Me and my books!

I used to read a lot. In grade 5, i'd be looking through the latest Scholastic bookets, looking to add to my collection of Goosebumps and other "horror" books. Yes, Goosebumps were HUGE back then and i was one of the many trend victims! I read not only for school, but for pleasure. By grade 7 & 8, i became obsessed with wanting to become an intellect rather than your typical "brain dead" Canadian. Believe it or not, I tried to force myself to get interested in everything from poetry to environmental issues. Unfortunately, it didn't really work for me too well. Despite getting into classic novels like "Call of the Wild" (Jack London) and "The Dog Who Wouldn't Be" (Farley Mowat), my next obsession (which would change me for good) began to corrupt me. By the middle of grade 8, my average weekday would consist of school, food, and of course... MUCHMUSIC! ... and not much else.
By grade 9 i had stopped reading completely! Things that became cool were: heavy music, Jonovision, and movies about white American teenagers. Things that were NOT cool: preppy dress clothes, Math (which i excelled in, strangely), and of course LITERATURE! Simple as that!
Now after years of being "brain dead", I realize i'm starting to read again! I owe it all to Terry Woo's "Banana Boys" which is now officially my favorite book of all time! I can relate to it in many ways; not only the Asian cultural background but also the music references, the drinking, money obsession, love life, school in Waterloo (all 5 characters were UW students), and about living in the Greater Toronto Area. It's taught me a lot about myself and made me think about the social issues of the Asian-Canadian male; stereotypes, racism, etc. I highly recommend the book, even if you're not Asian. (www.bananaboys.com if you're interested.)

Books i must get my hands on in the near future: "Crime & Punishment", "Catcher in the Rye".