Joel’s Reading Biography – A Luxury I Nearly Could Not Afford

My life in books has been nothing short of amazing. I say this for quite the contrary; I was never an avid reader and to the surprise of everyone at the time, I could not read and write.

I fondly remember the days of my childhood growing up without a care in the world and being overly-indulged during my days in the nursery. Oh no, it was not as glamourous as one might think. Being pampered meant that I developed a penchant for getting things done my way and this was not limited to the time where I had a reading assignment (forgot the title of the book) during a mandarin class which I obviously did not want to do. But being the “hero” that I was, I had tasked my close friend Shati (he’s not Chinese) to complete my assignment. Yes this little incident might have afforded much laughter on hindsight but it nevertheless has its significance in shaping my literary life.

As with most young boys that age, parents and teachers alike attributed my “bad decisions” down to playfulness and the old adage, “boys will be boys”. This meant that alarm bells pertaining to my reading were not picked up and my apparent misbehaviours were placed down to a long lineage of “boys being boys”. Maybe it was my vocal nature that threw them off. For how could a young boy who was blessed with such “stirring” vocabulary and speech using words like, “despicable” and “incorrigible” be having troubles with the language? In my defence, I blame Daffy Duck.

Another incident of note lies at the heart of the testing system during Kindergarten where pictures and responses were aplenty. In one such example, I had written down the word “monkey” under a picture of a doll. This was once again attributed to my cheeky nature as opposed to the stark reality. I was having serious problems learning to read and write. In Primary One, my learning endeavours caught up with me when my form teacher realised that I had barely passed my English Test and enrolled me in a Learning Support Programme (LSP). It was there that the instructor (Mrs Tan Poh Choo) knew immediately that I was having difficulties with the language. I will never forget the introduction I had with her where she showed me a ladder and told me in the most nonchalant manner that I could sit here (at the bottom) and admire my friends at the top or choose to slowly but surely climb up the ladder to improve my reading. I chose the latter and never looked back.

Thus truly began my life in books as I was quickly introduced to the “Peter and Jane” series where I struggled through from books 1a till I eventually reached 12c. The process was long and arduous which required the collective patience from my loved ones and teachers alike. The accompaniments of flashcards (lovingly made by my mother) helped me to recognised words and have them reinforced by memory. Thankfully, I graduated from LSP at age 7 and found motivation in scoring well at English Tests. The secret that carried me from ages 7-16 was none other than “Archie Comics” (I kid you not). The comics, introduced to me by my brother helped me a lot in improving my English as I realised I understood the relatively more complex words and its meaning. It was a joy to read the comics and the best time would either be lying down on a bed or when using the washroom (again, I kid you not). When not indulging myself with the many volumes of “Archie Comics”, I picked up books by Enid Blyton, Roald Dahl, Stan and Jan Berenstain and I read the first three books of the “Harry Potter” Series. I liked Enid Blyton books in particular for it took me to a different realm, a land of magic, wonder and imagination. This alternate reality (most evident in the “Faraway Tree” Series) allowed me to envision myself walking through secret gardens, trap-doors and tunnels (did I mention I like Batman?).

Other books that I read during my Primary School days included “The Bookworm Club”, “The Goosebumps” Series and interestingly enough, books on Greek Mythology. I cannot recall the titles but I am sure “Aesop Fables” was a prime feature. What I do remember is enjoying these Mythical books for they always seemed so wise and especially at the end where a moral or wise-saying is revealed. It must be mentioned though that my parents felt that books were too expensive and so I remembered how in Primary School where book fairs and book orders were a frequent thing. I would browse these books but be unable to buy them. I relied a lot on hand me downs from my brother who also received his books from others. I guess this was one reason why books were considered a luxury to me alongside my reading impediment. Thankfully, my aunt used to take me to the “Popular Bookstore” at Parkway Parade where she would buy books for her own children and offered to buy me some books as well. I recall asking her to buy the series by Richard Scarry, such titles like “Busy Town Boat Race”, “The Busy World of Richard Scarry” and “The Great Pie Robbery”. I also visited my Aunt’s place and read books from their bookshelves, books like “Dr Seuss” and “Where’s Wally”.

I am very thankful that although I was not an avid reader, growing up alongside classmates who were mostly well-to-do and who bought books constantly broaden my horizons (and reading list) due to sheer pressure and influence. I felt like I was “missing out” on a craze if I failed to join them. Thus, I may not have known the importance of reading but I did realise its powers of attraction. Interestingly, the books that my peers and I read were not the typical award winners like one would expect. There was hardly any Newbery Awards Book or any other books that received awards for that matter. Personally, I think the books I selected were based off the illustrations and the genre. For instance, the books that I liked by Roald Dahl were titles like “Revolting Rhymes”, “Dirty Beasts” and “Rhyme Stew”. I think that humour was definitely on my list of things to look out for as I grew older.

During Secondary School, my reading experience was greatly stifled due to the School’s decision to scrapped English Literature at the Upper Secondary level. I do recall reading “Red Sky in the Morning” during Lower Secondary and I think “Toto-Chan”. This was on top of “Archie Comics” which was to serve me well right through Secondary Four. I spent less time reading during this phase of my life as I had taken to CCA and watching movies instead. Reading did not seem “cool” and I dreaded being labelled “a nerd” especially since my school’s reading culture was barely negligible. I even recall my Secondary One Literature teacher having to tweak the syllabus by showing us the movie “Sleepy Hollow” in an attempt to capture our attention. It also did not help matters when the school decided to implement “silent-reading” every morning before flag-raising where we had to forcefully fill up journal entries of the book we read titled “inkspiration”. Oh the irony ... For what it’s worth, I chose a thick book titled “The Further Adventures of Batman Volume 3: Featuring Catwoman” for my reading piece.

Despite taking English Literature at the JC level, a “true love” for reading was not evident. I merely read the prescribed books by Shakespeare (Othello, King Lear) and other titles like “Silas Marner”, “She Stoops to Conquer” and “The Age of Innocence”. What limited time I had was spent on CCA (I had two), Pre-U seminar, class council, House council and being part of the Literature production of Othello. Reading was really a luxury indeed! It was not till my freshman year in the University that I saw the importance and joy of reading. I enjoyed all the English Literature classes in particular Dr Poon’s class on PostColonial Literature.

What truly sparked the importance and revival of interest in reading was my time away on Exchange in Boston. I took a “Survey of Children’s Literature” class and another class on “The Theory and Pedagogy of the Language Arts Classroom” which delved deeply into the habits of reading and how it can actually be “really fun”. Bearing in mind that both these module were meant for graduate students and teachers to be, (I think) the emphasis on getting children to read was strongly highlighted and sharing experiences of one’s own reading habits opened up my eyes to the foundation of English Literature. It also helped (a lot) that both my professors were award-winning recipients who both advocated and piloted many programmes enhancing reading literacy in the United States. Their passion and sincerity struck a deep chord in me. I read many titles of Children’s Literature alongside book titles like “To Catch a Tartar: A Dissident in Lee Kuan Yew's Prison” (Francis Seow), “1Q84” (Haruki Murakami), “Catch 22” (Joseph Heller), “Once Upon a Jolly Hangman” (Alan Shadrake), “The Freud Reader” (Peter Gay), “Thinking Fast and Slow” (Daniel Kahnman), “Moonwalking with Einstein” (Joshua Foer), “The Satanic Verses” (Salman Rushdie), books by Jeffery Archer, “Freakonomics” (Steven D. Levitt, Stephen J. Dubner), books by Dan Brown, books by Mitch Albom, books by Terry Pratchett, “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” (Jean-Dominique Bauby) and Victorian Literature texts (sorry I can’t really recall other books that I read). These books were on top of the prescribed texts in my English Literature classes that typically were canonical texts, from Chaucer to Shakespeare to Virginia Woolf. Oh and yes, special mention must be made of the Singapore Literature module in NIE. I found the prescribed texts to be refreshing and not as “dense” relative to British Literature. Works by Simon Tay and Alfian Sa’at provided a sense of historic realism and present day issues. I really wonder why the importance of our local Literature was only highlighted at the University level. Growing up, my reading lens was inevitably filtered to Western writers, without even the self-realisation!

These days, I find myself drawn to “bite-sized nuggets” of information freely available on the Internet. Failing which, I pick up a copy of “8-Days” or “Men’s Health” magazines. At my best, I can be found reading the local papers (and no, not “The Straits Times”). Looking back at my life in books, I think it has been nothing short of amazing as it could so easily have gone off the deep end.   

Harvinder Singh's reading journey

                I am not sure how I got about reading books but I have a strong feeling my parents had something to do with it. I was an avid reader during my pre- primary school days right up to primary 5. I remember being dragged to Bedok Regional Library from 530pm all the way till it was closing time. I would spend an hour running around the library with a random person from the same age group until either the librarian or a responsible adult reminded me why I was at the library. I really did not want to read. I would, then, go to the same shelves and look for the same books. The books that I always looked for in the library included The Berenstein Bears series, Maxi the Taxi Dog and Enid Blyton’s  Noddy and his adventures in Toyland and any Enid Blyton short stories book I could grab my hands on.

To be honest, The Berenstein bears and Maxi the Taxi Dog series were fascinating to me because their covers were so well illustrated with vibrant colours. The Berenstein  bears also fascinated me because they were written by Stan and Jan Berenstein. I spent most of my childhood under the impression that maybe they were actual bears living in a tree house and they were so smart that they could read, write and understand what it takes to make a good family. I learnt my rights from my wrongs from such books. Maxi played a pivotal role in explaining to me why honesty is the best policy while the bears helped me negotiate my own family from time to time.

My favourite book growing up was Noddy. I would spend hours immersed in the imaginary land of Toyland, fascinated by everything they did; what food they ate, how they went up their everyday work and how different toys could co-exist so well in the same neighbourhood.  It was more alien to me as a Singaporean as our dear Enid was basing her stories on the everyday lives of the Western world she lived in and that fascinated me. I mean, why would anyone need a milkman? Noddy did had a very big impression on me back then and now that I think about it, I rage in anger over some of the things I got from Noddy. I began to think that if you had a beard, you naturally wise and smart a la Big Ears. I realized that bears are most likely to be female since Tessie Bear pulled of being one so convincingly. Most disturbingly, I learnt not to trust anyone who was African. I remember one particular story about Golliwogs(who were illustrated and black and with the same hairstyle as the Raggae superstars from back then) asking Noddy to taxi them somewhere in the woods. It was there that they stole all his valuables including his car and clothes and left him on the side of the road. The illustration that accompanied this was a naked Noddy in tears in the forest. It was particularly scarring and strangely similar to a recent occurrence in Delhi, if you think about it. Enid made me think that all African people were corrupted and evil. In Singapore, I also hardly came across anyone of African descent so I actually could not verify what Enid had written. It was only after I saw Eddie Murphy on the big screen did I realize that maybe Enid was wrong.It makes one question the young adult canon since Enid Blyton was such a well regarded writer of this age group.

In Primary 5, I was one book away from gaining my Reading badge (that badge you get for reading 100 books a month). I was given this book called The Wave by Todd Strasser about how a student movement somehow begins to mimic the communist Nazi movements. I was fascinated by how much I learnt from that one book. All of a sudden I was curious about something beyond my classroom and I was extremely thankful for Singapore being a Democratic country. This was the first serious novel I read (first novel that tackled a serious issue). Ironically, it was happening at around the same time where I was reading 90 cents Spiderman, Casper the friendly Ghost and X-Men comics as sold in the occasional book bazaars in school. Beyond this, Graveyard School was especially appealing to me as well. Reading James Bond Junior and Re-Boot adventure books also took up a lot of my time. I loved adventure books as I could actually control how the book ends. In a way, I was writing the book and the decisions the character would make without lifting a pen. Of course, I would kill the main character 3 times before making the “correct” decisions as outlined by the actual author. The moral of the story: You need to lift a pen. There is no easy way out in creativity.

Sadly, my passion for reading would be overtaken by that of soccer and in Secondary School I read everything Soccer. Every month I needed a copy of the Match magazine to quench my undying soccer thirst. This however, made me want more and I started investing myself in books related to soccer. The books I read included Sir Alex Ferguson’s biography, David Beckham’s best-selling biography and my particular favourite Richard Kurt’s United- Despatches from Old Trafford. Richard taught me about the amazing creativity the British had with words and how he could turn a serious soccer match into comic relief. He also showed me, in-depth, everything I missed about my beloved Manchester United. More importantly, I learnt how to get creative with vulgarities when addressing players not Manchester united related. I was fascinated by poetry from Secondary two as well, though. I found a new way to express myself through it and one of my favourites back then was Dulce et Decorum est by Wilfred Owen. I viewed war in a way that was very different and it was the first poem that I felt truly captured the poet’s emotions. It should have triggered me off to read more poetry and it rightly did. Alfian Sa’at’s One Fierce hour was appealing as I was in awe about how he could manipulate the Merlion into the most disgusting creature in Singapore. I got fascinated by Singaporean comic writers and all of a sudden I was reading Neil Humphrey’s Scribbles from the Same Island which I borrowed. I never really got out to buy books or go to the library and just used to read whatever I could find at home. Unfortunately for me, the only books I saw at home.  J K Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and Bridget Jones’ Diary (Yes, I had to turn to Chick lit) were read as a result. Beyond this however, much of my time was spent on Soccer handbooks.  I was under the impression that I could play great football by reading about it. I must have read at least 5 coaching books on how to be a brilliant footballer. I assure you, none of them worked. It did, however, up my appreciation for football.

  

Towards the end of Secondary School, William Shakespeare became a favourite. Othello, Macbeth and Romeo and Juliet had more twists than a regular Bollywood movie and I loved the way he could think of different ways of providing drama way back then. My O level text, Susan Hill’s I’m the King of the Castle was also a favourite among all of us in the class. I can never forget how Charles Kingshaw climbs on top of a monument and tells Edmund “Fuck to you. I’m the King of the castle!” It was something all of us back then just wanted to say to the adults around us before we embark on a fairy tale life of lollipops, candy and unlimited football.  This goes to show how Secondary School students are clueless about life, more often than not. It also gave us an escape. We all thoroughly communicated through Charles when we recited those lines as we all had a “bully” bearing down on us in the form of our ‘O’ levels. I must stress, once again, we did not know better. By now, however, I realized that I was actually reading because I enjoyed it.

Junior College was a time where I read Silas Marner by the so-called George Eliot, Othello (once again), William Wycherley’s Country Wife and my favourite, Matthew lewis’s The Monk. Oh! The levels of wrong that book covered was “mind-blowing”.  It was particularly fascinating as it worked heavily on the taboo. In my whole schooling life the taboo was, well, taboo. Finally, through these Gothic texts we could explore it in detail and actually voice out our concerns on it in a classroom setting. It was actually legal! Moreover, Lewis wrote the book around the time he would have been in JC. He really captured what anyone from his age group would really be interested by. Othello was not enjoyable second time round but at least Shakespeare was less racist than Enid.

From Junior College to University, I never really had any time for books. Football was still a major subject of interest for me and I spend most of my time reading soccer magazines, online articles and newspapers. I still spend a significant amount of time reading and researching soccer. Almost every other day I would come across an interesting article on the life of an ex player, the varying perspectives on a current day player and those stories that just downright shock you. It could be a manager being sacked despite winning all his games in a season, a man being hired as a manager based on his online gaming records or even how the next big footballer literally becomes big and fat due to a mental breakdown.  The reason why I enjoy it is because I know it. I know football and can easily relate to the articles and also take in new perspectives to broaden how I view football.

               

 Literature is an escape for me. My favourite form of escapism where I could learn about a new world beyond the one I live in. I learnt from every book I read and every book I read shaped my thinking and my interests. Sometimes, it worked the other way round and my interests made me want to read more. Literature made me think further and gives me new perspectives.

Elizabeth Eng

As I began to put my thoughts together for my “Reading Biography”, I fell into a the question of “which came first?”. Did I dream about being a babysitter and hence read books like “Baby-Sitter’s Club”,  or did I read the book then aspired to be babysitter? After pondering upon that question (for almost 2 hours?!), and going beyond “Baby-Sitter’s Club”, I came to the conclusion that the presence of these books worked in different ways at different phases of my life. While I still can’t put a finger to “which came first?”, I realize that at some point, some books moulded me towards a certain direction, while at some other point, I delved into a particular genre of books to seek the life and adventure that I could only dream of.

As far as I can remember, encyclopaedias were a dominant feature in terms of my childhood reading habits. My parents used to purchase entire sets of encyclopaedias from book fairs and stock them into our home library. These encyclopaedias were filled with colour, pictures and descriptions that were easy to understand, easily capturing the attention of any five to seven year old (at least back then…). As I child, I caught a glimpse of a world that was very very very huge. I saw pictures of animals not found in the Singapore Zoological Gardens, read about their habitat and how the animal chain works, learnt about how Thomas Edison invented the light bulb and how the toilet flush came about. I was introduced to a world beyond the shores of Singapore. I remember my mum pinning a map to the wall, and my siblings and I would pretend to fly there on the first airplane that the Wright brothers invented, then discussing what we would probably discover, according to what we’ve seen in the encyclopaedias. Back then, the world was within reach.

A transition took place soon after, and I found myself reading “girly” books that everyone in my “girly” school was reading. These included the classics of “Baby-Sitter’s Club”, “Sweet Valley High” and, the female detective of all time, “Nancy Drew”. Although my parents bought series after series of encyclopaedias, they didn’t see the point of buying “girly” books for us. So, once a week, we went to the nearest library, which was really tiny, and probably only had ten “Sweet Valley High” books, to stock up on our stash for the week. Although my mother attempted to add some encyclopaedias into our stash, they were now seen to be “books-for-studying”, and hence, thrown out. These girly books opened my imagination to what my life could involve, for instance, becoming part of a baby-sitter’s club, or being the girl with the hot boyfriend, and getting into scandals (not!). At the same time, on my eleventh birthday, I received my first story book (finally something I could call my own!). It was three episodes of Baby-Sitter’s Club put in one book. I re-read the three episodes too many times for my own good.

The girly books phase eventually passed (thankfully!) and proceeding on to Secondary school, girly romance and action took a turn and I got caught in the web of crime and detective fiction. I particularly enjoyed stories that had a twist at the end that left me with reactions such as “What?? Really! It was him all along?”. However, the anticipation of finding out who the killer/rapist/retard was eventually too much for me to bear and I would flip to the ending while being caught in the excitement of the middle section. I remember reading in my room late one night, and because the description of the scene was so vivid and intense, I actually felt my heart racing and I started crying. It was then that I began to see how words in a book could transport me into a dimension that I may not ever experience in reality. In this same period, one of the set text for my O levels was Susan Hill’s “I’m the King of the Castle”. This, I felt, gave me an awareness to the vulnerability of man that exists around me.

For some unknown reason, fiction and novels soon made way for The Straits Times (probably due to the hounding’s of GP lecturers widen our general knowledge). But, I am thankful that this eventually became a habit that I keep till today. I initially started with reading the “more interesting” news such as maid abuse, siblings fighting each other in court over a property, con artists cheating old grannies and the likes. Over the years, I skipped these and became more interested in the forums covering topics and issues such as what an ideal education should consist of. An awareness of, not only the country I live in, but also, the wider community, became the door that brought me back to the same imaginations that I created as a child.

In NIE, my reading habits was split in three directions. Firstly, the literature modules drowned me in classics from the likes of Shakespeare, Jane Austen, Defoe, Goh Poh Seng, more Shakespeare and the list goes on. While there were some that I fell in love with, and continue to re-read today, the rest became text meant to be studied. Perhaps the difference lies in being able to either appreciate the text in its’ context or being able to identify with a particular character or scenario. Academic journals was another feature that took centre place in NIE. Both Literature and Music involved prowling through academic journals in preparation for research and essays, and what I got out most was not only the content, but also their different styles of writing. The third direction was my “personal” reading, which consisted mainly of travel books and websites, Christian articles and books and ironically, but pleasantly, back to romance novels such as that of Danielle Steel.

So, although the question of “which came first?” still lingers, there is a realization, for me, that delving into books, articles, magazines, newspaper, is very much like a cycle that is continuous. On one side, these give me information that I am looking for (about countries, how something was invented, a spiritual understanding etc) on the other, they also bring to me a world that I may or may not experience in reality.  

Growing up with Books-Shalini’s Reading Biography.

I could never understand how children my age would say reading is boring. To me, reading was never boring. Reading was always this gateway to fantastic worlds, to having adventures, meeting interesting characters and being swept away by exciting plots and storylines. It allowed my imagination to run wild and I enjoyed submerging myself into the story world and most often forgetting my own.  That was what reading was for me as a kid, escapism into worlds far more interesting than my own.

My first memories of books were the Lady Bird series, little hard cover yellow books that brought me into the world of literacy as my mother read to me (at first) and then with me.  When I could start reading, I spent hours escaping into Enid Blyton’s playful, magical worlds, being swept away into magical floating lands in “The Faraway Tree” series, swimming in the natural seawater pool (which fascinated me greatly) with the girls from “Malory Towers”, going on adventures and picnics in the lush English country side in “The famous Five” and solving mysteries with “The Secret Seven”. I consumed these series with the voracious appetite for imaginative play and could not get my hands off them. These books were filled with the nuances of childhood, curiosity, the adventures and friendship that I relished reading them with great delight.

As I made my way into pre-pubescence, I entered the world of crushes, first “loves” and sisterhood with the babysitters from Ann M. Martin’s “The Babysitter’s Club” and the twins from Francine Pascal’s “Sweet Valley Twins”. I was so in love with these series that I torpedoed my way through shelf after shelf of these books in the library. Greatly influenced by the books, my friends and I had this idea to start a club with regular meetings and exclusive membership. So we started the “Sweet Valley Unicorn club” (how original!). We sent each other “secrets” through letters that we mailed each other and had “private” meetings where talked about school (because we were all from different schools)and the crushes we had. Of course, this didn’t last very long as we realised Singaporean mothers were not too keen to let their young daughters travel from Yishun to Bukit Batok and vice versa and so we could not meet as often as the girls we’d read about. The letters stopped as well, basically because we already met once a week and had plenty of time to talk then. So, sadly, Sweet Valley Unicorn club separated.

Entering into adolescence, I “upgraded” from “Sweet valley Twins” to “Sweet Valley High”. I also picked up countless love stories (blame the hormones) and stepped into the dark, deceitful, sensual world of Sidney Sheldon’s novels and immediately was captivated by the power, romance and deception that kept me hooked to every page. As a result I took an interest to thrillers and I started reading every other thriller I could lay my hands on in the library. It was at this point that in my usual library visits, I chanced upon books by Lurlene McDaniel, which introduced me to the feelings of pain, loss and hope and on the topic of death and dying. These were books on teenagers with different types of cancer, illnesses, or had to go through the loss of a young sibling or friend. It was very different from the happy stories I had previously read. I remember almost always crying after each book. The stories filled with me sadness yet, I drew strength from the bravery and courage exhibited by her characters. Her books were of inspiration and I became aware and more sensitive to such things in the real world. Reading sensitized me. It was more than just escapism now.

So finally, in Secondary 2, I met the King of Literature, William Shakespeare. I was so excited because back then, Shakespeare equated to literature for me and as such, I felt that I had entered a higher class of readership doing Shakespeare. I used to love deciphering Shakespeare’s cryptic code of English and I felt smart. It may have helped that it was Romeo and Juliet. At this point, I also developed a strange interest in Greek mythology and found myself borrowing huge, illustrated books to read stories about the myriad of Greek Gods and Goddesses.

And of Course, nobody could escape the spell of Harry Potter.  

In Junior College, I read Joseph Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness”. While most of my classmates cringed at reading the dense pages of the novel, I relished reading, re-reading and understanding novel. The symbolic darkness and the enduring questions of humanity and what human beings were capable of intrigued me. And my favourite, F Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby”. Somehow it has been one of my favourite books. The sense of irrevocable loss, unyielding hope and despair stirred feelings in me and made me feel strongly for the characters. It was at this juncture that a friend introduced two books that changed my reading forever. Arundhati Roy’s “The God of Small Things” and Khaled Hossein’s “The Kite Runner”. Once again, the world in the novels did not bring me to happy places. It brought me to worlds filled with unfairness, shame, regret, pain and cruelty and the feelings evoked were overwhelming and all-consuming and it made me really feel and think about the human heart and mind. They seemed more real to me now then the happy love stories. To me this felt more human. (As morbid as it seems, I also think I like books that are profoundly sad and bring tears to my eyes). Also, these books seemed like gate ways into these hidden worlds, into lives of people who live on the same planet but experience very different lives.

In Uni, naturally as a Literature major I was introduced to many reads, some I liked and some I did not. What interested me greatly was South East Asian literature and Postcolonial Literature. I really enjoyed reading about these other worlds, of places I could never image being born into and understanding societies so different from my own in worlds so different from mine. These modules also influenced my current reading choices. I currently like Asian, Indian or basically non- American or British writers writing about issues pertaining to the marginal or transnational communities and about other societies. Most recently, at book sale, I grabbed the works of Salman Rushdie, Jumpha Lahiri, Suketu Mehta, Khaled Hosseini and Christopher G. Moore which I am very excited to start reading but hope to find the time to.

Growing up, reading has played a big role in my life. From escaping into fantastical strange lands as a kid to entering foreign unknown territories as a young adult, reading has broadened my knowledge to think of issues affecting people and ask questions about humanity.

To me;

Reading is to escape.

Reading is to feel.

Reading is to live vicariously.

Reading is to learn.

And reading is to be human.

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.