I started reading when I was four. Late? I don't know but I don't think so but some days I wonder if I would have read more if I started at 3.
Ages 1 and 2
Did not read but must have flipped through books and mags. Thanks to my parents. My dad was usually at the table doing his work and my mom would be with the cookbooks.
Age 3
Have flipped through childrens' books. My mom used to take me to the library back in Glasgow and read some books to me and some other kids who happened to gather around.
Age 4
I call this the Ladybird Era. I started with Ladybird 1a. "This is Peter. This is Jane." I remember these til now! Don't have many left now. Probably "eaten" by my brothers while there were growing up or it just went missing because my family and I used to move quite a lot.
Read some other Ladybird's series and some pictorial books which has about 3-5lines per page with nice picture on every page. ^__^ And yeah, I don't remember the books. Ladybird era was slightly fading though. Read Peter Pan and few others.
Age 6
Introduced to Enid Blyton's; The Magic Brush and The Ugly Scarecrow. My aunt from Singapore got me those by asking me what is my favourite colour. I believe I had said red but she came up with pink and yellow. I'm not complaining and did not too back then. Lovely books. Where are they now? Stolen. Sucks. =( At this age, I just entered Primary One. Received my first real dictionary. =) By real I mean, NOT pictorial!Age 7
Continued with more Enid Blyton's.
Age 8
Officially started with Fairy Tales. First 2 tales; Cinderella and Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs. Simply awesome. I remember how I felt when I finished these. =) Introduced to reading Malay books. It was OK. I had trouble reading Malay Language in school =(
Ages 9 and 10
More and more Enid Blyton's. I was just so into it.
Ages 11 and 12
Introduced to R.L Stine's! Thanks the bunch of friends I made in Penang. They are awesome readers. Bought a lot and borrowed a lot too. Books I've read: All under Fear Street, Fear Street Super Chiller, Cheerleaders, The Fear Street Saga, 99 Fear Street: The House of Evil, Cataluna Chronicles and Fear Park. Fear Street Sagas (1-10) and maybe about 20 books from the Original Goosebumps Series. I was soooooo crazy about his books back then. Thrillers and vampires. Read a few True Singapore Ghost Stories. 
My father got very concern as UPSR was getting nearer and I still had my nose in these books. Can't be helped. To calm him down, I read the books inside my revision books. ;) (Kids, don't follow this!)To view complete list of R.L. Stine's, go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._L._Stine. What happened to my collection now? I sold it when I was in my 1st or 2nd year in uni. It shall be in the hand of a girl who bought most of it from me (in one purchase!). What I did with the money? I bought a printer. Was sad to part with it but I need to make more space and I wasn't reading it anymore.
p/s: Feel good to go down the memory lane with books. =) Gotta thank my parents,teachers and relatives for their encouragement. As for Mr.Stine, he must be feeling proud to know I've read quite a number of his books in the 90's. =p I've a reader's letter to a local newspaper once saying that the Ladybird series are sexist. I'll link to it if I manage to find some time to dig out the link online. If anyone has read Russell Lee's Singapore Ghost Stories and know a lil about him being a mystery, has he revealed his face now? Hmm.....
6 comments:
Oh my god, I have that treasury book of fairy tales too!! I was searching high and low for it so I can snap a photo but don't know where it's hiding in my house. :)
Wow, did you grow up in Glasgow? Do you speak Scots? :D
Haha! You were a Fear Street kid then. Sigh, if only I had more of those books.
Hey, that was sneaky of you to read secretly! Haha! I think I did that a couple of times too, but it was really risky.
I enjoyed reading your post. Now I have to continue searching for that fairy tale book. I'm missing it!
I had a book of Grimm's fairy tales... that put me of fairy tales for the rest of my life especially when I read the true story of The Little Mermaid. Arial and Eric truly went down the drain...
Great post and it's a lot of fun looking back down memory lane and seeing it as a succession of books.
I wish we could edit these comment posts. I think the first fairy tale I read was about a man who had adopted this fallen cherub or something and it turned into this evil little imp. That book scared me completely.
I really must read it fully, if I can get past the creepy feeling I get every time I see the picture on the front cover.
Josette :
Nope. Didn't grow up in Glasgow. Moved back to KL after 3. Then moved to Brunei few months after. Then back to KL. Then.. . LOL!
Yup!Was sooooo a Fear Street kid!
Good luck looking for that precious book!!!
Fiona :
I don't remember reading The Little Mermaid but I've read Cinderalla and Snow White a gazillion on times. Saw Grimm's Fairy Tales today in MPH...thought of getting it but gotta put my hormones on hold. It had led me to overspend these days esp on books. My to-be-read pile is getting higher! LOL!
Ruz - yeah hormone induced book buying is not good... happened to me often enough.
If only the Msian government could allow RM2000 tax relief for book purchases..I've exceeded 1k this year :S and it is only June! *sweat*
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