The Problem When It Comes To Reading (For Me)
After reading “Notes on the Art of Poetry” by Dylan Thomas, in sheer interest and excitement, I’ve decided to create my own poem.
Title: Um…
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Done!
Look, I’ll say this upfront: I’m not an avid reader. Sure, other people might relish at the thought of reading a book they find exciting, captivating, enjoyable. But, for me, books don’t excite me.
To fully express myself, in Years 3 and 4 at primary school, we had to read for at least 60 minutes per week as homework, and this increased to 90 minutes per week in Years 5 and 6. If you were someone like me, who had no idea what to read, this was a problem. I just couldn’t fathom the idea of reading for 60 minutes a week, especially since nothing really interested me in both the school library and local library.
In Year 3, the only book series that slightly piqued my attention was the “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” series, which most people should (hopefully) be aware of. I only thought of reading those books because of my friends, though, who gave me the idea. I remember borrowing like five books from the franchise at my local library, but I barely managed to read the first book in the 4 weeks I had — one, because I found it quite boring and lacklustre so I didn’t really want to read it, and two, my mind steers off course VERY easily.
I also had a tendency of exaggerating the amount of time I actually read for. I only read for a total of 30 minutes per week in Years 3 and 4, but I just changed it to 60 minutes so I wouldn’t get in trouble. The ironic thing is my comprehension skills was amongst the best in my class for some weird reason, despite my loathing towards reading novels, so my teacher couldn’t have suspected me.
At the start of Year 5 though, I still hated the idea of reading fiction novels but SUDDENLY, I started getting into non-fiction books. I have no idea how I didn’t realise my love for informative books beforehand, but they actually interested me. I wanted to know more about how digital technology evolved, the history of the Olympic Games, the Second World War, etc. Possibly for the first time in my life, I realised just how interesting books could be. I still wasn’t reading that much in Year 5 and 6, but I managed to achieve the reading quota of 90 minutes per week, which is saying something for someone like me.
As I started high school, though, I gave up my “two-year love” for non-fiction books and novels, in general, just like the majority of high school kids. The pressure of high school — getting constant assignments, tests and exams, meant that it was difficult for me to maintain reading for leisure, especially if you’re doing several co-curriculars. Of course, this may not be true for students who adore reading and consider it an important hobby of theirs, but for people like me, we are willing to discard novels and books, which were just considered objects to read during our spare time.
I still obviously read novels assigned to us during our English units of work, such as “Parvana” by Deborah Ellis and “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” by Lewis Carroll in Year 7, and “Divergent” by Veronica Roth and “Animal Farm” by George Orwell in Year 8, all of which I thoroughly enjoyed, well… except for Alice in Wonderland (That book was more confusing and strange than enjoyable, in my opinion).
English teachers and avid readers would most likely disagree with us having no spare time, usually referring to the seven points listed in the above article. If I’m being completely honest, yes. Yes, I do have time to read. However, due to all the work high school students are usually assigned with, most of us just view reading as another laborious task, myself included.
Some of you may perceive my statements to be contradictory with each other — one statement saying that I hate reading, another saying that I love it.
A very important thing you should get from this post is that I do find reading to be important and in certain instances, fun. Spreading literacy around the world is an extremely important thing to do, I understand. However, I don’t agree with the concept of reading being constantly shoved into the throats of students and adults alike. If you love and crave reading, I’m not judging at all. However, if people force others to read in their spare time, and instead, they want to dance, play on the piano, binge watch anime or play video games in their spare time, they can’t get angry or annoyed.
I agree with Neil Gaiman’s opinion though, portrayed in the above article. Books are designed as entertainment in their myriad of forms to captivate people around the world, and they also help us become more informed in society, making us smarter in the process. However, if you combine that with the following poem by Dylan Thomas, “Notes on the Art of Poetry”:
I could never have dreamt that there were such goings-on
in the world between the covers of books,
such sandstorms and ice blasts of words,
such staggering peace, such enormous laughter,
such and so many blinding bright lights,
splashing all over the pages
in a million bits and pieces
all of which were words, words, words,
and each of which were alive forever
in its own delight and glory and oddity and light.
You can see a common theme: the glorification of reading in both cases. Sure, I believe reading can be enjoyable, but what they are both saying is considered an overstatement, in my opinion. Can reading really change the world? Are all books engrossing in their own way? I know their opinions are heavily biased since they are authors and poets, but if I read one book, can I really change the world? Can I really get engrossed in one book, getting teleported into an alternate world? It all seems like superstition to me.
I digress. For the Wider Reading challenge, my first book was “The Best We Could Do” by Thi Bui, which checks off the following category: A graphic novel written and illustrated by the same person. The novel is a true story told in a poignant and expressive manner, talking about Thi and her family’s escape from South Vietnam to the United States during the Vietnam War, referring the difficulties and hardships they had to endure in the process, both during the war and after they immigrated to the US.
I’ve only read one book for the challenge thus far. Since I’m into novels revolving around World War II, I’m planning to read “Without a Country” next by Ayşe Kulin, which is about a Hungarian professor, Philipp Schwartz, who escapes Nazi Germany with his family during World War II, due to their Jewish background, and resides in Turkey in fear of their lives.
If I were asked to choose any 10 books to take to a desert island, these are the books I would choose:
- Divergent, Veronica Roth
A dystopian and science-fiction novel I find engaging. Revolves around the theme of identity and transition, which makes it relatable for teenagers.
2. Animal Farm, George Orwell
I love how the plot and characters of Animal Farm directly correlate to real-life events and figures during the Russian Revolution and Second World War, which, to me, makes the allegorical novella more impacting and significant.
3. The Enemy, Charlie Higson
I haven’t read this book as of yet, which is part of the dystopian, thriller and horror genres. However, it is about a disease that strikes Britain, turning those infected into mindless zombies, which really intrigues me as a person who typically likes the dystopian genre.
4. The Best We Could Do, Thi Bui
This was the first book I read for the Wider Reading challenge, which tells the story of a family trying to survive during the Vietnam War in the form of a graphic novel.
5. One Piece Manga, Eiichiro Oda
I’m a regular watcher of the One Piece anime, so I wouldn’t mind reading the manga version of it, especially since it is typically ahead of the anime by 50 episodes or so. (I don’t really care about spoilers.)
6. The Maze Runner, James Dashner
I’ve loved reading the Divergent and Hunger Games series, so The Maze Runner would suit my liking as well, since they’re all young adult dystopian novels.
7. Salt to the Sea, Ruta Sepethys
A book about World War II in the perspective of refugees.
8. One of Us is Lying, Karen McManus
A mystery book about five detention students but one of them is killed in detention. The mystery of who killed him is very intriguing, in my opinion.
9. Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell
Me being a fan of both George Orwell’s novels and dystopian novels has made me already love this book. I haven’t even started reading the book yet!
10. Oxford Atlas Project 3, Oxford University Press
Since I have so many fictional books in my reading list, it seems fitting to have a non-fiction text to balance my selection of books, which also interests me at the same time. This atlas ticks all the boxes for me.
