[Sharon Lim] Reading Biography

My parents started me on reading early into my childhood. I think back fondly on those days which involved weekly trips to Popular bookstore, after I was done with my ballet lessons at what used to be known as Yaohan Plaza. I almost always left the bookstore happily with a book purchase in hand, be it an Enid Blyton book or one from the Mr. Men / Little Miss series. It is also this experience that led to my unchanging preference for brand-new, first-hand books over older, worn-out ones.

The books-buying habit continued for eight years, until I stopped my ballet lessons. By then, I had amassed a huge collection of books from having also read Roald Dahl, Francine Pascal (Sweet Valley High), Ann M. Martin (The Babysitters' Club), Artemis Fowl, and of course, J.K Rowling. As an only child with no sibling to play with, I turned to books as my source of entertainment. I can still remember losing myself in the pages of the books, feeling as if I was going on one adventure after another vicariously through the characters in my books. I felt Charlie's disappointment when he first failed to secure a ticket to the chocolate factory and later, his amazement when he toured around the place. I related to the growing up girl-pains in Sweet Valley High and The Babysitters' Club. I cried with the characters in Harry Potter when they suffered grievous pains and lost their loved ones to death. For someone like me who does not have a brother or sister to evoke strong emotions in me during playtime or fights, these books were invaluable for reaching out to the depths of my feelings and for teaching me about my own reactions towards fictional circumstances, some of which may also take place in real life.

When I started secondary school, I stopped reading as much due to the heavier workload. Thank God for Literature lessons then! With my teachers' guidance, I studied texts like Sing to the Dawn and I am the King of the Castle. I started to appreciate reading even more as I learnt how to explore texts better in greater details. Thus, my love affair with Literature began and I developed a newfound love for Shakespeare when I read Twelfth Night for ‘O’ Levels and King Lear for ‘A’ Levels. Studying Ted Hughes for the 'A's also made me appreciate poetry - I was especially taken by how so much meaning can be conveyed by the poetic form. 

My university years saw me reading across different genres such as American Literature, Contemporary Literature and Southeast Asian Literature. Some of my favourites among the various types are Singapore Literature, Victorian Literature and Romantic Literature. Now that we have completed our university studies, I continue to buy local literature, read Dickens and the Romantic poets during my free time. Singapore literature is a subject close to heart because of its local context; the latter two give me wondrous peeks into what life was like far back in time and never fail to engage my senses fully with fluid, emotive writing.

I guess this goes back full circle to where I started from, in search of experiences that I would never have, if not for books. Above all, I cherish how reading gives me the means of making personal meanings.