It’s strange to write about this, especially for a reading blog but I just haven’t been able to find the time to comfortably sit down and get engrossed in a good book lately. I usually do my leisure reading late at night when the demands of parenthood and work ebb but certain events and commitments of the past few months have left me totally exhausted by the time I crawl into bed.
There are simple pleasures to be found in staying up to read till the wee hours of the morning, a luxury I haven’t had for a while now. The peacefulness of the night with only the sound of pages being turned. I miss how slumber embraces me as my eyes slowly close, blurring the words and sentences on the page and seeing them again as moving images in my mind as I fall asleep holding my book. Dreams that are inspired by my books – I love those ones the best because they show that my subconscious mind has made a connection with what I read.
Once in a while when reading, I head up to the attic tower and push open all the bay windows to give myself a 360° view: the old colonial Government Quarters on one side, the Grand Mosque and its minarets to the left and to the south, the steeple of a Methodist church. There is an abundance of natural light as the cool breeze blows gently into the attic, I pack my favourite pipe and puff away to the accompaniment of thick black coffee, giving the room a wonderfully rich smell of aromatic tobacco and coffee. A small reading lamp with its warm glow is switched on to set the pensive mood. It is a personal ritual I observe to slow time down and add just that much more pleasure to an already consuming passion. Where’s your favourite spot to read a good book? Do you have personal reading ‘rituals’ that you observe?
I may give the impression that I’m religiously meticulous about taking care of my books but the truth is far from it. I have half-read books in my car, shoved into the small space between the front seats and the center console; folded and crumpled inside my office briefcase by files and sandwich boxes and a few at home stacked under magazines and children’s storybooks. Those ones sadly, bear the marks of mischievous little hands holding pens and crayons.
I feign disgust and harangue those who mistreat their books. But I am guilty a hundred times over of the same infractions. In my books, I underline phrases that I fancy (using pen and ink, mind you), draw stars next to memorable paragraphs, dog-ear the top of pages to mark important ‘turning points’ in a book’s plot and the bottom corner to mark the page that I’m currently at. All this is not for a want of proper instruction in the care of books. I have caring parents who read, love and treasure books. I have even experienced an ‘intervention’ of sorts in boarding school when I got singled out for cruel and humiliating punishment (that story another day) after sleuthy work by the school library’s geriatric corps identified me as the culprit behind the folded pages and broken spines. Perhaps as a lesson to other parents with young children, it may be wise to ‘catch them when they’re young’ when it comes to inculcating the habit of reading and taking good care of books. I read somewhere that the time to start is when a child is between 4 and 12 years of age. My parents got me started around 13 so that may be a plausible explanation for my conflicted behaviour towards books!
It’s one thing to want to read but not have the time and another thing altogether trying to want to read. How can you start reading and turn it into a habit?
I’ve written before about my journey as a book reader. I started young and then stopped for many years; distracted by television, computer games and the internet. I call those my ‘lost years’ because of the lost opportunity to read and explore such a wide range of literary works that would no doubt have had a profound and positive effect on my intellectual growth as a teenager. I look back and remember my peers who read widely then and who today enjoy the advantages that come with reading – better analytical and reasoning skills, a richer vocabulary and the one quality that appeals to me the most – the ability to talk about interesting topics in any given situation. So the benefits of reading are unquestionable and I’m glad I realised that not too late in my life. There are ways to make this into a habit and this is how I did it -
1. Start a Reading Blog
I started by blogging about the books I read. And that motivates me to read more because I enjoy writing the reviews afterwards. It gives each book I read more value for money so to speak, because finishing a book isn’t the end of it. It doesn’t mean putting it on a shelf and seeing it collect dust. Penning my thoughts about and responses to what I read brings the book back to life and affords me a second chance to spot the finer details that I may have missed in the first reading.
As you can see here on this site, I have a page called the Monk’s Bookshelf where I list out all the books I’ve acquired or plan to acquire. I’ve made public my commitment to read those titles and by going public, I’m compelled to stick to my goals. It makes me feel accountable and more determined to continue reading.
2. Carry a Book Everywhere
I carry a book with me when I go out especially if I know I will have moments when I will be alone. There is always a book in my car or in my briefcase. I also make it a point to read when I’m at the airport or on the plane. You’ll be surprised at the amount of reading you can accomplish in those situations and that in itself is further motivation to read more.
3. Stop Coming Up with Excuses
One of the most common excuses I hear about not reading is “I can’t find the time!” (yes, I am aware of what I wrote in the first paragraph but read on, read on). My usual response to that is simple and direct. If you have the time to read newspapers, to watch tv, to surf the internet and to check your email, then surely you’ve got time to read. So stop making excuses. The hardest part about reading is picking the book up and being disciplined enough to read the first few pages. But if you are determined enough, there is a point in your reading when your mind stops seeing words and sees images instead. That’s when you know you’re truly reading and enjoying it. You’re in the zone!
As a point of interest, you may want to know that studies show that the internet and television impact negatively our ability to read in the traditional sense, ie. books. So yes, turns out your annoying mother was right. People who use the internet a lot tend to have lower concentration levels and are unable to read books without having mental interruptions. They tend to “skim” and look for quick information. See this link to the article on how internet use affects humans. So think about it and reduce your use of the internet. Get a book instead, it’s so much better for your brain.
Now back to my problem. I suppose I’ve just solved it by writing about it. In the end, it comes down to better time management. The time it took for me to write this piece, I could’ve read quite a few substantial chapters from any of the 4 books I’m currently reading. Which is another point I’d like to make – don’t get too ambitious about reading many books especially concurrently. In the end, it kills the spirit and takes the fun out of it. Seeing piles of half-read books lying around has that negative effect and I have on occasions felt like giving up. One book at a time.
And one more thing : As I’ve inadvertently demonstrated when I started writing this piece, never under-estimate the power of laziness to come up with excuses for not reading.
So, do I have the time to read? Yes, I do. Admit it, you do too.
It’s Wednesday in a slow moving week which for me, started with the death of a young relative aged 24 from cancer. Her final moments were difficult and I find myself struggling to let go of the images my mind conjured upon hearing what happened. I have only met her once a few years ago when everyone thought her cancer was in remission. I guess death has brought relief not only to her own suffering but also those who have had to be there for her and endure the many years of feeling helpless.
But still, to die so young seems unfair and cruel. Unfair in that she has been denied the chance to see and experience so much. She had dreams of her own; things she wanted, places to go, people to meet. And cruel in that that her release from life was accompanied till the end by just suffering. I cry for her parents who must bear this loss of a child who has departed before them. I feel also for her siblings who carry on in life into old age without her. She will eternally be 24 years old.
This afternoon, as I worked at my desk in the office my elderly aunt dropped by for a visit. And as we chatted about our lives, she asked if I had heard of a poem by William Henry Davies entitled “Leisure”. I said ‘no’ and she proceeded to recite it for me.
It goes like this -
What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.No time to stand beneath the boughs
And stare as long as sheep or cows.No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night.No time to turn at Beauty’s glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance.No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began.A poor life this is if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.
I let the words settle in my mind. We both looked out the window at the river and the slow boats cruising past. Watching the currents, we each lost ourselves in our own thoughts.
As she approaches her 70th year and I, my 36th I’m sure we both appreciated the poem in different ways. Or perhaps the same way. For her, it may be with a tinge of regret for a life that could’ve been lived differently; of decisions that should have been made the other way or not made at all. Time was once a companion to her, who told her wonderful stories of tomorrow and promised her hope. Time was her age, a young lady full of energy and curiosity. Time would hold her hand and run ahead of her, pulling her, giggling as they both explored the many rooms in which Life resides. But as Age creeps in, Time fades away as a friend. No longer are Time’s stories full of wonder for her book is almost at an end. The pages left are not many. She can only turn the pages back and see the memories of those promises – some of which are broken.
I asked her to recite the poem again. And I paused to reflect deeper.
The boats continue to go past my windows. Two pigeons perch on the ledge. One pecks at the glass pane.
And yes, I see it.
There are now three of us in the room.
There, silently sitting beside my aunt, I see her old friend – Time. The beauty of this poem and her recollection of it must’ve been whispered to her gently by none other than Time herself. She is kind today. She lets go of my aunt’s arm and allows us this short moment to appreciate the present, our Now. She smiles and leaves us alone. Timeless.
I look back at my aunt. She tells me, “One day at a time. That is enough.”
She’s right.
It’s not everyday that I get free books to read and review but today, that’s what I got. Thanks to Munirah Hayati Muhtar, my comrade in the Bar Council Constitutional Law Committee and the Insitute for Democracy & Economic Affairs (IDEAS), I received two copies of Atlas Shrugged (50th Anniversary Edition), by Ayn Rand.
Until Munirah told me about her, I had no inkling who Ayn Rand was and how significant her book is. Atlas Shrugged was ranked only second to the Bible as the book that made the most difference in American readers’ lives. I haven’t read the book yet, obviously but from the reviews and commentary, this is one I am looking forward to spending time on.
Look out for my review soon. Thank you again, Munirah and IDEAS.
Something different this post and a change from my usual book reviews. This past week, the little town I live in has come alive with a by-election (to elect a new Member of Parliament) and with it, the attention of the whole nation. This is an article I wrote which was featured on Loyar Burok on 15 May 2010 under the title – “PM: I Give You What You Want. You Give Me What I Want”.
Every morning for the past few weeks, the usual birdsongs that accompany the breaking of dawn in sleepy Sibu have been drowned out by the sounds of blades chopping through the air as helicopters tear across the skies. The hitherto unseen phenomenon of traffic jams have become a daily occurrence as police outriders bulldoze cars to the side using their wailing sirens to make way for the slew of Ministers and VIPs who have descended on the town. Government motorcades zip through the town’s small streets in every which direction passing each other as officials madly rush to campaign and canvass all the villages and longhouses. Political billboards, flags, buntings and banners are erected, strung up, plastered and nailed on every street lamp-post, roundabout, around tree trunks, on car bonnets and even on the small vessels that ply the Igan and Rejang Rivers. Undilah Calon BN Robert Lau Hui Yew!. Vote for Wong Ho Leng!
There is a festival-like atmosphere. This town is alive again.
Sibu is a town that has seen better times. Gone are the heady days of the timber boom when the town was a hive of activity, flourishing with trade and enterprise; its streets filled with cars and people late into the night.
That was back in the 1980s. From the late 1990s onwards, Sibu has been on a steady decline, with both the economy and population shrinking. Streets in the town’s centre become quiet by the early evening. Visitors to Sibu who see the residential neighbourhoods almost always comment about the stark contrast between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have nots’. Palatial mansions on one side of the road and terrace houses and squatter huts on the other side. As they say here – the rich are very rich, and the poor are very poor. The middle-class is almost non-existent in Sibu.
Job opportunities are scarce and most returning graduates are forced to look for work elsewhere in other states or countries. Even unskilled workers are not spared and form part of this diaspora. There are for example, about 40,000 Dayak workers living and working in Johore. Attempts to revive the town by hosting annual cultural events, trade expos and promoting its shipbuilding industry haven’t really brought about the intended results and certainly don’t provide a sustainable solution to the problems.
Promises and plans to reverse the situation have not translated into real results. Talks about achieving City status in the early 2000s were delayed by a year, then two years and now no one even talks about it anymore. Once, this town was second to the State capital, Kuching. Now it has been surpassed by Miri City. It will not be long before Bintulu does the same.
The passing of the Member of Parliament for Bandar Sibu, Datuk Robert Lau Hoi Chew on 9 April 2010 triggered a by-election and with it the attention of the whole nation on Sibu. Suddenly the town is once again abuzz with activity. Police personnel, staffs of the various ministries, campaign workers and members of the press have all swarmed into Sibu. Businesses, especially hotels, eateries and supermarkets are thriving again. “This thing, this by-election, we should have it once every year,” a regular at one of the cafes remarked as the Prime Minister’s motorcade whizzed past.
Every night, the suburbs come alive with political ceramahs, and night after night after night, people flock to the Opposition rallies. In Rajang Park, an Opposition stronghold, lines of cars crawl on the roads as drivers rubberneck to see who is speaking. People crowd and push to get closer to the make-shift podiums to hear Pakatan Rakyat luminaries such as Khalid Ibrahim, Zaid Ibrahim, Nurul Izzah, Hatta Ramli, Zulkifley Ahmad, Anwar Ibrahim and Lim Kit Siang’s fiery speeches. Their voices boom out of loudspeakers and resonate throughout the pedestrian mall and neighbouring terrace houses.
Even when it rains, the people stand and listen. Some sit on the dirty pavement huddling under umbrellas. The crowds cheer and applause when Lim Guan Eng ascends the podium. “Can you believe it? He is the Chief Minister of Penang. A Chief Minister!” is the usual remark heard from amongst them. Tatooed gangsters past their prime sit in adjacent kopitiams, stone-faced and sipping their lukewarm Tsingtao beer but nodding in agreement to every word the Chief Minister utters.
The speakers shout out their party’s election battle-cry in Mandarin “Vote for the Rocket!” and the people shout it back but louder. There is a strong feeling of unity and common purpose to bring about change. While issues like corruption, government accountability and transparency are standard fare at most Pakatan Rakyat rallies, for Sibu they have zoomed in on more localised issues such roads, drainage and flooding, native customary rights and the high premiums connected to the renewal of expired land leases. Already, the State Government has given in to the pressure and announced a 50% discount on the premiums.
These local issues sell because they are glaringly visible and they affect the populace here on a daily basis. For example, the roads are full of pot-holes, uneven and in many instances, plainly unsafe. This is also something that doesn’t escape visitors to the town. The stretch of road outside the airport has been “under construction” for 4 years owing to a multitude of reasons only known to the Public Works Department. This is the first thing people see upon landing in Sibu.
Flood prone areas now all share a similar strange landscape. Most roads are on a level higher than the houses and driveways. The authorities’ flood mitigation plan ensures that roads are not submerged under water during floods. As for the houses and their dwellers, well, …
At a town hall meeting with voters in Sibu last Thursday, the Prime Minister attempted to answer a range of questions thrown at him from the slow speed of the internet to appeals to renegotiate the 5% oil royalty due to Sarawak. In between these, the voters asked the Prime Minister for an explanation of what 1Malaysia is, a review of the National Automotive Policy, what the government plans to do about brain-drain and deteriorating healthcare standards. But two things that came up over and over again were the issue of jobs and unfair treatment by government departments when it came to applications. People want jobs and wanted to know what the Government can do to create more jobs. People want to know that 1Malaysia is not a mere slogan but a real effort to change the mindset of not just the people. To some present at the meeting, they felt it was more important that 1Malaysia be aimed at those inside the government rather than outside.
Many times also, the moderator had to remind those who attended to ask only questions related to the Federal Government. Issues about high land premiums, difficulties in getting licences to mine sand, the problem of the thousands of swiftlets and sea-birds (and their droppings) that perch on trees and buildings in the town centre every night are undeniably State issues and to some, may even appear trivial. But to the average voter with no understanding about the federal-state dichotomy, these are just more unresolved issues in a long list of gripes already put forward to the Government – be it State or Federal. So when the Prime Minister told the voters of Sibu, “You give me what I want. I give you what you want. And you know what I want”. Did he bother to ask us what exactly it is that we want? Is the Government listening?
Another thing that the Government needs to be aware of also is that unhappiness over State administrations will boil over to the detriment of the Federal Government, and vice versa. The tendency of officials to ‘compartmentalise’ issues as exclusive from each other or to deny involvement in the activities of certain non-governmental groups that are closely linked to the Government just don’t cut it anymore. Attempts to spin a different story only end up damaging the Government’s credibility even more. In this day and age with the internet and independent news reporting, people know better.
And any government that can’t be trusted, is a government with its days numbered.
Note: The result of the by-election was announced last night at about 10.00pm. Mr Wong Ho Leng of the Opposition Democratic Action Party was elected the new Member of Parliament for Sibu.
Loading ...
What Readers Say