Shu May's Reading Biography

            I started reading at a young age, when my parents read the Peter and Jane series to me. Initially, the black letters on the page did not make sense to me, until one day something clicked and the letters began coalescing into words. My parents firmly believed in the importance of reading, and so we would make twice-weekly trips to the library to borrow as many books as we could.

            As a child, I enjoyed reading the Childcraft encyclopedias as well as the musty Britannica encyclopedias that my parents owned. It was fun to read through all the items listed under each letter, e.g. “A”. I remember being fascinated by the account of English history, especially how each king came to power and was defeated by another upstart. I also enjoyed finding out about exotic animals in the world and how they were endangered due to human activities. My initial foray into reading, then, was anchored in the realm of facts.

            When I entered primary school, I began reading more fiction. My favourite author was Enid Blyton, and I especially liked the Faraway Tree series. I remember wishing that I could live near an enchanted wood, have midnight adventures with fairies and slide down the incredibly long slide in the Faraway Tree. Although I read other Enid Blyton books such as Malory Towers, The Secret Seven and The Famous Five, the Faraway Tree series really caught my attention because it transported me to a beautiful fantasy world whenever I read it. I also fell in love with C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia series. I think I read through the whole series thrice during primary school. For me, it had all the elements of a great story: ordinary children turned into dashing princes and princesses, a large and furry lion, and once again fairies, elves, wood nymphs and more. Looking back, I guess I really liked these novels because they transported me to a world that was more exciting than primary school.

            In secondary school, I continued my reading streak and picked up almost any book that looked interesting. I wasn’t particularly selective in my choice of books because I just wanted to win the monthly “Most Number of Books Borrowed” award in school. I did have a burgeoning interest in Asian-American books, though, specifically those by Lawrence Yep. Somehow the stories of Asian immigrants building the Great Railroad and seeking to find their fortune in the gold rush really resonated with me. This positive introduction to Asian-American texts later led me to take a module in Asian-American literature in NUS.

            When I entered JC, and all the way till the end of my undergraduate years, I read less for leisure. Perhaps it was because I started majoring in Literature and had to read so many texts during the semester that I did not want to read much during the holidays. I also suffered a mini “identity crisis” of sorts, as these Literature modules kept introducing me to ostensibly “good” writers that made my previous reading choices seem very lightweight. The few texts that I enjoyed, though, and which touched me in some small way included: King Lear, Middlemarch, The Remains of The Day, Pearl (a medieval poem that I found incredibly haunting), and Disgrace (by J.M. Coetzee). King Lear moved me with its tragic rendition of the father-daughter relationship while Dorothea’s winding path to significance made me reflect on my own path in life. The understated pain in The Remains of The Day and the horrific violence in Disgrace also caused these books to stick in my mind. Finally, the account of a parent’s grief at losing his infant daughter (elegiacally presented through an elaborate rhyme scheme) is the reason why Pearl is still my favourite poem of all time.

            Over the last year, I have slowly regained my love for reading. Recently, I went through a phase where I re-read old childhood favourites such as The Chronicles of Narnia and the Anne of Green Gable series. I am glad to say that these books still bring me much enjoyment. Although I have grown up (as a person and as a reader), there is a touching simplicity about these books that still tugs at my heart. I am not sure how my reading diet will evolve in the years to come, but I am very thankful for the books I have read thus far because they have all shaped me in one way or another.