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07 July 2010 ,21:09 Taking advice from RD

By Siti Rohani
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I’ll have you know that I can take whatever I dish out. Advice, that is. Specifically, advice from this very magazine. Even after working on Reader’s Digest Asia for over four years, I am amazed that I can still learn so much from it. It makes me understand why we have such faithful readers who have stuck with us for decades.

One of the best pieces of advice that I have taken from the magazine is from a short article in The Guide. Australian writer Josephine Brouard had written about how she realised she wasn’t spending as much time with her family and friends as she used to. So she decided to not just meet them for meals once in a while, but to have activities, like, say, going to the theatre. One of the activities she suggested struck a chord with me: a book club.

I read a lot less now than I used to. When I was a kid, my mother had to nag me to put down whatever book I was reading because I would read all the time, even while eating. My eyes were always on the book, never on the plate in front of me. She used to joke that that was the reason I’m so, err, full-bodied – because I just kept shovelling food into my mouth until I finished a few chapters. My reading habit has declined dramatically over the years so as soon as I read the words “book club” in the article, it was the proverbial light bulb moment for me. I suggested it to a couple of friends whom I meet regularly and they loved the idea.

It’s been an interesting experience so far. There are 5 of us in the group and we each pick a book and “preside” over that particular meeting to lead discussions. We’ve had a pretty eclectic mix too, from a classic like Catcher in the Rye to the first Twilight book. The idea is for all of us to, well, read more, and also to read something we otherwise won’t, like the Twilight book for me. Our next meeting, which is two month overdue because I’ve been away so much, will be to discuss A Thousand Splendid Suns. I loved it, by the way. Cried a bucket reading it.

Now, if only I can follow more of the health advice our Health Editor Debbie Lau dishes out.
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Do you have a suggestion for my next book? Let me know in the comments.