Of Nerds and Nursery Rhymes

I was at Bangsar Village last week during lunchtime; browsing around in the MPH Bookstore. I was in the Children’s section, trying to find a good ‘Potty book’ for my son (don’t ask) when I heard the stifled guffaws of young boys. I looked up and saw a group of five Malay boys, dressed in their school uniform, joining me in the Children’s section of the bookstore. They looked around 13 or 14 years old and in their high-school uniform, they looked rather out-of-place amongst the picture books and Barneys.

I continued browsing and doing some serious contemplating (Do you have any idea how much a children’s book can cost these days?) when my ears picked up snatches of conversations from the where the boys were seated.

“Buku ni la best! Korang, korang! Tengok lah nii. Cerita dia yang macam dalam TV tu lah!”
“Wooo! Tebal gila buku ni. Mana sempat nak baca weiii”
“Yang ni lah, woi... Ada gambar la... Cepat laaa weiii”

I sneaked a peek to see the five boys congregate around a wooden bench. Two of them were seated while the other three crowded around them. I couldn’t see what book had grabbed their attention but in a minute, I was pleasantly surprised to find out.

“One, Two, Buckle my shoe…”

I looked up from the Little Einstein book in my hands.

“Three, Four, Shut the door…”

I smiled at the sight of five gangly teenage boys, sitting in the middle of the Children’s section of the bookstore, reading a nursery rhyme out loud.

I remembered how I got started with a passion for books. My mom used to gather us around for story-time before bed. No matter how tired she was from work, she never failed to read us a story, or recite one from her imagination. And because she was telling the story to a little girl and two little brats – eh, I mean boys; she had to skew the tale to suit us all. Hence there were princesses and pirates in those stories, along with an assortment of animals; from fluffy kittens to snakes with fangs…

Then as I got older, I read my own books before bedtime. Once a month, we would be taken for a visit to the bookstore where we’d be given the choice of a book (or two) each. I remember spending almost an hour trying to narrow down my choices, sniff in disgust when my two brothers begged to use their allotment to buy sticker-books or (gasp!) connect-the-dots puzzle books.

“Five, Six, pick up sticks…”

My family and friends used to say that I didn’t READ books, I DEVOURED them. I saved up my allowance to purchase books, begged to borrow books from my friends and bugged the librarian at school to stock up new books. The darling librarian was very kind to me and gave me first choice for all the new books that came to her counter. When I bumped into her a few years after I left school, she told me that she was always amused by the fact that I had read all the books in the library… at least twice.

My family still regales the story of our trip to London, when my dad had to lug my heavy suitcase only to discover later that I had surreptitiously packed the Britannica Children’s Encyclopedia…

I know a lot of people didn’t understand my obsession with reading. Some would’ve called me a nerd if I had also not been a jock in school. And when I got older and started working, I used to bring a book to read during my ride in the LRT. I remember getting a lot of weird looks from certain fellow commuters. I thought I was being perasan or paranoid, but then came one day when two women my age didn’t bother to hide their disdain. “Baca buku omputeh konon...” "Entah... kena ke baca depan orang? Berlagak siott...

“Seven, Eight, Lay them straight…”

These days, I am delighted to see that reading has become an ‘acceptable’ hobby. During my childhood, the bookstore was often empty, with only a few patrons browsing through the shelves. These days, the bookstores are packed with people. Young adults, children, seniors… Families with kids… It’s gotten a lot more ‘meriah’.

I’m hoping that Mikhail will inherit my love for reading. It’s looking that way, since he loves his books as much as (if not more than) his toys. And I’m emulating my mom by making sure that he gets his bedtime story before we turn off the lights.
Reading has given such pleasure to me and I really hope it has the same effect on my son. And given the fact that our society has now embraced the ‘nerds’, I’m sure Mikhail will have an easier ride.

“Nine, Ten, A big fat hen!”

.....................

“A big fat hen?”
“Ayam betina yang besar dan gemuk…”
“Apasal pulak ada ayam nih”
“Entah…”
“Apa punya buku yang kau pilih ni weiiii!!”
“Nanti laaa, aku cari yang lain…”