Reading culture
In my previous entry, I was complaining about the price of books in Singapore. After some thoughts, I was thinking, is there a chicken and egg problem here? Could it be because the reading culture in Singapore would not be able to sustain the several book stores?
When I was young, I was glad that my parents encourage me to read a lot. I remember I was reading a lot of Enid Blyton’s books (Not those famous series that she wrote). I love her books because it talks about farms, circuses, fantasy stories. I enjoy her books a lot. And it costs around S$5 for each book then. But with my voracious appetites for books, I have to turn to the library for my supply. During my primary school days, we even have periods set aside each week in school to read books in schools. There was also a reading program, where when we read a certain number of books, we would be rewarded. I cannot remember the reward anymore. Haha.
Coming back to the reading culture in Singapore, I see a lot of parents are encouraging their kids to read, buying books for them and bringing them to the National Library to borrow books. And some kids do sit down quietly, enjoying the book in their hand while others make a big nuisance of themselves. But is reading to these kids fun anymore or is it just another ‘plot’ by parents to help their kids to gain an edge in this competitive world?
With the constant emphasis on grades and exam smart, are these kids having fun with their books? With the constant emphasis on exam grades, are these kids able to pursue their interest, reading books on their interests, as they move up? For my case, if you chart the amount of time I spent on leisure reading since primary schools to Junior College (A Levels), it is a graph, stock investors would hate to see it happen to the stocks they buy.
Being a working adult now, I try to read when I have time. Thank goodness because of my job nature and few commitments in my life, I was able to read a lot more in a week, compare to an average working adult. (Does that mean I am below average? Haha!) From my previous blog, most of you would know that I would prefer to buy the books that I want to read rather than borrow, because I would like to read my books slowly so that I can absorb and digest the contents in the books I am reading. Deadlines for reading sucks! And being someone who cannot sit down and do the same thing for a long time, I juggle between two to three books at one time, just to provide a bit of variety.
Currently, I see a lot of working adults are also reading books but the books they are reading are mostly those that would help them in their paper chase (chasing more degrees and certifications) or careers. Reading has become a chore for most working adults and not leisure anymore.
Judging from these observations, it seems that reading has become a chore for kids and adults. Since it is a chore, most would prefer not to do it, if given a chance. In economics, it would mean, demand reduce and price should fall. How come prices are up?? It seems like most of these books in store are mostly publish overseas, since the market is small, store over here are not able to negotiate for a better bulk price. This could be a main reason why books are expensive.
I hope it would not come to a point where books going to cost an arm and a leg. Haha! I do not think I have so much arms and legs to exchange for books.
When I was young, I was glad that my parents encourage me to read a lot. I remember I was reading a lot of Enid Blyton’s books (Not those famous series that she wrote). I love her books because it talks about farms, circuses, fantasy stories. I enjoy her books a lot. And it costs around S$5 for each book then. But with my voracious appetites for books, I have to turn to the library for my supply. During my primary school days, we even have periods set aside each week in school to read books in schools. There was also a reading program, where when we read a certain number of books, we would be rewarded. I cannot remember the reward anymore. Haha.
Coming back to the reading culture in Singapore, I see a lot of parents are encouraging their kids to read, buying books for them and bringing them to the National Library to borrow books. And some kids do sit down quietly, enjoying the book in their hand while others make a big nuisance of themselves. But is reading to these kids fun anymore or is it just another ‘plot’ by parents to help their kids to gain an edge in this competitive world?
With the constant emphasis on grades and exam smart, are these kids having fun with their books? With the constant emphasis on exam grades, are these kids able to pursue their interest, reading books on their interests, as they move up? For my case, if you chart the amount of time I spent on leisure reading since primary schools to Junior College (A Levels), it is a graph, stock investors would hate to see it happen to the stocks they buy.
Being a working adult now, I try to read when I have time. Thank goodness because of my job nature and few commitments in my life, I was able to read a lot more in a week, compare to an average working adult. (Does that mean I am below average? Haha!) From my previous blog, most of you would know that I would prefer to buy the books that I want to read rather than borrow, because I would like to read my books slowly so that I can absorb and digest the contents in the books I am reading. Deadlines for reading sucks! And being someone who cannot sit down and do the same thing for a long time, I juggle between two to three books at one time, just to provide a bit of variety.
Currently, I see a lot of working adults are also reading books but the books they are reading are mostly those that would help them in their paper chase (chasing more degrees and certifications) or careers. Reading has become a chore for most working adults and not leisure anymore.
Judging from these observations, it seems that reading has become a chore for kids and adults. Since it is a chore, most would prefer not to do it, if given a chance. In economics, it would mean, demand reduce and price should fall. How come prices are up?? It seems like most of these books in store are mostly publish overseas, since the market is small, store over here are not able to negotiate for a better bulk price. This could be a main reason why books are expensive.
I hope it would not come to a point where books going to cost an arm and a leg. Haha! I do not think I have so much arms and legs to exchange for books.
posted by Strategist at 2:19 PM
2 Comments:
It's me again. The prices of books in Australia are not much cheaper either. In fact, a same book will cost slightly more in Australia than in Singapore after currency conversion. A good way to check the price of a book is to check the RRP of the book by the publisher online. I have done this and found that the prices of books in Borders and Kinokuniya actually match the online RRP (plus minus after conversion from US$ to S$). I personally find that the cheapest way to buy English books is to order from Amazon.com. The catch is this method is only cheap when one buys many books at one time to save on the shipment cost. Amazon.com sells cheap because they buy in bulk, plus they virtually stock every title!
What I read from CNA online today brought me back to my previous topic. The following is quoted. He (Teo Chee Hean) told some 400 students at the annual Temasek Seminar that for it (Singapore) to continue to be more than just a red dot on the world map, Singaporeans must strive for excellence. He(Teo Chee Hean) added: "We will of course educate and train Singaporeans as best as we can, and we will need to supplement Singaporeans with others to strengthen our team." In my opinion, his words may sound encouraging to those bright students but to an average working adult it's more like a decree "work and learn harder or else...".
I am just afraid that with the way things are, the stratification of the society by socio economic status would accelerate the widening of income gap. As noted in a Straits Times article titled "Moving Up: Does School System help?" dated 29 Jul 2005, would education become a commodity only affordable by the rich and the poor would always be struggling to have them?
The middle class caught right in the middle would be always on a paper chase to obtain more degrees to at least be able to raise their chance of staying in their job.
And when u retire, you look back on your life and you start regretting the way you had spent it.
Oh well some thoughts again.
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