Are Books to be considered as a disease? Looking around, I realise that not many Singaporeans indulge in what I would consider life's greatest form of relaxation-- reading. Many treat books as their enemies, vowing never to associate themselves with these wonderful knowledge-imparting creatures, perhaps as a result of a bad high school experience with books. I would not really blame them since the Singaporean education system is such that it forces students to swallow approved literature texts for examinations rather than to allow them to choose their love. Let's face it-- not every Tom, Dick or Harry can appreciate Shakespeare. Making them waddle through every single page of Macbeth, The Merchant of Venice etc is like making them swim in the deep blue sea without seeing a shore or even aided by a life buoy. The immediate result? Struggling and then faltering to the unmerciful deep waters. Perhaps, these what we call un-called for nightmares stick forever in their minds and hence the distance they keep from books. Wherever I go, there never fails to be a book in my bag. CAll it my only form of entertainment on the long bus journeys but they do make me feel more refreshed and satisfied after I am fed with words. Like a drug addict, I have to have a daily intake of words to satisfy my brain and not to let it starve. There are certain times when I burst into sudden giggles as I found something amusing. Looking up, I often see people staring at me. Espeically if I was carrying a classic--even people around me don't understand my ardent love for classic; reciting only their names and authors bore them to tears. It is rare that I board a bus to see someone reading, whatmore classics. Instead, many are better off stoning or just pure staring out of the window, or so they claim. The joys of reading are not expressed well in Singapore--people read when there is an urgent need to read, especially if schoolwork requires them to do so, or if reading might help them secure that A. I personally sympathise with these people since they will never understand the elation gotten through words and phrases. Especially if they don't start somewhere. Sometimes, I wonder if the government should implement something like the "Reading Campaign" which will encourage people to read everywhere, anytime they are free. Isn't it better to do something useful while waiting for someone? One can too spare himself the anguish of waiting for a late friend. It would make Singaporeans more well read and more conversational rather than to simply be restricted to the small and narrow paradigm of which we were brought up in and not taught to break through. It is really fun to pit your wits against your friends who are equally knowledgable-- among my closer friends, we actually test each other on quotes from books-- a very engaging and erudite game indeed. Well the government had better do something about either revamping the education system to encourage the opening up of minds and hearts of the youth to the vast realms of books, lest one day when I burst out loud laughing at Oscar Wilde's humorous witty sacarsm on the bus, I find myself ushered to the nearest mental hospital, as a permanent ward. Kai 2000