As regular readers know, I am a voracious reader. I have been teased about this all my school life because I used to prefer going to the library to playing with my friends.

My school had two libraries: the bigger one, which was located in the secondary section, and a smaller one in the primary section. The primary section was meant for the younger readers, and I had outgrown this library by the time I reached grade three.

I was what I now know to be hyperlexic. Hyperlexia is a syndrome characterized by a child’s precocious ability to read. Children with hyperlexia have a significantly higher word-decoding ability than their reading comprehension levels and also show an intense fascination for written material at a very early age. Hyperlexic children are characterised by word-reading ability well above what would be expected given their age.

Because the books in the primary school library were below my reading ability, I used to use the lunch hour to go to the secondary school library to read. Our lunch hour was divided into two, and even if I was put in the second half, I used to eat quickly in the first half, return my lunch box to my mom, and then run to the secondary school library to read. The way my school was constructed, the primary and kindergarten sections were in one building, then we had our school hall with the laboratories, and then the secondary building with the library on level 2 of that building. To get to my class from the library, walking at a normal pace would take about five minutes. So the minute the bell would ring to indicate the end of lunch, I would get up and make a run to my class. During the monsoon season, there have been many instances where I have slipped and gotten my uniform dirty, and I have also been late to class countless times and would have gotten a scolding from my teacher. If I were lucky, I would reach the class just before the teacher and escape the scolding, but those times were few and far between.

Once I reached secondary school, life became slightly easier. I used to still go to the main library, and because this library catered to students from the secondary section, we used to go there as a class once a week to borrow books. Again, because I was already reading way above my level, I also became the librarian’s favourite. And I was given a privilege that I don’t think anyone else until then had received. I was allowed to borrow books from the adult section. So while still in school, when my peers were still reading Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys, I had graduated to reading unabridged versions of Shakespeare and George Orwell. It used to be so much fun because when it was our class’ turn to visit the library, while the others used to use the age-appropriate shelves, I would go to the librarian and get the key to the locked cupboard, which the teachers and other adults used, and borrow books from there. I was also the unofficial book consultant for my class and used to advise them on books to read based on what they wanted to read.

After eighth grade, our weekly visits to the library ended as they were replaced by other subjects as we got closer to our version of the O levels, but I continued to visit the library during my lunch break and read so many wonderful books. In fact, at some point in time, I wanted to become a librarian when I grew up, but after I realised the practicalities of life, I gave up that dream. But my love for books, which was ignited in that little school library, has never gone away, if anything, it has increased, and I am forever reading and espousing the love of reading to everyone I meet.