“Books are uniquely portable magic,” Stephen King wrote in On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft. I quite agree with this view. In retrospect, the genres of books which I read gradually varied as of aged. Additionally, those books which I have read, broadened my horizon and improved my comprehension ability to some degree. When I was a preteen, my parents thought that reading as a good habit needed to be fostered from my childhood. Therefore, I had bedtime stories since I was three years old. My parents would prepare different stories and read for me everyday.
The books at that time always had more cartoons than characters, and my parents would teach me to recognize characters in the books. Then, I went to the elementary school at six years old and started to learn to read and learn Chinese Pinyin. Teachers would recommend the Pinyin story books to read, which helped me to know more Chinese characters and understand the stories. I remember that the first book I read was Hans Christian Andersen’s Fairytales. I was fascinated by the fairy tales in this book. For example, I love The Little Mermaid, and I was always playing the role playing games to act the Mermaid with my friends at that time.
Most of the books that I read in my childhood are fairy tales. My favorite childhood book is the Around the World in 80 Days because this book gave me a dream that I want to travel around the world someday. Although I cannot remember all of the plots in the book, I remember that the characters in this book have a really exciting and wonderful round the world trip. Therefore, I expect that I can realize this dream in the future. In addition, in my elementary school, I had a class exchange of the favorite books with classmates. We had a little speech to recite the reason for the recommendation.
My first speech was in my third grade; I remembered that I was so nervous and excited to have my first speech. At that time, I spoke to recommend Journey to the West, which is one of China’s four great classics. I was so nervous for my first speech, my voice was trembling, and my face was red. I thought that the time went so slowly at that moment, and I wanted to end my speech as quickly as I could. In my experience, it was an impressed speech. However, after many times of speaking, I improved myself a lot. As a college student, I have selected books fastidiously.
However, this does not mean that I do not like reading anymore. I think I am just becoming mature and changing my tastes in reading. I am no longer satisfied with the novels, which are easy to read. I changed my taste to read more serious literature. For example, I like the book “Old Man and the Sea” which wrote by American author Ernest Hemingway. Although the story of The Old Man and the Sea is short, it has a profound moral. In this story, the old fisherman finally fails to catch a fish, he just takes back the fish’s backbone with its head and tail.
However, the old fisherman still is a hero because his indestructible spirit. I am impressed with the quote, “but man is not made for defeat,’ the old fisherman said, ‘A man can be destroyed but not defeated’” (Hemingway). After I read this book, I sometimes reviewed my reading journey. If I read this book early in my teenage years, I might not understand the meaning behind the story. Therefore, I think my spirit world is gradually becoming mature with the help of reading. Books are the food for my spiritual world.
At the beginning of the reading journey, I did not recognize that reading gradually influenced my thinking mode. However, as time goes by, I have read various books which from the simpler fairy tales to the logical and serious novel, and I gradually improved myself. I came to understand the meaning behind the stories and add some of my own understandings. Not only can I read the story which the author writes on the paper, but also I combine the reality and the personal experiences of the author. I gradually understand some deeper meaning and feel substantial in my spirit.
