Sunday, August 5, 2007

The Reading Bug ...

I'm an avid reader and so is my wife. Recently though, I've been noticing that she's been reading quite a bit of books from my collection which really surprised me. She loves reading and she has her own genre (which includes women and romance and not forgetting those Mills & Boons books which she complains of always having the same plot yet she keep on reading them ... LOL!) and it was really amusing for me to see her read my Clive Cussler, Dan Brown and Robert Ludlum books :)

It all started when she was out of books to read and decided to read the Da Vinci Code. She got so engrossed in reading it (that for that period of time, I did the cooking ... hehehe) and when she finished the book, she wanted me to go get her Dan Brown's other novel, Angels & Demons. Though I've read the book I don't really have that book in my collection and I didn't have time to get the book for her so she started to go through my Clive Cussler collection (which is quite a huge number) and she finished reading it all in the space of ten days, I think. Now she's harassing me to get Angels & Demons again ... LOL! (Ok, honey, I'll get it for you already)

I love reading and have been reading anything and everything I can get my hands on since I was a wee little lad (and you can imagine how long ago that was ... hehehe). I read all kinds of stuff ranging from novels (thriller, adventure, non-fiction stuff, etc) right up to comics!

When I was young, my mom used to work in MPH Bookstores and she would bring home lots of books for me to read. I'm sure some of you remember those old Enid Blyton books, right? She used to bring home quite a lot of those books and my favourites were The Five Find Outers (from the Enid Blyton Mystery series), The Famous Five, The Hardy boys and yes, The Nancy Drew Mysteries :) I used to spend hours reading those books after getting home from school often at the expense of not doing my school work (but of course, after I had my all important afternoon nap ... LOL!)

I guess I owe my reading habits to my mom. I have this huge (well, not too shabby) collection of books and I think I've read most of them at least 20 times (seriously!). I'm a huge sci-fi fan also and I've got this large collection of Star Trek novels (some contributed by my good buddy, Adrian) and also this big pile of comics (spider man, superman, X-men, etc) ranging back to my primary school days. I threatened to disown my mom once long ago in my secondary school days when she wanted to throw my comics away ... LOL!

I'm also very fussy with my book collection, ask my wife, the other day when she was reading my Clive Cussler collection, I imposed strict rules not to open the book too wide so the spine would not be damaged, not to have any drinks near the books, etc .... hehehe ... I try to keep my books in pristine conditions and the kids know better than to mess with my precious books, though they've gotten into reading my comics every now and then. I wish they'd really read more. Kids nowadays just plain don't read anymore ... sigghhhh ...

I guess the Playstation, cellphones (even my 7 year old nephew has a cellphone for goodness sake), i-pods and the advent of the cartoon channels, it's easier for kids to watch than to imagine. That probably explains the newer generation kids who are whizzes at all things modern but with a total lack of imagination! To all kids who still love reading, here's two thumbs up for you.

As for me, I don't think I could not go a day without getting my hands on something to read, be it the newspaper, my wife's womenly mags (LOL!) or even the local hypermart brochures ... hahahaha ... Ok, now I've got to go find that Angels & Demons books or the wife is gonna keep on complaining she's got nothing to read :)

29 comments:

  1. I am like you, I will read most anything. My mother read all the time but she read many "trashy novels". Those I will not waste my time with. I read to my boys from birth until they were 12 or so. Neither is a reader and that makes me sad. They don't even read as much for school as I did in high school. Because they have to pass these stupid tests(non fiction reading and math) to graduate.

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  2. You are too funny! I bet you are the best husband ever! YOur wie won the husband lottery! Anyway, thanks for the kind words on the page I appreciate it! I am an avid reader as well, although I don't really collect books. I tend to trade books for newer books, at a Trade-A-Book store! Well I hope this note finds you and your family well!

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  3. Oops, I meant your "wife won the husband lottery!"

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  4. I read a lot but usually Non Fiction, great blog!

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  5. Janice, I wish my kids would read a lot more too. Too many other distractions out there for kids nowadays. Why read when they can watch it on TV!

    Barrett, you mean there is a husband lottery? LOL! We have this rent-a-book shop near my place and I do rent them as well (you return the book, you get a certain amount of money back), it's just that if the book is something I really like or want, I won't return it :) I'll just add it to my collection.

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  6. Bob, Good to see you here :) I read all kids of stuff and I'm fascinated by space and astronomy as well. Hope to see you around more often.

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  7. Bud! I have Angels and Demons if you want! :)

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  8. Oh man I love to read too and I had all those Enid Blytons too!!! :)

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  9. My buddy, my friend, my pal, you're a lifesaver ... LOL! Cool, will drop by one of these days and pick it up, at least the wife will be pretty happy. For that I shall refrain from insulting you for a whole day, maybe 2 days even. LOL!

    Bobo, cool. Enid Blyton was the 'in-book' those days. Which kid didn't have at least one, ya?

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  10. I used to read like that, these days though, I fall asleep if I sit still too long LOL Ah well, my DH goes through books like water - piles and piles of them, I dont think the library has anything he hasnt read - so sounds like youve got alot of company Nick!
    Have a great day!

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  11. I remember those Enid Blyton books - only I grew up thinking that ALL British schoolchildren went to boarding school! LOL! Great to see there are fellow READERS out there.

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  12. Nice to have both hubs & wifey enjoy reading together. My sis loves reading those Mills & Boons books too. Same reaction, always the same plot yet she keep on reading... LOL !! Gals are really very supportive of their fav authors :) :)

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  13. Lavender, The more readers the merrier. I actually read until I can't keep my eyes open (or until the wife complains of not being able to sleep with the lights on ... LOL!). A great day to you too.

    The beading gen, nice to see you here. So far, I haven't met anyone (well, from my age bracket anyway) who hasn't read an Enid Blyton book yet.

    Janice - Actually, do they still have those Mills & Boons books anymore? (have to ask the wife about it later). That was one of the reasons (among many more) I fell in love with the wife, cos she loves reading :)

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  14. i love Enid Blyton and nancy drew!!!

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  15. Clive Cussler gave me an adrenaline rush while I was curled up in bed in a cold, rainy morning reading Inca Gold.
    I haven't read The Mediterranean Caper, Pacific Vortex yet and all books after Valhalla Rising though.

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  16. Shana, another Enid Blyton fan! You must be my age ... LOL! Just kidding. Good to know there are many Enid Blyton readers out there.

    Spidamang - Good to have you visit :) Yeah, Clive Cussler does give you an adrenaline rush, go get those books that you haven't read and I'm sure you'll enjoy them as much as I did :)

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  17. Hi Nick! Enid Blyton I LOVE... Love Famous Five and Secret Seven. Mills & Boon not so much though ;)

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  18. OMG I miss Enid Blyton! In fact, I was telling my friend the other day how I hardly see kids reading Enid these days.. as compared to when I was one.

    You read a lot of books? Koolies!

    We used to have a book rack in the toilet back home, because that's like er.. our mini library.. Everyone at home tend to read when they're at it.. LOL

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  19. I love Clive Cussler's hero, Dirk Pitt:) I've read quite a few books, I must admit my fav is Inca Gold.

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  20. oh nick, i missed enid blyton! i used to love reading books but it has stop afetr my secondary school. Now, i love reading from internet. :P

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  21. Nick, I can see that you've been doing a lot of cooking lately :)

    Just a thought, maybe you can share some of your recipe secrets with us sometime ?

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  22. Marzie, I think all the girls love Enid Blyton books (oh man, what does that make me ... LOL!) Yeah, Famous Five was on my all time list of favourites too.

    Cindy, I just can't get enuf of reading. A lot of people have mini libraries in the toilet too. LOL! And yes, I wish kids nowadays would read a lot more too ...

    Sweetiepie, Another Clive Cussler fan ... hurray :) Yeah, Inca Gold is pretty good. You should try his other adventure series, The Kurt Austin series or his Oregon Files adventures. I'm sure you'll just love it :)

    Jean, They have Enid Blyton stories on the net? Cool, I'm gonna check it out.

    Sharon, Recipe secrets? Urmm, sure. How about the Scrambled egg special ... LOL! I just cook real simple stuff only, nothing fancy and definitely nothing secretive in the recipes. LOL!

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  23. I'm not too sure too. I hardly see my sis reading them now cos all of them are busy with their family. They are more into vcd/dvd those korean drama nowdays.

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  24. hmmm nick, now i can see why you write so well, out of the books you mentioned i think i am a little familiar with nancy drew and the hardy boys, i read some of them when i was younger but did not actually understand them, i was terrible when it comes to English then, LOL^^ keep up the good job^^

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  25. Janice, That's what TV does to people. make them too lazy to read ... LOL!

    Lordmanilastone - your English seems pretty good to me, buddy :) Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys were one of the few titles back then.

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  26. That was one hell of a post! How is life friend! I think Blue Cheese is a snack, I love it on salads and burgers! Hope this finds you well!

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  27. Howdy Barrett, Hell doesn't even begin to describe it ... LOL! Life is pretty good, thank you. I just love blue cheese. I love having it with crackers ... simply delicious :)

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  28. Nick, have u ever tried the Blue Cheese burger at Chillis, ur buddy's fav restaurant? It's YUMMY but the last time I went, they took it off the menu :( That was the only blue cheese burger around ok! ;)

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  29. Nope, never did try the blue cheese there. Sad as it may seem, I haven't been to Chillis yet!

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