I became an enthusiast of books when I started secondary school. I appreciate books and love reading them so much I 'pushed' my way to be a librarian, and have been one until the end of my schooling days. Both my parents were great influences in honing my habit for reading. I have read all the books they owned. It is quite funny however that my brother is not as enthusiastic as the rest of us.
I am proud to say that our family has a library, a custom made cabinet with carved wooden frames. It has been filled to the brim and I had to purchase another bookshelf which I placed in my room. I used to consider myself a bookworm then but I have since been upgraded to bibliophile, when I started working.
I prefer collecting to borrowing books, which then makes me bibliophilic as well. The ability to see the 'collections' I have virtually create an achievement in my reading pursuits. Touching the thick glossy covers and their crisp content's material, smelling them upon entering a bookstore just drives me 'wild' like a kid going into an ice cream bar in summer. Or at best like a girl on a shopping spree at the end of a month ie payday.
I am open to various genres though I dislike biographies the most. Reading an actual person's life does not appeal to me. The first, and last biography I read was Wild Swans by Jung Chang and that literally drained my reading life force. No kidding. It is not to say I would not try again but I would need good reviews to persuade me to even look at any. This is probably due to a need to read on someone who could inspire me.
Growing up, my choice of genres changed through exploration and discovery, word of mouth and published recommendations. From Children's (early English language building read such as Ladybird books ala Peter and Jane), Classics (from Penguin Publishing), Teens (Enid Blyton's, Famous Five), Manga (the Bahasa Melayu translated ones), Girly Teens (the whole Anne of Green Gables, Sweet Valley High, Fear Street), Chick Lit and Fantasy (the Lord of the Rings, Wheel of Time and Shannara Series type - do not think the other kind), Horror / Mystery / Thriller, and most recently Cultural or Ethnic fiction. (I do not think there is such a category but I am stating it for the benefit of you readers for easier reference. The Fiction category is wide and will be confusing with my long-windedness.) I am looking out for books that depict the lives and cultures within the Oriental demographic, especially Japanese.
In addition, I am now rediscovering the Classics like good old Charles Dickens and Oscar Wilde, with a little bit of other Penguin Publishing authors. Must not limit myself to just the popular writers and what a good way to improve my deteriorated English. I doubt however, that it would do much for my sense of sentence structure as modern English is the path to more interesting literature these days.
I tend to read the more popular or media influenced recommendations but would include a book or two of the otherwise less popular choices and/or lesser known writers within my hauls. I am influenced by my own set of factors in book buying which includes, the above said reviews and recommendations, genre, author, book cover type, cover illustrations, descriptions, prologues and epilogues, thickness, pricing, and even location. Sometimes, when I happen to buy a good read before, I do reference the author in my next search for books.
Of late, I frequent warehouses, or shops that sell off old or rejected books rather than to the bigger commercial bookstores. Prices of books continue to inflate since when I do not know. Knowing my weakness, this is the only way for me to control my spending. I do have a plan to actually put aside some of my earnings specially for literary consumption later. I have a dream to build my own library of books and hope that my future children would also have the same passion - a habit, as a hobby, for knowledge, for reference or just collecting.
BIBLIOPHILISM!
I am proud to say that our family has a library, a custom made cabinet with carved wooden frames. It has been filled to the brim and I had to purchase another bookshelf which I placed in my room. I used to consider myself a bookworm then but I have since been upgraded to bibliophile, when I started working.
I prefer collecting to borrowing books, which then makes me bibliophilic as well. The ability to see the 'collections' I have virtually create an achievement in my reading pursuits. Touching the thick glossy covers and their crisp content's material, smelling them upon entering a bookstore just drives me 'wild' like a kid going into an ice cream bar in summer. Or at best like a girl on a shopping spree at the end of a month ie payday.
I am open to various genres though I dislike biographies the most. Reading an actual person's life does not appeal to me. The first, and last biography I read was Wild Swans by Jung Chang and that literally drained my reading life force. No kidding. It is not to say I would not try again but I would need good reviews to persuade me to even look at any. This is probably due to a need to read on someone who could inspire me.
Growing up, my choice of genres changed through exploration and discovery, word of mouth and published recommendations. From Children's (early English language building read such as Ladybird books ala Peter and Jane), Classics (from Penguin Publishing), Teens (Enid Blyton's, Famous Five), Manga (the Bahasa Melayu translated ones), Girly Teens (the whole Anne of Green Gables, Sweet Valley High, Fear Street), Chick Lit and Fantasy (the Lord of the Rings, Wheel of Time and Shannara Series type - do not think the other kind), Horror / Mystery / Thriller, and most recently Cultural or Ethnic fiction. (I do not think there is such a category but I am stating it for the benefit of you readers for easier reference. The Fiction category is wide and will be confusing with my long-windedness.) I am looking out for books that depict the lives and cultures within the Oriental demographic, especially Japanese.
In addition, I am now rediscovering the Classics like good old Charles Dickens and Oscar Wilde, with a little bit of other Penguin Publishing authors. Must not limit myself to just the popular writers and what a good way to improve my deteriorated English. I doubt however, that it would do much for my sense of sentence structure as modern English is the path to more interesting literature these days.
I tend to read the more popular or media influenced recommendations but would include a book or two of the otherwise less popular choices and/or lesser known writers within my hauls. I am influenced by my own set of factors in book buying which includes, the above said reviews and recommendations, genre, author, book cover type, cover illustrations, descriptions, prologues and epilogues, thickness, pricing, and even location. Sometimes, when I happen to buy a good read before, I do reference the author in my next search for books.
Of late, I frequent warehouses, or shops that sell off old or rejected books rather than to the bigger commercial bookstores. Prices of books continue to inflate since when I do not know. Knowing my weakness, this is the only way for me to control my spending. I do have a plan to actually put aside some of my earnings specially for literary consumption later. I have a dream to build my own library of books and hope that my future children would also have the same passion - a habit, as a hobby, for knowledge, for reference or just collecting.
BIBLIOPHILISM!
2 What say you?:
TL:DR =p
If you want, you should try Tolstoy! Anna Karenina is AMAZING :D Ooh, ooh, and Marquez, One Hundred Years of Solitude.
The entire Jane Austen collection! :D :D :D Go May Yi!
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