Reading Biography

In my childhood, I was an avid reader who ploughed through several books a week. Back then, I was utterly enthralled by folk tales and historical stories. In particular, I was most fond of the Horrible Histories series that presented historical events comically. Prose that I enjoyed were simple reads such as Enid Blyton and Roald Dahl, with an overwhelming preference for the latter as I was increasingly drawn into the writing style and the worlds Dahl created.

As a teenager, I began to fall in love with the Harry Potter series. I identified with the struggles the protagonists faced, though they were in a completely different fantasy setting. Till now, I hold the series closest to heart. Epistolary novels such as The Bridget Jones’ Diaries series and ‘chick lit’ also served as light entertainment, at a point in time when I still considered reading a pleasure. Concurrently, I was exposed to ‘serious’ literature texts in school: Animal Farm by George Orwell and Anita Desai’s Village by the Sea were memorable texts for they were the first that I read critically. In addition, Persepolis was a unique choice my teacher made to show us the value of graphic novels as texts. These books piqued my interest in literary devices, and I began to see reading in a new light. I finally got the opportunity to do Literature in Junior College, and I fully relished it. I read Shakespeare’s The Tempest and Othello, Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, and Herland by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, as well as numerous unseen poetry. My desire to do well for A level Literature led me to spend hours in the library poring over classical poetry, trying to understand them. This was a period of time whereby I enjoyed Literature as a subject tremendously.

Unfortunately, as compulsory readings piled up in University, my inertia to read grew, and I gradually stopped reading beyond what was necessary. Granted, I was still interested in the books I had to read: I particularly adored The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy for being a breath of fresh air among the other eighteenth century texts that I had to read, such as Evelina. I enjoyed being stimulated by Luigi Pirandello’s Six Characters in Search of an Author as well. There was also an interesting module that got us to think of films as texts, including The Usual Suspects and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. I did try picking up new fictional books on my own to read, but always stopped after the first few chapters, or skimmed through the entire book, unable to sit myself through the entire tome. Some titles include Yann Martel’s The Life of Pi (after I watched the movie and wanted to try reading the book – failed), Red Sorghum by Mo Yan, and The Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkien.

To sum up my reading history, I have been exposed to a range of texts such as drama, prose, poetry, films, and graphic novels. It is a pity that I am no longer reading, but hopefully this situation can be remedied by a few good recommendations. J