Stories…

Sometime ago, I was tagged by cc of www.quaintmelody.com and my apologies to her for having taken my sweet time to get down to it. Well, as they say, better late than never! LOL!! This particular tag is about books and reading. It is a bit long, so I have left out a few of the questions. These are the ones that I have chosen to respond to…

Do you remember how you developed a love for reading?
When I was young, I loved reading comics – Superman, Batman, Flash, The Phantom, The Green Lantern, Aquaman…you name it, I had read it! I also had an auntie who would buy books for me for Christmas, birthdays, doing well in examinations, so I guess that also contributed to the inculcation of the reading habit in me since young.

What are some books you read as a child?
I do not think there were any Ladybird or Bookworm books at the time. I remember I had some fairy tale books with big letters and lots of colourful pictures. I had “The Steadfast Tin Soldier” and “Bluebeard” among others and I read Enid Blyton too…and later I progressed to The Secret Seven, The Famous Five and so on.

What is your favourite genre?
Fiction, of course…and I like to read the works of local/Asian writers with the more familiar setting and culture.

Do you have a favourite novel?
I loved “Goodbye, Mr Chips” by James Hilton and my all-time favourite has got to be “Twilight of the Nyonyas” by Chin Kee Onn…

…until I read Mitch Albom’s “Tuesdays with Morrie”.

Do you read nonfiction in a different way or place than you read fiction?
I do not usually read non-fiction books unless I need some information, so it is definitely different. In fact, I have not bought many – just this collector’s item…

and some books on science or nature…but I do keep abreast with such factual stuff in the magazines that I subscribe to. My missus buys a lot of recipe books though (…but hardly ever cooks! Can just drool over the pictures! Sob! Sob!).

Do you buy most of the books you read or borrow them or check them out of the library?
I normally buy my own. I love the smell of new books…like the smell of new currency notes and I cannot stand old books that have turned yellow and have a horrible stench. I may borrow from friends and family sometimes but not from any library.

Do you keep most of the books you buy? If not, what do you do with them?
I normally do…but sometimes people borrow and never return. Darn!!!

What books would you like to reread?
My daughter does that but I usually don’t except for some humorous light reading books like these perhaps…

Who are your favourite authors?
None in particular, but I used to like the short stories written by Catherine Lim, especially her “Little Ironies – Stories of Singapore”…

So there you have it, cc! I’ve done it…but I’m not going to tag anybody though. Wouldn’t wanna spoil their weekend. We’re having an extended one here because of National Day. Do have a bash this weekend, everybody!

P.S.: Oops! Looks like cc tagged jeremychee and I was tagged by him. Haiz! Old man lah! Memory not so good anymore (but can remember sweet young chick better! Hahahahaha!!!!). Coincidentally, we have the same title for our posts. I know “Stories” by Taiwan singer, Ch’yi (Best known for her theme song from the Chinese movie, “Your smiling face” or her cover of Mac Davis’ “Whoever finds this, I love you”).