12. (The interviewer is interviewed) Alison speaks her mind: On books

Alison is a Commerce and Law student at USYD. She is normally the interviewer but she is interviewed this time for a change. (Head to the Gallery to meet her!)

Bill: Introduce yourself.

Alison: I’m Alison. I run this blog and I feel awkward.

Bill: Please expand.

Alison: I’m a student at USYD, I study Accounting and Law. I was born and raised in Hong Kong. I love reading and writing, taking photos and watching movies.

Bill: Okay. Hm, reading, could you expand on that? Tell us more about your hobby of reading.

Alison: I started reading when I was very young, mostly because my mom made me. She began to read English books with me when I was two and a half years old. I grew up reading and I learned to love it.

Bill: Can you tell us about how reading makes you feel?

Alison: It’s hard to say. Every book I read makes me feel a different kind of emotion. I tend to get too deep into a book and it’s so hard to withdraw sometimes. But the best feeling is completing a read because I would feel like I have made good use of my time, been to another world, and came back with more knowledge and insight.

Bill: Do you normally buy or borrow books? Or do you read online?

Alison: I buy books. You can criticise me for wasting money and harming the environment. But hey I’m just trying to save the struggling businesses of bookstores. Just kidding.

I prefer buying books because I write on them. I love to annotate as I read. I underline or highlight quotes that I love and make notes if there is anything relevant or interesting to add. I also love to keep books, it’s like having a personal library that I can access anytime.

I read physical books rather than read online. I love the smell of books. I love feeling the texture of the pages and the ink under my fingers. I love how I can flip through the book as I read. Sometimes books get worn out, but that’s a part of their journey as they pass on stories over generations, which is also why I don’t mind getting secondhand books.

Bill: Can you tell us about some of your favourite books?

Alison: Ooh, I can talk about them for hours. The first book I loved was The Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton. I read it three times and when I was about to read it the fourth time, my mom stopped me. The first book series I loved was Harry Potter. I read it in class, during recess, after school… Then I started reading Warriors by Erin Hunter. I got obsessed with the cats in the book. It was crazy. I moved on to The Inheritance Series afterwards.

But my all-time favourite book series, I’m not ashamed to admit, is a young adult series: The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare. I figured that by now, you must know that I love fantasy and romance.

As I got older, I started reading more “adult” fiction. My top 2 books as of now are The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera and The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. I love the former because it is unconventional, ethically-challenging, and just real. I love the latter for the lovely characters, the rich imagery, and the aesthetic of the writing. Some honorary mentions are Still Alice, The Picture of Dorian Grey and A Thousand Paper Birds.

Three books are “timeless” to me. They are The Little Prince, Tom’s Midnight Garden and The Phantom Tollbooth. Interestingly, they are all children’s books. I’m currently collecting different editions of The Little Prince, my goal is to acquire all of them ever published.

Bill: That’s interesting. Seems like your favourite genre is fantasy. Are there any other genres that you don’t currently read but want to expand to?

Alison: Yes, definitely. I should start reading more about war, history and different cultures. These are the ones I have touched on the least.

Recently, I’ve been reading a lot of fiction, but I would like to explore more non-fiction titles and other forms of texts, including short stories, poems, etc.

Bill: While on the topic of trying new things, are there any authors that you are particularly interested to get into?

Alison: Murakami. He won a Nobel Prize in Literature and I have heard many good things about him. I feel obligated to read at least one of his books. I got Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World yesterday.

Another author is Stephen King. I bought IT and The Institute recently, but I still haven’t read them. Funny how I’ve already watched a few movies that were adapted from his books.

The last author is Leo Tolstoy. My mom has been telling me to read War and Peace and Anna Karenina since forever.

Oh, one last thing. I’ve been meaning to read East of Eden by John Steinbeck.

Bill: I know that you love to review books after you’ve read them. Could you explain that process to us?

Alison: So, I have a notebook that keeps track of what I read. Every time I finish a book, I would mark it down, give it a rating (out of 100%), and write a personal review. It surprises me each time I write my reflection because often so I write something out that I never thought I knew, if that makes any sense. It’s like I wasn’t aware that I deduced a connection in the book until I started writing it down.

Bill: Can you tell us why you still read despite having so much access to digital media, e.g. movies, audiobooks, podcasts, just to name a few?

Alison: It depends. I am quite fickle when it comes to interests. For a few months of the year, I might be reading a lot, then for the remaining few, I’ll probably not touch a book and watch movies or TV shows all the way. It depends on my mood. Or I might drop digital media entirely and write for half a year just because I feel like it.

I’m not sure why I come back to reading after a break. Probably because I want to change things up? Switching hobbies now and then is nice because it breaks up a monotonous sequence. But every time I go back to reading, I wonder why I ever stopped. But then I still stop when the time comes.

Bill: What impact would you say reading has had on your life?

Alison: It improved my English. English is supposed to be my second language, but unfortunately, my mother is tongue is worse. I spent so much time reading as I was growing up that it deeply impacted my learning. I got better at reading, writing, maybe not as much for speaking, not from books, at least, but reading undoubtedly assisted me a great deal.

It also enhanced my imagination. I do think it is true that a book contains worlds in it. It’s amazing. Reading has stimulated my creativity and challenged my intellect. I feel smarter just by reading. It’s subconscious but it’s immensely helpful.

Bill: A bit unrelated, but you mentioned how reading didn’t help with your speaking. I’ve noticed that your speaking is very fluent, could you briefly explain how you developed that?

Alison: Thanks. I guess I have to use my mom’s favourite phrase: practice makes perfect. I did English debating and mock trial in high school. I also started watching The Vampire Diaries when I was 14. By listening to the characters, I picked up a lot of commonly used phrases and terms, corrected my pronunciation, changed my accent, etc. Frankly speaking, the biggest improvement in my English speaking happened when I met you.

Since I converse with you in English every day, I got used to it and hence my speaking became a lot more fluent. It also helped that most of my friends at USYD speak English, so I’ve had abundant practice for over two years.

Bill: As someone who doesn’t read much, do you have any tips or recommendations on how to get into reading?

Alison: This is a challenge. I think it’s hard to get a person who doesn’t normally read into reading. But I’d say start with something short and intriguing. Something easy to pick up. Maybe a short thriller? Or a comedy. Or even a children’s book. For example, The Phantom Tollbooth that I mentioned earlier. It’s one of the most amusing and clever books I have ever read. It plays on the English language in such a creative yet relatable way. I think it’s suitable for all ages and will likely arouse your interest in reading.

Bill: You mentioned that you write. Have you ever thought of publishing or sharing your work with the world?

Alison: Yes, I have thought of that. But I am doubtful whether I can publish due to the capital that it would require. I am also reluctant to share with the world since I’m not sure if the work is good enough. It’s much more difficult when you know that people are quick to judge or criticise. So, I’m not sure if I will share it yet.

Bill: When you share your writing, I’m sure you’ll have the support of your friends and followers.

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