Reading .

Last Friday afternoon , we took a trip to Penang , a journey which is about 50 minutes ride from my house in Sg. Petani . Traffic flow was smooth on the Penang Bridge and in no time we had reached our destination .


On trips like this , top most on my children's schedule will be a visit to bookshops ; browsing and hoping to find the book that they hope to buy . I'm glad all of my children are avid readers. . Most times from trips like this each of them would have one new book to read . For them ..happy and satisfied .

Reader Son bought this .

Reader Daughter bought this .

Reader mummy did not buy any ..........she generally would borrow books from the town library .

Four books to be read within two weeks .......that's the duration . Should I ever need more time and when the books are due , I just need to call up the librarians to inform them . However reader mummy tend to forget and it would be past the two weeks before she realised the books were overdue . She would be penalized of course , a fine for ten cents a day per book.


I had always love books ......love the smell , love to hold it in my hand . With it I could read anywhere and anytime I want to . I could put the book under my arm , in my hand , in my bag , in my car and for some a book in the toilet ....while doing their business . Not a habit for me though .........


The love to read ....anything ........magazines , comics , newspapers ....... rubbed off on me ever since I was young . Resources would be the daily newspapers which my father bought ...and we would take turns reading .Then there would be the weekly " Borneo Bulletin " as well as the monthly newsletter " Salam " issued to all staff by the Sarawak Shell Berhad ........the company my father worked for .


Then again , my elder brother would buy his monthly " Fanfare " , a magazine about the singers , actors and actresses .......and his penchant in collecting comic books " Commander " , " Spiderman " , " Superman " , " X Man " . This brother took care of all his comics and had them locked up in his cupboard . Of course he would allow us to read the new comics ....and alas........ that would be the only time we were able to do so . A chance to read another second time would be like waiting for the next tide to turn red .......!!!


Somehow his cupboard was easily accessible when my paternal grandmother came to visit , I noticed Grandma tend to browse through his comics . Seeing this and knowing Grandma didn't know how to read , I appointed myself as her translator and the story teller . The two of us would be sitting on the bed .......me holding a copy of the comic and Grandma patiently listening and would now and then asking and pointing at the pictures as to what the graphics were about . Grandmother loved the Commander comics .........beautiful drawings I must say . Thinking back , those comics must have brought so much memories for her ..perhaps there was some kind of connection ........after all she went through the second world war .


I remembered reading this book " Black Beauty " one of the first few books I was introduced to , by my eldest sister of course .


I was about nine years old when I became a library member and had more books to read .........like Dr Seuss books . I remembered going through this book lately when I found it in one of the bookstores . I think I grew up with these books and thru these books .......it taught me how to read as well as instilled within me the love for books . The colors and graphics of the books were so beautiful ...that must have caught my attention .



I love reading stories on Noddy .......and his adventures by Enid Blyton ........



I must thank my parents .......for being supportive . Each time I asked for some money to buy reading materials ........I don't remember being turned down . The oldest reading book that I bought was in 1969 ........entitled " Pinky And Perky " .....about two little male pigs looking cute in their shirts and trousers and walking upright like humans .......going about their daily life which was full of adventures . I still have this book in my possession .


And I read this book to my children too .