An opinion piece by Ling Sing Lin
I cannot remember the books I’ve read anymore than the meals I have eaten; even so, they have made me.
——Ralph Waldo Emerson
Reading Habit
Since a young age, I have enjoyed burying myself in a storybook. It is a cheap pastime if you frequent libraries rather than bookshops. Borrowing and returning books also has the advantage of not requiring more and more shelf space. It is not surprising that my daughters and grandchildren are also readers.
I sometimes pick up from the library a book that I have read before, and only discover this when I start to read the book at home. When I am returning library books, I often forget what the book was about just by looking at the cover. Early dementia or too much information?
After retirement, I find that I generally read a book a week or 50 books a year. In comparison, the National Arts Council found that less than 50% of Singaporeans read at least one book a year. In other words, 50% of Singaporeans don’t read books at all.
Movies
On the other hand, I don’t watch movies often. I don’t even watch Netflix. I only watch Channel 8 on TV to watch Chinese programs and news. I find this a slow but painless way to improve my limited Chinese vocabulary. Because I watch so few movies, whenever I come across some scenes of a movie I have seen before, I can quickly recollect it. If I watch a movie after reading the book, invariably I will prefer the written version. I remember looking at a list of 100 movies compiled by a random person, of “must watch” movies. I had only seen 3 or 4 movies on the list of one hundred.
We are what we eat
All of us have eaten countless meals over our lifetimes. Unless a particular meal was so good or so bad that it made an impact, we forget about them quite quickly. Moreover, the most expensive meals are not necessarily the best. Nevertheless, the food we ingested have benefitted our bodies (or otherwise). Most of us know something about nutrition — energy giving foods (carbohydrates), body building foods (proteins) and protective foods (vitamins and minerals).
So long as overall we take a good mix of the different food groups, nutritionally we are alright. Our food makes us what we are, physically.
Just as food nourishes a body, books provide nutrition to the soul.
We are what we Read
I find that my male friends tend to read non fiction, like politics, world events, history, etc. I prefer fiction, and live vicariously through the fictional and exciting lives of the protagonists in the books. I read for pleasure and to pass time.
What I picked up over the years from the books I have read and have internalized what I consider good principles, gradually made me who I am. I believe I can empathize with others more unfortunate than me. I am more conscious of my choice of words. I enjoy writing as words flow without much effort once I decide on the topic. I believe that if I did not have my reading habit, I would never even consider writing a blog. So my reading hobby has given me my writing hobby. That I think is a good deal. Development of one skill leads to another.
If we utilise the gifts God gives us, we develop greater skills and the ability to do more. Find yourself, maybe through books.
lingsinglin
Dr Ling Sing Lin is a medical doctor by training. She worked in MOH HQ for many years, in policy making and administrative positions, until her retirement.
