Last month, I had an English presentation in front of my fellow teachers. Every week, we take turns to present whatever we like, or what activities we had, or anything else that we wanted to share in front of other teachers. So, this is mine.
If you know me well, or at least notice my appearance, you will know that I am attached to books. In my desk at the office, for example, you can spot at least ten books, most of them are novels. Or if you bump into me in the canteen and I am eating alone, you probably will see me eating while reading - or reading while eating.
Why do I love books or to read so much? Well, I have many reasons, but in this presentation, I will share ten reasons why I love books so much:
1. It Started Many Years Ago.
When I was in kindergarten, I studied abroad, at a small area called Goletta, in Santa Barbara, California, USA. My teacher, Mr. John Rodriguez, had this tradition to give story books to his students during the holidays. So, imagine how many holidays I got back then - there were Christmas, Thanksgiving, 4th of July, Halloween, and also Easter. You can imagine how many books I got from him. Every single books he handled to us, he gave his autograph in the back of the cover: a smiley face with a beard on it. He actually had beard!
Still in the US, every Friday, the Library Bus parked near our apartment. It was a large bus where the interior was designed similar to a library, with bookshelves and tons of books. My mother, my sister, and I usually went to the Library Bus and borrow some books to read at home.
2. From Books to Letters
Since me and my cousins lived in different countries, my mother and my aunt told us to keep in touch no matter what. That time was the late 1980s and early 1990s. There were no chat application, video call, or any devices with internet. There's the phone, but to use it to call my cousin in Indonesia is way to expensive. So, we used letters instead. I usually wrote long letters full of stories about my daily activities and adventures. That's also the first time I realize that writing, besides reading, is a fun and challenging thing to do.
3. My Parents.
My mother and father always encourage me to read. When it comes to teaching me math or economics back when I was still in school, my father told me to read one of his books first to make sure that I can understand the subject, and then after that I could ask him questions. No asking in the first place, he just can't handle people asking without knowing for sure what they're asking. I think that avoids stupid questions also.
While my mother, she had this collection of Agatha Christie's novel which I love to read. She bought me many books, such as The Famous Five, STOP, Trio Detektif, and Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, my first serious novel. My mother also had this habit to read Donal Bebek magazine while dining alone. Guess that habit runs well in the family.
4. Explored the School Library During Recess.
I really loved my school library when I was in high school. It was very big with tons of books in there. I think I read nearly every books in the library, starting from magazines, school books, novels, classic literature, encyclopedia, comic books, and many more.
5. Spent My Pocket Money on Books.
When I was in high school, I definitely was not the popular type. I'm a bit of a nerd actually, for loving books and spending time too much at the library. While my friends are not. They are the popular type. When my friends were into fashion and make-ups, I'm into books. While they spent their allowance to buy the latest trend shoes or clothes, I spent mine to buy new releases at the book store. It's just a matter of style and taste, it never came between our friendship. We still remain friends until we graduated.
6. Reading is Fun and Makes Me Calm.
If you're a book lover, you surely know that reading can bring you new energy and elevates your mood. People may have different ways to find calm, but mine is definitely reading.
7. Reading Helps Me to Remember, as Well as to Forget.
Believe it or not, reading can make me remember who am I as a person. Like when I read something inspirational, such as Paulo Coelho's books, I just take a deep breath and cherish my life, remember my position as a human being in this world. Reading can also make me forget things, especially bad things. If I had a bad day, I can forget those obstacles by reading. Reading can also helps people to forget broken hearts.
If you know me well, or at least notice my appearance, you will know that I am attached to books. In my desk at the office, for example, you can spot at least ten books, most of them are novels. Or if you bump into me in the canteen and I am eating alone, you probably will see me eating while reading - or reading while eating.
Why do I love books or to read so much? Well, I have many reasons, but in this presentation, I will share ten reasons why I love books so much:
1. It Started Many Years Ago.
When I was in kindergarten, I studied abroad, at a small area called Goletta, in Santa Barbara, California, USA. My teacher, Mr. John Rodriguez, had this tradition to give story books to his students during the holidays. So, imagine how many holidays I got back then - there were Christmas, Thanksgiving, 4th of July, Halloween, and also Easter. You can imagine how many books I got from him. Every single books he handled to us, he gave his autograph in the back of the cover: a smiley face with a beard on it. He actually had beard!
Still in the US, every Friday, the Library Bus parked near our apartment. It was a large bus where the interior was designed similar to a library, with bookshelves and tons of books. My mother, my sister, and I usually went to the Library Bus and borrow some books to read at home.
2. From Books to Letters
Since me and my cousins lived in different countries, my mother and my aunt told us to keep in touch no matter what. That time was the late 1980s and early 1990s. There were no chat application, video call, or any devices with internet. There's the phone, but to use it to call my cousin in Indonesia is way to expensive. So, we used letters instead. I usually wrote long letters full of stories about my daily activities and adventures. That's also the first time I realize that writing, besides reading, is a fun and challenging thing to do.
3. My Parents.
My mother and father always encourage me to read. When it comes to teaching me math or economics back when I was still in school, my father told me to read one of his books first to make sure that I can understand the subject, and then after that I could ask him questions. No asking in the first place, he just can't handle people asking without knowing for sure what they're asking. I think that avoids stupid questions also.
While my mother, she had this collection of Agatha Christie's novel which I love to read. She bought me many books, such as The Famous Five, STOP, Trio Detektif, and Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, my first serious novel. My mother also had this habit to read Donal Bebek magazine while dining alone. Guess that habit runs well in the family.
4. Explored the School Library During Recess.
I really loved my school library when I was in high school. It was very big with tons of books in there. I think I read nearly every books in the library, starting from magazines, school books, novels, classic literature, encyclopedia, comic books, and many more.
5. Spent My Pocket Money on Books.
When I was in high school, I definitely was not the popular type. I'm a bit of a nerd actually, for loving books and spending time too much at the library. While my friends are not. They are the popular type. When my friends were into fashion and make-ups, I'm into books. While they spent their allowance to buy the latest trend shoes or clothes, I spent mine to buy new releases at the book store. It's just a matter of style and taste, it never came between our friendship. We still remain friends until we graduated.
6. Reading is Fun and Makes Me Calm.
If you're a book lover, you surely know that reading can bring you new energy and elevates your mood. People may have different ways to find calm, but mine is definitely reading.
7. Reading Helps Me to Remember, as Well as to Forget.
Believe it or not, reading can make me remember who am I as a person. Like when I read something inspirational, such as Paulo Coelho's books, I just take a deep breath and cherish my life, remember my position as a human being in this world. Reading can also make me forget things, especially bad things. If I had a bad day, I can forget those obstacles by reading. Reading can also helps people to forget broken hearts.
8. Reading Dares My Imagination and Allows Me to be Whoever I Wanted to Be.
When I was a child, I like to pretend as one of the children in the Famous Five. The five child detective - errr, four child and one dog, who love to investigate mysteries during their holidays. My imagination never stops now that I've grown up. I still love to imagine as one of the students or maybe the professors in Hogwarts every time I read Harry Potter series. Or probably I'm one of the passenger which involved in the murder on Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express. And ofcourse I'm one of the Targaryens at Game of Thrones!
9. Reading Makes Me Smarter.
This doesn't mean I am the smartest person around, but with reading I get to know new things and learn new vocabularies. Either in Bahasa Indonesia or in English. That makes me smarter than before.
10. I'm addicted!
Just as simple as that. I can't live without books, I guess.
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