I'm currently reading Fragile Things, Neil Gaiman's collection of short stories related to ghosts.
I was under the impression that I didn't enjoy short stories as much as I did with full-length novels.
To my delight, Fragile Things proved me wrong.
Someone once asked me what genres of books I liked.
"Anything," I said.
As I was sharing summaries of the more impactful novels I'd read with Jean over breakfast, I suddenly realised what the one genre I didn't like was:
Non-Fiction.
Stories that had truth in them captivated me. I'd be totally absorbed in them, wondering what it would be like if such incidents happened to me.
You see, true stories aren't happy.
Happy non-fiction books don't make people turn the page.
I hated true stories.
They scare me.
I remember reading a wide range of non-fiction books in Secondary school.
There was
A Child Called 'It', Torey Hayden's
One Child, and there was
Go Ask Alice.
Go Ask Alice had a huge impact on me.
I still remember that at 14 years of age, my perception of the world grew rapidly darker as I read entry after entry of "Alice's" diary.
(It's been exposed as partly and possibly even entirely fictional. I feel mildly cheated and scarred.)
After reading these non-fiction books, I would overdose on chick lit to make myself feel better.
Eventually, I stopped reading non-fiction entirely.
In some ways, reading, for me, is even worse than witnessing something traumatic.
My imagination processes whatever I throw it and magnifies it.
I don't/can't even watch horror movies, because of my tendency to dream about it for days and days.
Are you amused by how little my mind can take?
I think that it's funny how I'm so easily frightened by reality too.
Isn't it ironic?
Despite being a media student, I'd still subconsciously shun the news.
I'm not ignorant enough to think that the world is all in love, but I really do wish that the Holocaust never happened.
On a much happier note,
Happy birthday, Estelle! ♥ Have a sweet, sweet seventeenth.
(I tried to find a nice photo with her and failed. It's okay though, I'm sure we'll have plenty more chances :D)
