How To Be a Lifelong Bookworm?
Hello BS-ers,
How's your day going so far? I haven't heard from you guys for a while but the stat shows the daily views of this blog are gradually increasing, so I guess you guys are reading? Thank you for your support.
#1 You guys know I like books.
I like reading books since I was three, and I still have a vivid and fond memory of how my first book looked like. It was a very basic and simple alphabet book my mom gifted me. It was a humid and warm evening, she sat me down in the living room upstairs... Ya, I grew up in a huge 1/2 wooden 1/2 concrete house that had a second living room on the second floor with a lavish pool table despite living in a tiny village in a small town. At least that's how I remember it, my early childhood days.
So that evening, my mom had a courageous and ambitious idea to teach her 3y/o firstborn to read. The memory still seems super fresh, trust me, it feels like yesterday when she requested me to repeat the first 3 alphabets in the book: A is for Apple, B is for Ball, C is for Cat... She repeated and flipped through the pages, over and over again three times but I still can't remember a thing except A is for Apple.
She got furious. The next second, she lost it.
She tore my first book into half, in front of me. The whole experience scarred me. Never thought a special mommy-and-me time could turn into such a horrific experience.
My mom stomped out of the living room and left the scene. I was sitting there by myself, with my first book and its pages that had been entirely torn out. I was traumatized and cried so hard, not just because my mom was mad at me but more so because of my own stupidity and poor working memory.
I went to my room and looked for a tape while repeating A is for Apple, B is for Ball, C is for Cat, over and over again in my mind until I can correctly pronounce those words and recognize the shape of each alphabet.
I then went to look for my mom, she was sitting on a couch in the living room downstairs. I braved myself to approach her, sobbed and then muttered, "A is for Apple, B is for Ball, C is for Cat... Can you help me tape it back?" My mom did help me with the book, she was surprised that I finally remembered all three alphabets. The same week, I memoried 26 of the alphabets (for the sake of memorizing) not knowing I'll be stuck with those alphabets forever.
If so, what's the rush mom?
My mom was 27 at that time. I'm not sure if I'd handle the situation better than her if I were born and raised in that era, with limited help and resources. I didn't blame her but I always thought the whole incident wasn't necessary. If I had a time machine, I'd turn back time to that humid evening and tell my mom, "Aunty, just chilled, mm shu kong (no need to worry, in Hakka, go ask Google if you don't believe me) your daughter is going to be a lifelong bookworm, Just enjoy your time together,"
Well, you totally don't have to be traumatized by your parent to be an avid reader. Reading should be fun; it should be a fun escape from reality. But my bookworm life took a twist when I first became a mom. As funny as it sounds, it wasn't that traumatizing childhood experience that stole the fun of it, it was motherhood.
The early days of motherhood were all about figuring out a game plan to keep my head above water and to maintain sanity in the household albeit sleep-deprived. There wouldn’t be time to curl up with a book anymore. It felt like a decade to finish a book, and that frustrated me a lot. So I gave up reading books that I enjoy; I revamped my whole reading list and fill it with books that I MUST read instead: The Whole-Brained Child, Last Child in The Woods, No-Drama Discipline, The Body Keeps The Score and probably 10 dozens more... And I went through the reading list like a Form 6 student prepping for STPM exam, haha.
What's the rush Bev?
As my firstborn grew, I matured too. I realized my self-love ability was at the lowest point, it sunk into a sinkhole, guess what, I was the one that pushed myself into that sinkhole ironically. My daily life as a first-time mom was joyful but not much fun.
So one sunny and breezy afternoon, I sat myself down, like how my mom did with me when I was three. I listed three things that I enjoyed doing at that particular moment, reading was one of them. I revamped my reading list again, but this time I replaced it with My Horizontal Life by Chelsea Handler, This Is How You Lose Her, Milk and Honey, Man's Search For Meaning and probably a dozen more (ya, only a dozen more this time cause baby was growing bigger, no time to juggle eh.)
Oh boy, my life was suddenly filled with bliss and light although I still pretty much doing the same things day in day out... My soul was nurtured; my spirit was lifted. Never thought a tiny change of action could make such a huge impact.
#2 I've been burying my head in books that I really enjoyed since 😊😊😊
Here's the final takeaway... If you were once a book lover but somehow lost in the vast of the modern world, have no fear my friend, mm shu kong. Here are some of my strategies to stay connected with the reading world...
1) Seize the modern technology. There are tons of apps and podcasts that can help fill your needs, like Blinkist and What Should I Read Next? . They are designed for readers that have hectic and demanding schedules. These apps come in handy, check them out.
2) Read anything. Comic, novel, non-fiction, memoir, genre doesn’t matter. Reading is the perfect hobby for any stage of your life. Your reading materials do not have to be serious or purposeful; it can be as casual as reading an in-flight magazine. The material doesn't quite matter but the healthy reading habit.
3) Mini goal. Once you've established a reading habit, try to set mini reading goals to keep the momentum going. You can easily do that with the apple app, iBook. My current reading goal is set to 5-minute, every day, haha. I know you are laughing at me now, but hey I often over-achieve my daily goal ok, pure satisfaction whenever I did that.
4) Join/Host a Book Club. No pressure. This is for advanced readers only, jk lah. I'm lucky enough to be surrounded by a group of mama friends that love reading too, we take turns organizing and hosting our monthly book club. It's so much fun to mingle and socialize with friends who share the same interest and passion.
#3 There's a proverb in Chinese that goes: 书中自有黄金屋,书中自有颜如玉. It literally means, "in books are sumptuous houses and graceful ladies". It urges one to be diligent in his/her studies and the success will follow.
#4
As I grow older, I think I understand why my mom was mad at me at that time. I thank my mom for teaching me that important lesson: It's a privilege to read at a young age. She probably had saved up money for that colorful alphabet book, just so I can read.
To her, reading is sacred. Through her, I learn that reading is empowering. With the ability to read at such a young age, it sets me free from difficult circumstances and opens up so many precious opportunities in my life.
And that is the most precious gift that I could ever ask for. ❤️❤️❤️
Happy reading y'all,
Bev
How's your day going so far? I haven't heard from you guys for a while but the stat shows the daily views of this blog are gradually increasing, so I guess you guys are reading? Thank you for your support.
#1 You guys know I like books.
I like reading books since I was three, and I still have a vivid and fond memory of how my first book looked like. It was a very basic and simple alphabet book my mom gifted me. It was a humid and warm evening, she sat me down in the living room upstairs... Ya, I grew up in a huge 1/2 wooden 1/2 concrete house that had a second living room on the second floor with a lavish pool table despite living in a tiny village in a small town. At least that's how I remember it, my early childhood days.
So that evening, my mom had a courageous and ambitious idea to teach her 3y/o firstborn to read. The memory still seems super fresh, trust me, it feels like yesterday when she requested me to repeat the first 3 alphabets in the book: A is for Apple, B is for Ball, C is for Cat... She repeated and flipped through the pages, over and over again three times but I still can't remember a thing except A is for Apple.
She got furious. The next second, she lost it.
She tore my first book into half, in front of me. The whole experience scarred me. Never thought a special mommy-and-me time could turn into such a horrific experience.
My mom stomped out of the living room and left the scene. I was sitting there by myself, with my first book and its pages that had been entirely torn out. I was traumatized and cried so hard, not just because my mom was mad at me but more so because of my own stupidity and poor working memory.
I went to my room and looked for a tape while repeating A is for Apple, B is for Ball, C is for Cat, over and over again in my mind until I can correctly pronounce those words and recognize the shape of each alphabet.
I then went to look for my mom, she was sitting on a couch in the living room downstairs. I braved myself to approach her, sobbed and then muttered, "A is for Apple, B is for Ball, C is for Cat... Can you help me tape it back?" My mom did help me with the book, she was surprised that I finally remembered all three alphabets. The same week, I memoried 26 of the alphabets (for the sake of memorizing) not knowing I'll be stuck with those alphabets forever.
If so, what's the rush mom?
My mom was 27 at that time. I'm not sure if I'd handle the situation better than her if I were born and raised in that era, with limited help and resources. I didn't blame her but I always thought the whole incident wasn't necessary. If I had a time machine, I'd turn back time to that humid evening and tell my mom, "Aunty, just chilled, mm shu kong (no need to worry, in Hakka, go ask Google if you don't believe me) your daughter is going to be a lifelong bookworm, Just enjoy your time together,"
Well, you totally don't have to be traumatized by your parent to be an avid reader. Reading should be fun; it should be a fun escape from reality. But my bookworm life took a twist when I first became a mom. As funny as it sounds, it wasn't that traumatizing childhood experience that stole the fun of it, it was motherhood.
The early days of motherhood were all about figuring out a game plan to keep my head above water and to maintain sanity in the household albeit sleep-deprived. There wouldn’t be time to curl up with a book anymore. It felt like a decade to finish a book, and that frustrated me a lot. So I gave up reading books that I enjoy; I revamped my whole reading list and fill it with books that I MUST read instead: The Whole-Brained Child, Last Child in The Woods, No-Drama Discipline, The Body Keeps The Score and probably 10 dozens more... And I went through the reading list like a Form 6 student prepping for STPM exam, haha.
What's the rush Bev?
As my firstborn grew, I matured too. I realized my self-love ability was at the lowest point, it sunk into a sinkhole, guess what, I was the one that pushed myself into that sinkhole ironically. My daily life as a first-time mom was joyful but not much fun.
So one sunny and breezy afternoon, I sat myself down, like how my mom did with me when I was three. I listed three things that I enjoyed doing at that particular moment, reading was one of them. I revamped my reading list again, but this time I replaced it with My Horizontal Life by Chelsea Handler, This Is How You Lose Her, Milk and Honey, Man's Search For Meaning and probably a dozen more (ya, only a dozen more this time cause baby was growing bigger, no time to juggle eh.)
Oh boy, my life was suddenly filled with bliss and light although I still pretty much doing the same things day in day out... My soul was nurtured; my spirit was lifted. Never thought a tiny change of action could make such a huge impact.
#2 I've been burying my head in books that I really enjoyed since 😊😊😊Here's the final takeaway... If you were once a book lover but somehow lost in the vast of the modern world, have no fear my friend, mm shu kong. Here are some of my strategies to stay connected with the reading world...
1) Seize the modern technology. There are tons of apps and podcasts that can help fill your needs, like Blinkist and What Should I Read Next? . They are designed for readers that have hectic and demanding schedules. These apps come in handy, check them out.
2) Read anything. Comic, novel, non-fiction, memoir, genre doesn’t matter. Reading is the perfect hobby for any stage of your life. Your reading materials do not have to be serious or purposeful; it can be as casual as reading an in-flight magazine. The material doesn't quite matter but the healthy reading habit.
3) Mini goal. Once you've established a reading habit, try to set mini reading goals to keep the momentum going. You can easily do that with the apple app, iBook. My current reading goal is set to 5-minute, every day, haha. I know you are laughing at me now, but hey I often over-achieve my daily goal ok, pure satisfaction whenever I did that.
4) Join/Host a Book Club. No pressure. This is for advanced readers only, jk lah. I'm lucky enough to be surrounded by a group of mama friends that love reading too, we take turns organizing and hosting our monthly book club. It's so much fun to mingle and socialize with friends who share the same interest and passion.
#3 There's a proverb in Chinese that goes: 书中自有黄金屋,书中自有颜如玉. It literally means, "in books are sumptuous houses and graceful ladies". It urges one to be diligent in his/her studies and the success will follow.
#4
As I grow older, I think I understand why my mom was mad at me at that time. I thank my mom for teaching me that important lesson: It's a privilege to read at a young age. She probably had saved up money for that colorful alphabet book, just so I can read.
To her, reading is sacred. Through her, I learn that reading is empowering. With the ability to read at such a young age, it sets me free from difficult circumstances and opens up so many precious opportunities in my life.
And that is the most precious gift that I could ever ask for. ❤️❤️❤️
Happy reading y'all,
Bev