My love affair with books began at an early age. I don’t quite remember exactly when I was first introduced to books, but it must have been around age 1 or 2. Of course I couldn’t read on my own yet. My parents used to read for me. My first books were about Disney characters, Aladdin, Sleeeping Beauty, Cinderella, Snow White. They filled my mind with images of princesses, castles, magical creatures. I would go to my mum and make her read it. After she finished it, I would go up to my dad and make him read it. Then I would go to my mum again. I kept going back and forth between them. It used to drive them nuts. I guess anyone who had to read Cinderella for hundreds of times a day would go crazy too. It must have been quite a relief for them when I finally learn to read on my own.
My early years were filled with books from Enid Blyton. I didn’t have much choice in the matter actually because I lived in quite a small town and there are no major book retailers available. There are some small bookstores in my hometown but it mostly caters to revision books. The few storybooks that they do carry are those from Enid Blyton.
During this time, since I have no means of getting books on my own, I had to rely on my mum to satisfy my thirst for reading. She was an avid reader herself and has a collection of books from authors like Azizi Hj. Abdullah, A. Samad Said, Shahnon Ahmad and mostly from her favourite author Khadijah Hashim. One of the most important books for me comes from her collection. It is “Konserto Terakhir” by Abdullah Hussain. I first read it in primary school, probably around the age of 10, and immediately fell in love with it. It opens up a new world for me, a rich world of Malay Literature. The novel also marks my transition from reading children and teenage novels to reading more “mature” books. The novel is full of social comments, but naturally when you were 10 you have no idea about the underlying meaning of the novel. All I know is that the book is so beautifully written that I had a hard time putting it down. Over the years, I would go back to it again and again. Sadly, the book went missing several years ago so I had not the chance to relive the experience again. Soon after finishing the book,I immediately started to devour my mother’s collection and read books like Seorang Tua di Kaki Gunung and Saga. If I had not started with Konserto Terakhir, I would have probably never thought of reading the other books.
When I was in secondary school, I hate going to assemblies. So I used to hide out in the library, a damp dark place that noone hardly ever goes to. This is the setting of my encounter with the 2nd book that is important to me. While browsing through the dusty shelves for something to read, I stumbled across a nondescript looking book titled “The Daughter of Time” by Josephine Tey. For lack of anything else to do in that tomb of a place,I started reading it. The story of a modern day detective trying to solve a mystery from hundreds of years ago is very intriguing. The book is important because it helped shape my interest for the historical fiction genre as well as fuelled my fascination with medieval England. Most of all, the book introduces me to one of the greatly misunderstood character in history, Richard III, a king of England who later became one of the most hated man in all of England. He has such an impact on the literary world that even Shakespeare wrote a play about him. He was the ultimate medieval villain. Shakespeare portrayed Richard as a grotesque monster and killer, and that is how the world in general views him. However in Daughter of Time, these misconceptions are challenged through historical evidences. Shakespeare served Queen Elizabeth whose grandfather took over the throne from Richard III. Of course he would paint the usurper in a favourable light. Historical truth has no chance when competing with the coveted favour of the queen. This book helped me realise that you can’t believe everything you read and that some author have no qualms about twisting facts to serve their needs.
Those are the two books that are very important to me, in regards to my reading habit. Konserto Terakhir helped me appreciate Malay Literature while The Daughter of Time teaches me that there are different sides of the so called history of the world. Some people may view certain events differently, so it's always good to keep your mind open, listen to all opinions and views and make the an informed, independent choice of your own.
