The Star Online: Lifestyle: Bookshelf
The Star Online: Lifestyle: Bookshelf |
| Posted: 21 Aug 2011 04:40 AM PDT The "Books That Rocked My World" Survey MOST avid readers will attest to the fact that the books they read can often exert a profound influence over their lives. University of Illinois-Chicago's Prof Dr Alfred Tatum, however, goes one step further and says that you are, in fact, what you read. He calls this a "bookprint" – the mark a book leaves on our lives that shapes who we are and who we become. This forms a "textual lineage", or a reading auto and writing biography that shows that who you are is in part developed through the stories and information you've experienced. Based on this concept, publisher Scholastic has developed an online community called You Are What You Read at youarewhatyouread.scholastic.com. The site allows readers to share the books that have most influenced their lives, and you can also see the bookprints of famous names from around the world, including from the fields of sports, entertainment, (Daniel Radcliffe's is currently featured!), arts, business and publishing personalities. Spurred on by this, we bookworms at Star2 are eager to know what Malaysian readers' bookprints would be. Share with us those books that inspired you, changed you or simply shaped the person you are today. To participate, go to thestar.com.my/lifestyle/lifebookshelf/ and look for the "Books That Rocked My World" survey and answer the questions. You can also snail mail or fax us (see The Star newspaper). The survey closes on Aug 28, 2011. |
| Posted: 21 Aug 2011 01:13 AM PDT Today's busy, multitasking parents have an easy-to-use stress buster right there at home: children and books. Bring them together and watch the day's problems fade away. PARENTS these days are likely to guffaw uncontrollably – and slightly hysterically since the question would terrorize most – when asked whether or not they read aloud to their small children. I know: amidst the hustle and bustle of life and what with the cutthroat competition at work, they simply do not have the luxury of time and patience. I believe that modern parents, while reading to acquire the information they need to survive, tend to skim with a light hand over web pages, leaving no trace of their passing in books. And this has become even more prevalent with the advent of e-books; some young, tech-savvy parents increasingly regard books as a medium soon to die and book reading a pastime of past generations. Some go as far as replacing books with gadgets and tablets, believing that their children are better off being well versed in the World Wide Web rather than being passionate about old fashioned books. Dear reader, you might have guessed already that I am not one of those parents. As a book lover of many decades – since I was a child myself, actually – I love reaping the benefits of the days when I read to my two children. These immense benefits will also shape their characters, and that of any young child, and are likely to affect them positively throughout their lives. I think that reading to infants is one of the very best things that parents can do for them. I do know that babies like being read to.They will giggle in delight at the calming or funny voices of their parents even though they may not understand the words. Soon, they will associate reading with attention, love, laughter, and pretty pictures. My son's first book, just before turning one, was Rod Campbell's Dear Zoo, a pretty little board book that is fun to listen to if it is read in a drawling voice. My playful tone must have resonated in his mind all these years, for when he first read to his little sister, he mimicked that cheekiness, causing her to drool and laugh. As babies get older, parents can introduce them to pictures. Even at a young age and long before they know the alphabet, they can begin to learn a lot about reading. They will discover that books are read from front to back and that pages are read from top to bottom and left to right. As we continue to read to them and introduce them to stories, they will realise that the print on the pages are words and that pictures represent real objects. And reading to young children is an excellent preparation for formal lessons in school. My daughter, having been read to since she was an infant, has progressed from letter recognition to word identification very fast. "I love cats," she recently wrote. How cool is that for a four-year-old? Much of children's intelligence is developed before they even get to school. When you read to them, you are building the pathways in their brains needed for future successful reading experiences. And they will gain the auditory perceptiveness that allows them to think about how words sound. Furthermore, reading stimulates children's language development, as they are like little sponges mimicking everything they hear when they are young. Thanks to Lemony Snicket and his bestselling series – A Series Of Unfortunate Events – my eight-year-old son now aspires to be an author who tells a story rather than just write stories for people to read. It is no wonder this series is loved by so many children aged between eight and 12 – it is written as if Snicket is sitting right there with the child, telling his stories directly to them! Listening to stories will enhance children's vocabularies and help them use longer sentences. And it increases their attention spans and ability to focus on what is being said. In addition, reading makes children more curious – a trait that must be fostered in young children or they will never acquire it, I've discovered. And, of course, their knowledge of the world will expand. More than anything else, reading to young children gives them a desire to read on their own. Most children who have been read to since they were young will begin reading on their own without being told to. As they come to love books, children will come to know the secret passages through which they can obtain pleasures that cannot possibly be understood by computer games or television junkies. Reading books, playing games, each a pastime but one brings forth the imaginative power to invent the other. And for parents, while there are many means to alleviate one's stress, reading aloud to children is surely one of the most effective. Yet, the practice is often overlooked and even seen as a "waste of time". Read to your children not as a parent but as their friend so you, too, can find that secret passage to those pleasures that you once had as a child. If you have not had the pleasure of being read to in your childhood, that secret passage may possibly take you back to experience it. Abby Wong urges all parents to go to the bookstore or library today with their children and pick out a book for them – and, better still, start reading together. |
| Posted: 21 Aug 2011 01:10 AM PDT FOR the week ending Aug 14, 2011: Non-fiction 1. A Doctor In The House: The Memoirs Of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad 2. The Power Of X: Enter The 10 Gods by Joey Yap 3. Lee Kuan Yew: Hard Truths To Keep Singapore Going by Han Fook Kwang, et al 4. Heaven Is For Real: A Little Boy's Astounding Story Of His Trip To Heaven And Back by Todd Burpo & Lynn Vincent 5. Einstein: The Life And Times by Ronald W. Clark 6. Three Cups Of Deceit by John Krakauer 7. Cleopatra: A Life by Stacy Schiff 8. At Home: A Short History Of Private Life by Bill Bryson 9. Once A Jolly Hangman: Singapore Justice In The Dock (revised and updated edition) by Alan Shadrake 10. We Are A Muslim, Please: One Girl, Two Lives by Zaiba Malik Fiction 1. Fall Of Giants by Ken Follett 2. A Dance With Dragons (A Song Of Ice And Fire series) by George R. R. Martin 3. Full Dark, No Stars by Stephen King 4. One Day (movie tie-in) by David Nicholls 5. Love Always by Harriet Evans 6. The Confession by John Grisham 7. A Game Of Thrones (A Song Of Ice And Fire series) by George R.R. Martin 8. Priceless by Nicole Richie 9. The Tiger's Wife by Tea Obreht 10. Satori by Don Winslow Weekly list compiled by MPH Mid Valley Megamall, Kuala Lumpur; mphonline.com. |
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