mini -battles. They would even have little Bratz dolls dressed up in robes to mimic the witches and wizards at Hogwarts. I never quite developed such an intense and intimate relationship with the book, but I did immerse myself in the wizarding world enough to sacrifice my sleep to complete the books. And when I came across Dobby's death, I sobbed uncontrollably and stopped reading the book for a day or two. But I have to admit, until today, I only own a copy of the very first HP book and I don't think I'll but the others though....