Mummy gave me bed time stories
- so that I could eventually read myself.
I chomped book after book of Enid Blyton
- so that I could have the entire collection for my empty shelf.
I ditched Enid Blyton for the Straits Times
- so I could mimic dad
I gave up on the huge pages and settled for the yellow fame
- because Natl' Geog brought me from place to place
I was haunted by True Singapore Ghost Stories
- The stories were genuine because of the word "True"
- My home suddenly became haunted, the harmless howl of the wind became Pontianak's call.
I fled to 'play' Goosebumps
- It was scary, yet the fun of a game book chased my fears a way.
-----------Reading was an adventure during my younger days-----------
Roald Dahl came by with Matilda
- A fun book tainted by exams
Z for Zechariah was horrid
- It was all about studying death and gloom
Someone smuggled in FHM
- It wasn't about the text! duh! Hormones bloom.
Others giggled at the "Puberty Book"
- Our bodily mysteries revealed.
---------------Teenage Reading: Exams or Expedition into the Forbidden World------------
Shakespeare came and spoke a different tongue
- It was english, but not english
Poetry pushed me into a dark abyss of deeper meanings
- through Frost and Blake
The concept of "Dystopia" was introduced
- when Brave New World and The Hand Maids Tale arrived
---Junior College readings were in truth, a massive struggle: I was forced into Lit---
JUST WHEN I THOUGHT I COULD ESCAPE
LITERATURE FOUND ME AGAIN
WHY WHY?! I CRIED
WHEN THE
LETTER
CAME
.
.
I wanted to teach English and History. But English Literature came pounding on my doors. "No choice - gotta learn to love it" I sighed to myself. Thankfully, it was a case of swallowing a bitter pill and I turned out well. I've learnt much through the numerous books and readings at NIE.
Fiction can be read through various lenses, each revealing a different world. Reading has sensitized an almost emotionless being like me - it reminded me that I was human. It has become a form of escapism, an isolationist act that spares me from the hustle and bustle of reality. Ironically, it is through immersing myself into the world of fiction that new realities are discovered. These are precious, practical life skills that I have gained through the study of Literature, and I want my students to have them as well.
Fiction can be read through various lenses, each revealing a different world. Reading has sensitized an almost emotionless being like me - it reminded me that I was human. It has become a form of escapism, an isolationist act that spares me from the hustle and bustle of reality. Ironically, it is through immersing myself into the world of fiction that new realities are discovered. These are precious, practical life skills that I have gained through the study of Literature, and I want my students to have them as well.
That's a fun way to sum up your reading bio, Christon! Glad it turned out well though you didn't get to do english language. I'm sure literature is much more fun than english :) and they are interconnected really.
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