READING
Reading as a Habit
Perhaps the best way to discuss the subject READING is to talk about it as a Habit, and here is my own story. My earliest memory about myself is that my family lived Lagos Island, precisely on Obun Eko street, not far from the palace of the Oba of Lagos. My father worked for one of the establishments in nearby Lagos Island wharf.
Later my father relocated to Ibadan then sent for us when I was 6 or 7 years old. He put us in one of the best schools in Ibadan and also enrolled us at the children's section of the British Council Library located only a walking distance from our home. I went there very often and caught interest in reading from the large stock of nature and adventurous books there. It was also a lending library so I took books home and since I always returned the books on time, I was allowed to take more than one book on each visit. My favourite books were on boys like Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn, Pinocchio, etc. but I also took particular interest in cartoons, jigsaw puzzles and games.
The interest I built in reading paid off for me. I developed a keen sense of imagination and insight. Later in secondary school, I became proficient in essay writing and soon won a national prize in English Composition. I was proud to be invited to Lagos with others for my prize. I was given a lot of books and I busied myself reading more and more, a boost to my imagination and knowledge. I left school with good grades in English Language and Literature.
I ended up studying in the U.K. and became a Medical Laboratory Scientist by profession, but my interest in reading and writing never waned. Rather, my access to great bookshops and stores helped more. Today I have written seven books and still writing. All these resulted from my developed habit in reading even though I did not major in English Language. One of my favourites was the Readers' Digest, an international educative, informative as well as entertaining periodical, still in publication abroad.
That was my humble beginning. See you later as we continue Part 2 of this series on Reading. God bless you richly.
© OO-I Olusegun Ojosipe-Isaac
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