How I Became a Reader
Like many a child, I was read to by my mother before bedtime. It was bedtime ritual. There were various storybooks, Berenstain Bears, some Disney books, Golden Books, and other various children's books I can't quite remember.
Then when it came to the adolescent years, basically being a middle grade reader, I really can't remember what I read. Chapter books were kind of sparse at the time. Or else I never really found one I enjoyed as much. I had some that I remember starting but possibly never finishing.
It basically wasn't until middle school that I became more of a reader. In 6th grade I had a teacher that read to use every class for 15-20 minutes. There I picked up books like Holes and Harry Potter! It was likely with Harry that I found my love for magic! Well...that's not true, I had a love for magic and curses and spells with fairy tales! I used to always check out this one book of fairy tales from my elementary school library! It wasn't until middle school that I stumbled upon it at the store and my mom ended up getting it for my birthday so I would always have a copy of it! And ironically, it's on the shelf with my Harry Potter books!
Then naturally, when I was thirteen I read my first vampire book, Demon in My View, and fell in love with them! And soon I was spending all my time at Borders looking for more in their Young Adult section!
Reading for me, became my escape and it still is today. My escape from reality and all the things that bore me there, which were many! Lol! Finding friends was hard for me back then (and let's face it, still is) and reading was just something I fell into. I had medical issues throughout my younger school days so I wasn't always able to participate in gym class or do a lot of running at recess. I remember it was in seventh grade I had a major leg surgery and was pretty much out of gym for the rest of the year (which was about half of it) and I basically sat there and read my books! That was a fun gym class! Lol. Reading just eventually became my go to hobby and I was doing more and more of it.
As a young teen I bought various purses to basically hold my books. In middle school we weren't allowed to carry backpacks in the halls and carrying binders and big old textbooks that we hardly ever used was strenuous enough so I would put my book in my purse...which was basically all that was in there besides gum, a small wallet and possibly my house key and a few other odds and ends!
So while I was read to a lot as a kid and throughout my elementary years, I like to think that my reading life really took off in middle school, and yes I'll equate that to my thirteenth year when I read my first vampire book! It truly was love at first read!
At what point did you become a reader or consider yourself a reader?
I started pretty young I think, and for many of the same reasons. I wanted something more exciting than real life ha ha and books provided it! And teachers reading at school helped too, since they read us interesting stuff like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and stuff like that.
ReplyDeleteMy uncle told me when I was little my mom would sit on the couch reading and I'd be sitting right next to her "reading". Even to this day, when people see me reading they'll tell me "oh you get that from your mom". I was really into reading The Amazing Days of Abby Hayes and From The Files Of Madison Finn and those really got me into reading. I just recently started going to thrift stores searching for Madison and Abby to complete my collections. I've completed my Madison collection but Abby is proving to be more difficult.
ReplyDeleteI still remember a few of the books I read in grade school that made me fall in love with paranormal stuff. Three that I remember pretty vividly: The Girl with the Silver Eyes, The Ghost Next Door, and Anna to the Infinite Power. I need to get my hands on all of them again!
ReplyDeleteNicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction