July 17, 2014

Life Skill : Reading

Many have came to me and asked if I am “very free”. Whenever I question what makes them think so, their reply usually goes, “because I see you reading all the time!”.

Just like any relationship that requires effort for bonds to be strengthened, cultivating the habit and love for reading is almost the same. You may be too busy to read every single day, but you can’t be too busy to read at all. Same goes for exercise.

I’ve also been asked many times,”If you are busy, then where do you find the time to read?” Truth: It is hard for me to find time to read! But it is all a matter of priority.

{Said Siri}

Personally, I dedicate my lunch time on weekdays to take a break from work and faces, to escape into a ‘different world’. Ever since I started do that in 2012, lunch time has always been the-time-of-the-day that I look most forward to. However, I must first confess that I am a lucky girl; as mum prepares my BLT (breakfast, lunch and tea) boxes for me almost everyday so that I can eat slightly earlier, and read at a cosy coffee shop nearby the office.

{Lunch boxes + cute notes from my mum 🙂 }

As I enter my mid / late-20’s, I often find myself shifting uncomfortably; drifting away in gruesome talks or while watching ‘beer jokes’ float by. In return, I become taciturn or simply put on a display of ‘charity smiles’, as I secretly think of my bed. I start craving for deeper conversations tête-à-tête, or with a crowd that is genuinely capable of fabricating an evening filled with refreshing ideas, or share of experiences from different places.

Don’t get me wrong – I am not anti-social and I so much enjoy my crazy ‘Sex & The City‘ moments with my girl friends. But I have learned to be pickier in terms of choosing which company is worth the effort and more importantly, time.

It didn’t take me long to realize that books, too, are friends. There are so many books in this world that you can’t possibly finish knowing them all, just like the people who populate this earth. What I couldn’t find or I find lacking in people, often I find them in books.

From my paper friends I’ve heard wonderful stories, learned many beautiful words I never knew existed, seen interpretations of life through different eyes, and lived many lives in one; all while being serenaded by the craft of writing.

So read, my friends. With that said, I will try my best to recommend a book every once a month in this blog. We’ll see how it goes, because it takes as much time to write as it is to read; and I can’t decide which I love better . . .

We write by the light of every story we have ever read. – Richard Peck