Kheng May's Reading Biography

Kheng May's Reading Biography

As far back as I can push my failing memory, I remember my childhood with books. There are countless pictures of my sister and I smiling for the camera on a family vacation with a book in our hands. Or sitting around the dining table having lunch and reading (I know, I know, very anti-social). I grew up in a rather strict household where there was no TV allowed from dinner to bedtime, so I guess that was where I cultivated my reading habit. My mother also played a major role in cultivating this habit, as she herself is an avid reader and would always take my siblings and I to book fairs and bookshops. She would introduce the classics to us and while she re-read them, we would read the abridged versions if they were too difficult. My mother also bought books according to the season so if it was Easter, I would receive a book on Bible stories and when it was Christmas, we would be reading about Scrooge and the ghosts. Buying a book was a reward for good behavior and good grades so I jumped on that any chance I got. My cousins and I would also trade books with each other when we were done reading them.

From the ages between 4-10, I read the usual collection of books by Roald Dahl, Enid Blyton and the Famous Five series like most kids. While I absolutely enjoyed all these books (and was scared out of my wits by The Witches), what stood out most for me were Childcraft and the Wildlife Fact-file. The Childcraft books were basically a series of encyclopedias for children and they covered a range of topics from poetry to space. My favourites from the lot were Stories and Poems (Book 1) and About Animals (Book 3). This was probably my first introduction to poetry as well. I remember reading William Blake’s The Tyger and some other poems from anonymous writers. I was intrigued at how someone could make meaning from so few words and I loved the rhyme that went along with it. The Wildlife Fact-file is basically a ring folder with many different sections. Every fortnight, I would receive a set of animal cards with all the information about a particular animal and I would have to file them under the different categories. I had so much fun reading about the dietary habits and behavior of different animals and organizing the cards into their respective sections. Although some might argue that it isn’t a storybook like Blyton’s or Dahl’s but it still is one of my favourite books and I do take it out from time to time to read about the animals, especially before a trip to the zoo or before a dive trip. As you can probably tell by now, most of my favourite books have animals in them and I think I read The Call of the Wild more times than any other book. There was something about Buck and his plight that just captivated me. I believe that my love for animals was cultivated through reading and of course, many trips to the zoo.

At age 11, I was introduced to Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone and I was swept up with the series, carrying me all the way to secondary school. I was fascinated with the magic and the fantasy of another world like Hogwarts. When I was in secondary school, my reading journey hit a dead end and I didn’t read much at all. There was the occasional book here and there but aside from Harry Potter and Toto-Chan, I was more caught up with the latest music and pop groups than I was with books. Around this time, the TV rule was also relaxed and I guess my source of entertainment turned from books to the telly. I do regret not investing more time in reading during my secondary school days as I feel it would have benefited my writing greatly.

When I got to JC, I had the privilege to take H1 Literature and reading picked up again. I remember thinking to myself that it was so difficult to get through a book after stopping for so long and it was a painful process slogging through my literature texts. I read John Webster’s The Duchess of Malfi and R.K. Narayan’s The Guide, both of which I didn’t really enjoy at that time as I felt Webster was just trying to copy Shakespeare and Narayan was too whiny. I humbly take back those sentiments now and when I read The Guide again after my A Levels, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I picked up Tolkein’s The Lord of the Rings because I was still fascinated with fantasy and other mystical creatures. Lord of the Rings offered me a more balanced worldview of how humans (Aragon) could co-exist with the other kinds (Hobbits, Elves and Dwarves) and I preferred it better to the Muggle-Wizard rift in Harry Potter. In JC, I also picked up an interest in middle-eastern literature about Muslim women and their lives. I read books by Khaled Hosseini, Jean Sasson and Azar Nafisi.

In NIE, my reading journey went through a caffeine spike and I read more extensively than before. I was exposed to so many authors and poets and my mind opened up to all the different readings and ideas. I enjoyed South-East Asian Literature with Dr Pat Wong and Post-colonial Literature with Dr Angelia Poon the most. I think the materials I read from these 2 modules changed how I looked at the world and I became more mindful of the past and how it affects our future. I read Family of Fallen Leaves and it made me understand the Vietnam War a lot better and I was moved by the stories of survival despite their situation. I started buying books more often as well and managed to read great stories from Murakami, Chopin, Hawthorne and many more.

Now, I have a reading list that I add on to and tick off constantly, albeit more adding on than ticking off. I hope that my interest in reading and the joy that I get from it doesn’t disappear when I start practicum. John Waters said that “nothing is more important than an unread library” and I must sheepishly admit that I do look at my bookshelf and tell myself that, as an excuse for not reading more. With that said, I do believe we grow and gain insight when we read. They might not be obvious or impactful to us now but we are moulded into what we read, slowly but surely.