I have to admit that I don’t read enough,
especially fiction.
The last time I studied English literature
as a subject was at the lower secondary level. I can count the number of
fiction books I read in the past decade with both hands (I know this is pathetic
and a huge regret on my part). I am certainly a more avid fan of fiction when I
was still a primary school kid. Unfortunately, I lost the interest with novels
as I grew older. That said, I still managed to squeeze out some time to enjoy
books by authors like Paul Coelho, Cecilia Ahern, Janet Evanoich, Sophie Kinsella, Roald Dahl, Nora Roberts, Stephenie Meyer and Jodie Picoult to
name a few, during my secondary school and JC days. During those days, I had
considered reading fiction a guilty pleasure when I should be burying my head
in TYS and lecture notes.
Then came university. I read almost zero novels
in my first two years in university. English literature and I crossed path briefly
again when I took American literature as one of the modules during my exchange
stint in North Carolina. It was only then that I managed to get to know some of
the greatest American writers. I can vaguely recall reading works by William
Faulkner, Herman Melville, Arthur Miller, to list a few.
During my undergraduate years, I was mainly
interested in non-fiction and news publications, perhaps due to my major–Communication
Studies. Besides spending an infinite number of hours on academic textbooks, I
was also interested in books from other disciplines such as psychology,
sociology, philosophy, film and media studies and etc.
I think I read the most number of books in
2014 than the past five years combined. My most recent (2014) non-fiction reads
include, My Straits Times Story by Cheong Yip Seng, News: A user’s manual by
Alain De botton; One Man’s View of the World by Lee Kwan Yew; Thinking Fast and
Slow by Daniel Kahneman; Lean In for Graduates by Sheryl Sandberg, David and
Goliath and Blink by Malcom Gladwell and etc. Regrettably, I have only read
three fiction books this year– Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes; And the
Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseni and The Stranger by Albert Camus. Currently I
am reading a few books at the same time, namely, Overwhelmed by Brigid Schulte,
Quiet by Susan Cain and Divergent by Veronica Roth.
I am slow reader but I promise I will try
to read more from now on.
Hey Ying Kai! All the best in keeping to your promise! Truthfully, I’m quite motivated by your desire to read more! I should start reading more too! :) And don’t feel down about not having read enough, it’s not the quantity but the quality that counts! ;P And ah…I see that we both enjoy Roald Dahl’s books! To be frank, who doesn’t like his stories? His stories for children and adults are all so riveting! I distinctly remember I’d chanced upon Roald Dahl’s wonderful books in my after-school care centre when I was in primary school. There, I discovered Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and boy did I enjoy that book! I didn’t want to go home and I’d selfishly and sneakily hide the book (for it was from the pathetic communal bookshelf, aka. the library corner) behind a row of boring books so that I could have the book all to myself whenever we had free time to read! HAHAHA! By the way, I think it’s really cool that you read so many non-fiction books! I’ve never quite known how to appreciate non-fiction, especially biographies. I believe it’s because I don’t see the relevance between the life of the person I’m reading about and my personal life. HAHAHA.
ReplyDeleteI too enjoy reading books related to other disciplines, especially non-fiction. I have read more non-fiction than fiction since I began working. I find your commitment to reading motivating and I too hope to take up reading in a sincere manner, just as you have done.
ReplyDeleteHeya Ying Kai, you have been reading a lot lately, and that's a good start. Seriously, most people read when they have a reason to and are motivated to. The question is how we can motivate our students to want to read widely and deeply, and to know how to access books flexibly when they need to.
ReplyDeleteFlowers for Algernon! Thanks for jogging my memory. It was included in a text for our literature class and I remember having questions that were painfully difficult to answer - ethical issues that we never had the chance to really address. It's made me consider whether an attempt - however butchered - at ethical readings is better than none at all. I'm not sure it had much of an impact on us then - are 16-year-olds really ready to deal with such issues beyond the superficial? I'm not convinced thus far. Still. Great memory! Thanks Ying Kai.
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