UWS BA ePDPs

As a child, I used to read a lot. As the years have went by, the amount of books I read has declined each year because my work load has increased. If I ever try to read now, I start to feel guilty and think about other work that I could be doing. When the holidays come around, I always make time to read because I feel relaxed enough to do so.

In general, I’m not a fussy reader. I tend to read fiction books of all genres, but I occasionally like to read a non-fiction book for some variety. I would say that my favourite genre is crime fiction and mystery, but I don’t like reading fantasy books.

I loved reading the book Room. Before we were asked to read it at University, a friend had recommended it to me, so I have now read room twice and enjoyed it even more the second time!! It was different to any story that I have every read before because it was written in a child’s perspective. I felt like the book gave me an insight into a child’s mind, and made me aware of the grammatical errors that children can make in their language. I was also interested to find out that the story had been based on the Joseph Fritzl story. I would definitely recommend Room because it was so different to any book that I had read and it would give them a new experience in reading books.

I felt that Room definitely challenged me as a reader because it forced me to think in a childlike manor. I sometimes had to go back and read sentences again to gain understanding of what Jack was saying. It could be hard to understand due to the way that he said some words, e.g. melted spoon. I feel like this has developed my reading skills because it has let me identify errors in our English language.

Before reading Room, I had never really considered how fiction can be used in Academic study. I now understand that it is possible because I have learned a lot about the English language whilst reading Room. Although I enjoyed reading room, it has not encouraged me to read any more than I do already. I feel that the book has encouraged me to read some books that I wouldn’t have before reading Room to allow me to have new experiences in reading.

When I was younger, I was a big reader and I read for pleasure a lot however as I’ve gotten older I have stopped reading as I never have the time to sit down and actually read a book. I tend to read romantic fiction, novels that are popular and ones that have been recommended to me by friends and family.

I felt that Room was a very enjoyable read and the story really intrigued me. I felt very involved in the story while reading it and throughout the beginning, I was interested to see how Jack’s language changed and how he came to have such a wide range of vocabulary. I noticed straight away that Jack personifies the objects in Room and this was one concept that really interested me as Jack pretended they were his friends however he had no real grasp on the fact that they were inanimate objects and could not be his friends. As well as this, it shocked me that Ma made out to Jack that everything he seen on TV was only TV and was not real, however the truth would have been too much for Jack to handle so I can understand why she did such a thing. I felt that Room was a very eye-opening novel as the things that happen in Room can happen in real life and it shows you the seriousness of the situation and how it could play out. I would definitely recommend Room to someone who hasn’t read it as it is a very captivating and eye-opening novel.

When I was reading room, there were some sentences that I had to read multiple times before I could understand what they meant. Because it is written in Jack’s point of view, some of the sentences are not in the right word order or the wrong words are used when describing something. As I have always been able to understand grammar rules and it just comes naturally to me, I found it difficult to revert and put myself in Jack’s mind. However, I feel that this will have helped me develop my skills as a reader due to the fact I had to focus carefully on each word and I had to figure out what some of the sentences meant before I could continue with the story. Reading Room has definitely encouraged me to start reading more novels again. I had forgotten how much I actually did enjoy reading until I read Room.

If you had asked me before, I would have said that the use of fiction would be a waste of time in academic study however Room helped me realise how a child’s language develops and how they come to understand the grammatical rules associated with the English language. Before reading Room, I didn’t fully understand what overgeneralising meant however I now fully grasp the concept.

I do not really read a lot maybe just one or two books a year, and when I do read it is mainly teenage fiction, like John Green’s Looking for Alaska, Paper Towns and The Fault in our Stars or books/bits and pieces of I had to read for school or college.
I did really enjoy reading room as it was something I have never actually heard of, and something I probably would not have picked up otherwise. This might encourage me to try out other books I normally would not. It was a very emotional book that hooked me right from the start and I hated putting it down. It was also good at seeing how a book written for fiction purpose can help us understand aspects of real life and I felt that this book was good a showing how different backgrounds and the way children are brought up can mentally and physically impair a child which is something, we, on a primary education course must take in to consideration when it comes to the children that will eventually end up in our classrooms.
Anyone who likes getting into books where they will get emotionally attached to the characters. Or people who like intense twists in the story would definitely love this book. There were moments where I was shocked, which is unusual as I am normally quite good at working out how it will end or what will happen next. I really did enjoy this book and would recommend it to anyone, as I am not one for reading for pleasure and I still loved reading ‘Room’.
The aspect I found challenging was sometimes when reading what Jack was saying (because he did not really know how to talk properly) I had to read it a few times as it did not make sense, but it was part of the story that his language was not as developed. You were also left to sort of work it out for yourself, it went straight into Jack talking about the things in ‘Room’, ‘Rug’ ‘Meltedy Spoon’ which you did manage to work out eventually and it did become easier to read but to begin with I did find it very confusing. Now I know how it must feel for children learning a new reading style and how confusing it must be to them, they are however starting from scratch and I felt that because I know the correct way in which things must be laid out and correct spelling and use of tenses I found it really difficult trying to forget what I know is right and read from the perspective of a child.