Mentally interpret the characters or symbols.

[menteuse]

Happy Birthday beyondtheworld! I hope you have a fantastic day and a great party and lots of presents and overall fabulous time. ♥
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This entry is going to be something not that many people probably end up commenting on, but it's something I've wanted to write for a while because I do find this subject interesting. Yes, this is going to be a post about reading and it is a very long one, but I still hope someone clicks the cut and takes the time to leave their thoughts. I do hope to get some discussion.

So, why am I writing this? Sometime last week I was going through someone's Tumblr I was linked to and ended up seeing what I assume to be a Harry Potter secret. The OP was saying that they didn't believe someone at the age of 6 could have read the books and the people reblogging and commenting were saying they were reading at the age of 2 (none of them said they were reading Harry Potter though, so I assume they were referring to other books) and there were comments with things like if the OP came from a place where you could get better education they would believe a six-year-old could read those books. Now, this is why I got interested and started thinking about how I and a lot of people around my age in Finland have learnt to read.

(Sidenote: When I talk about reading I am here referring to reading books, not magazines or newspapers or fics.)

I learnt to read when I went to first grade, at the age of seven. My parents (my Mum mostly) read to me a lot when I was kid, though funnily enough my most vivid memories of someone reading to me are from the days I was in daycare and the lady taking care of me read Grimm stories. But yes, I didn't learn to read until at school, my parents flat out refused to teach me since my Brother had learnt to read before he went to school and was awfully bored on the classes when everyone else was practicing and my parents didn't want that to happen to me too. Which resulted in long evenings spent with my Alphabet book and me proclaiming "I will never learn to read". Oh how wrong I was.

After I eventually did learn, I went through all the children's books and a very vast majority of the YA books in my local library and even in the neighboring one when I got a bit older. I have read so much since. I've kept a list of all the books (sans some school related textbooks) since 2003 until this day and can check back and wonder how on earth I read some of the books I did when I was 13, 14 and realize I didn't really understand them at all. My Mum still reads quite a lot these days, as does one of my Godmothers. My Dad does read, but he has those specific niches he's interested in. My Brother however, doesn't really read at all. Just last weekend when we were talking about something I can't recall now, he mentioned how he couldn't remember the last time he had read a book. Which I found not only a bit sad, but also very interesting. I know my cousins don't read either, and one of them even takes pride in it. /short literary history of my family

So the things I would love to discuss take us back to the original claim that a six-year-old could read a Harry Potter book. It's been a while since I went to school for the first time, but somehow I still think that while some Finnish kids could read those books before their seventh birthday, a lot of them couldn't. Somehow I still see that learning to read is something you do at school, though it is definitely changing. Which is why I want to ask, could a 6-year-old in your country read books like Harry Potters or something similar? When do kids in your home country usually learn to read and when did you learn to read yourself? And I'd also be interested in hearing how you learnt to read, with an Alphabet book or with a parent or in some other way?

As I mentioned, I've kept a list of all the books I've read in the past few years. Nowadays my yearly total comes up to around 50 books, when at best years it has been over 100. Out of curiosity I also counted all the books I've read in English (I still read majority of the books in Finnish) and came up with around 60 books. Which is a surprisingly small number, because I've had the feeling I do read most books in English these days. However, I did check how many of those 60 books I've read during the last three years and that number is 48. Which explains that feeling I've had. This brings us to the topic of how much do you read each year and what do you think reading a lot means? I went through one literary blog and almost laughed when someone stated "I read a lot, 8 to 10 books a year" because to me that equaled the books I read in two or three months. I know different people read in very different ways and many people have changed their reading ways with ebooks and tablets coming to the market. I would love to know have you changed your reading habits?

And in order to make this a post for those who do not read, I would love to get your input too. Is there some reason you don't read, because it's difficult or takes time or is simply boring? Really, I'm interested in these stories too because I admit I know nothing about a life without reading books.

I would love to hear your answers to some of these questions, or if you feel like leaving me with a short story of how you see reading, I am more than happy with that too. I just find this genuinely interesting since I know very little about how people in other countries learn to read and how they read. Yes, we give each other book recommendations, but that only means we've stumbled upon a book we liked, nothing more really.
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As a last note I would like to remind that I am sending out Christmas/holiday cards and if you didn't comment in my last post saying you'd like one, now is your time for that. I do love sending out those cards.

Comments

[rakusanka.livejournal.com]

actually I don't know how and when I learnt to read but I've heard it was very early, when I was around 3 years old. since I remember I always read a lot and always I read mostly books (I don't consider reading magazines and newspapers a real reading) when I was 10-13 during summer holidays I used to visit the library every 1-2 days as that's how long it took me to finnish a book. And I remember I was in the first grade when I read "Anne of Green Gables" so I'd say it's possible to read Harry Potter by 6-year-old these days, probably I'd have read it as well 20 years ago ;)
to be honest I have no idea how kids learn to read here but I assume most of them to do at pre-school and in the first grade so when they are 5-7 y.o.
Last year I started doing lists of all the books I read (and movies I watch) and last year I ended up with 58 books (if I remember correctly) which I think it's pretty good for me and my crazy lifestyle ;) However this year will be worse with around 40 books I guess (now I'm around 35). But considering an average person in Poland reads less than 1 book per year I'm exceptionally good ;) I just can't imagine a day without a book, I read each day in bed, before going to sleep (even if that means only 1 or 2 pages) and whenever I'm in the bus/train/tram, unfortunately it doesn't happen very often that I read besides these situations...

I don't feel like I could ask for any Christmas cards as most probably I won't be able to send any but if you really want to I think you have my Warsaw address ;)

[jabeum.livejournal.com]

Mm, I learnt to read before I started elementary school... By accident. I had this book that I really loved and mom kept reading it to me and then, one day, I just... learned to form the words myself.

[shatterlights.livejournal.com]

I wish i had the self discipline to keep a journal of all the books i read! I've been meaning to start one for years, but i never did. I should put a book journal on my wishlist for Christmas, for sure. I think kids here at age 6 definently have read some Harry Potter, but perhaps just the versions that are made simpler to read, and also just the Swedish translation. I myself never read Harry Potter in Swedish and can't imagine how bad it must be XD Then again i'm just opposed to reading any book that has been translated from its original language. Unless it's a a rare and great work of translation, that is. It happens. /book snob


I'm pretty sure i learnt how to read when i was around 5-6, but i can't remember exactly. I read simple story books for kids with pictures in them, and i remember the very first book i read in whole was Anne of Green Gables. I loved it and was extremly fascinated by reading, i remember feeling like a part of some secret cool society for finally being able to read. Hahah. 8D;

[lavillenie.livejournal.com]

A post about reading! I love it!

Okay before I get down to answering your questions, I'd like to say that I would love a card for Christmas if that's okay! I'll be sending you something too, of course :)

Now, reading. It's funny how your family and my family are sort of similar in that my parents and me and my sister love reading, but not my brothers. My first younger brother especially, I can't even remember the last time I've seen him with a novel/book that is not school-related. I'm trying to brainwash my youngest brother to start reading though, like buying him books with pictures and in big letters (cos he gets bored reading pages and pages of text) and that has topics which interest him. It seems to work because he's reading more, but he needs someone to push him from time to time cos he'd rather be playing games.

tl;dr sorry

[lavillenie.livejournal.com]

Which is why I want to ask, could a 6-year-old in your country read books like Harry Potters or something similar? When do kids in your home country usually learn to read and when did you learn to read yourself? And I'd also be interested in hearing how you learnt to read, with an Alphabet book or with a parent or in some other way?
In Malaysia it really depends, I guess. There was this survey a while back which said an average Malaysian reads three pages of book per year, which is super depressing but also unfathomable to me because there are so many bookshops and people are reading everywhere I go and... well, I guess I'm in a privileged position. Being from a middle-class, educated family is not the same as being from a family who don't grow up reading so I think it's fair to say that yes, 6-year-olds in the cities would probably read books like Harry Potter (we have Malay translations too) but not the 6-year-olds in the rural areas. We have a vibrant market for local books though (apparently, since I don't read local books ugh I sound like a snob but they're mostly trashy chick-lits and I tried reading a popular local book courtesy of my flatmate but I almost cried at how horrid it was) so I guess we could say reading in Malaysia is not solely for artsy fartsy English-speaking people only.

I started reading when I was about 5, mostly alphabet books I guess but honestly I can't remember. I'm pretty sure my parents don't read me to sleep, lol. Here's a funny story: when I first started reading properly (I was maybe 9), I was all over Malay translations of Nancy Drew, those Enid Blyton books about the Five Detectives and Mallory Towers, and even that Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Detectives series (man, I love those books!). But I was reading them so much that my mom became worried that I will never learn English because I kept devouring all those translated versions (in my defense, I didn't know they were translations). I outgrew them when I discovered the Sweet Valley books, Babysitters Club and the Goosebumps books and from then on until now I've read mostly English books with some exceptions (I realise I prefer non-fiction Malay books like war historicals rather than fiction ones because like I said, fiction ones are t e r r i b l e unless the books are those high literature ones in the vein of like... Malaysian Shakespeare, in which I have very little interest on. I should try them but seriously, the Malay language in those works are so difficult to get through).

This brings us to the topic of how much do you read each year and what do you think reading a lot means?
Umm, I wish I could say I read a whole lot each year but I would say I read an average 30 books per year? It varies though... like when I started working I think that year I ended up reading only 5 new books (UGHHHH) but last year when I had nothing to do I read 50+ books and I was pleased about that. This year I've only rad 28 books so far but I'm trying to read as much as I can while I have a library near me! I would like to say reading a lot makes you more knowledgeable about things and have more things to talk about but... that's kinda presumptuous. I would just say that by reading a lot, sometimes you figure out the things you want to read and the things you don't. Maybe you'll learn things - there's no point in reading 100 books if everything just flies past you - but at the very least you know what people are talking about. Like for me, I'm very bad with classics but when I tried my hand at classics last year and this year, I found that I enjoy reading Du Maurier and Wilde, but I can barely finish any of Henry James's works. So yeah, not every genre is for everyone but sometimes you find something you like.

I would love to know have you changed your reading habits?
Not really? I still can't really read books on the computer (this might be different if I have a Kindle which I waaaaaaant) so I still read them in print format. But I find that I have more time to read here because I use the public transport so I'm always reading on the train. I can't do that in Malaysia, since I drive everywhere there.

HOPE THIS ESSAY DOESN'T BORE YOU I LOVE TALKING ABOUT BOOKS

[ravennah.livejournal.com]

Hi! Well, I'm not from abroad but I'm gonna answer anyway. :)
I wasn't interested in learning to read before school, I couldn't be bothered. That only means that I had my mum reading me all these books that I loved. She used to read me the Bible (not because we are religious but because I decided I wanted to hear those stories) and Pocahontas. which she must have censored, I don't remember hearing about sex then. Yeah, so, I learnt to read in school, two or three weeks after starting. It felt like an accident really. I was reading my Alphabet book and then I just could read it through (and did). After that I read all the kids/YA books in our local library, almost at least. No Sweetvalley high, though. (But I read Anne of Green Gables when I was over twenty, so...) :D And I love books, the format. And book stores. I wish I had more time than just read my school books. And that I'd have a reading light here in H, too. It's kinda awful I can't read in bed here. I feel like you know the rest, at least like almost. :D So many classics that I can't even think to try now and so many things I think I've read way too young. (Hey, I only like Shakespeare's comedies...) All in all, I don't read enough nowadays. Or I wanna read more, but I wanna graduate, too. :)

[casi-casi.livejournal.com]

It's really interesting that your parents didn't teach you read because they didn't want you to be bored at school. It's a smart approach. I learnt to read when I was 2-3, with basic nursery rhyme and picture books, which is how I think most kids in Australia do it. I don't remember the other kids in my class at school being unable to read. I'm not sure if many six-year-olds would have been able to handle Harry Potter, though. They might have been okay with the words, but I'm sure a lot of the plot points, jokes, etc. would have been lost on them. I read it when I was about nine.

I used to read about twelve books a year. I am a notoriously slow reader. Over the past couple of years, I've gone up to about 25-30. I think that's mainly because I haven't been traveling or watching movies. It definitely requires a concerted effort for me to read this much because I am so slow, and because I usually like to take some time after finishing a book to ~process it. I read more when I'm studying because it's an escape. As soon as uni finished a couple of weeks ago, I found reading so hard. There are so many creative things I want to do, and reading just isn't that high on my list anymore.

I wish that I were a more prolific reader, but my main concern these days is output rather than input. I feel like time is so limited and my pursuits tend to be long-term and time-consuming (writing, making music, designing clothes). I do love reading, though. I love discussing books with my friends. I love beautifully constructed sentences and being inspired by great writers.

[beyondtheworld.livejournal.com]

I finally, finally have the time to reply to this entry. I've been thinking about this since I read it standing outside a bar last Saturday. :D

My parents read a lot and read a lot of books to me when I was small. I think these points are so, so important. It's not surprising that many people aren't interested in reading books when their parents never were either.
I learned reading in school, in first grade when I was about six or seven years old. I guess I could have learned it before but my parents kind of thought like your parents. They didn't want me to be bored in school and they also thought that it should all come from me. Like, they would always tell me what a specific letter was called when I asked about it. (I tended to read signs on the street going 'What letter is this?' or 'What does this word mean?') But they didn't want to make me sit down and actually study. So when I got into school I could spell and write my own name, my cousin's name (Anna) and zoo. And maybe more, I don't remember. I do remember sitting on the train one day though. I had this little book in my hands my mum had read to me many, many times, and I was acting as if I was reading it out loud because I knew it by heart. A man actually was surprised that I could already read at my age, haha.
The funny thing is, even though I probably would have been able to read before school, in the beginning I had a very hard time learning it. It seemed as if I was stuck or something. I could read some easy words but not more. As a result I got really frustrated because things usually came to me easily and I cried and didn't want to try anymore. Then, all of a sudden when I was trying to read my alphabet book once again I could. Just like that. Something must have snapped. And I think I was one of the best readers in my class immediately, when we did small plays or stuff like that I always had to be the narrator... Looking back I'd say it didn't even take me that long but it felt like ages to me. I just needed to get over that certain point.

I then started reading all the time. When I ate on my own, before sleeping, in the garden. I remember going on vacation with friends that had kids too who always urged me to play something with them when almost all I wanted to do was to read.
My local library was pretty small but it did have a lot of children's and YA books so I used to go there every two weeks and got about 5-10 books each time. One day I met one of my friends' mum there and I think I had only gotten a few books. So the librarian told her that 'Katharina has probably read all the book in the "young section" here and can't find anything anymore' which was about true. So I started looking for adult books that were suitable.
When I was about ten years old my parents decided that I shouldn't attend the normal six years of primary school but go to a new school after my fourth year so I had to apply at different schools. At the school I eventually ended up going to I had a conversation with the principal and a teacher and when they asked about my reading habits I actually told them that I sometimes even read while brushing my teeth. With the book lying on the toilet. Uhem. But I guess they liked it because they accepted me. :D

Sadly, I don't read that much anymore. A couple of years ago it was even less. These days I'm often not relaxed enough to read during the day, only if it's a really good book that I then finish over the course of a couple of days. Sometimes I prefer TV, a stupid habit that I got into during a time of my life that wasn't too good. Books couldn't really take my mind off most of the time, television could so whenever I feel lonely or hopeless these days I'd rather watch an episode of Grey's Anatomy or the like instead of reading a book which annoys me endlessly.
This year I will still have read more than thirty books (yes, I keep a list, on my Livejournal and also my diary) even though I was travelling most of the time.

I've run out of characters, are you kidding me? :D