I can’t remember a time when I didn’t have a ton of books in my room. My love for reading started very early, before I could even actually read. I used to flip through my many picture books on my own, imagining the stories that were being told based on the pictures. I would beg my mother to read me my favorites over and over so I could memorize them. I’ve always had at least one bookshelf in my room, and they have always been close to overflowing. Once I learned to read, there was no stopping me. I read everything in my room too many times to count. Once I grew tired of those, my grandmother helped me discover the joy of the library. We went there multiple times a week and I would browse the shelves taking out anything that looked remotely interesting. Reading to me was a new freedom I never knew, comparable to the freedom one feels when they finally get their driver’s license.
I don’t just love to read, I love the way books smell, (especially used books) and the feeling you get when you crack open a brand new one who’s binding hasn’t been broken yet. I refuse to get a Kindle because I love the feeling of physically holding a book, turning the pages, and feeling the joy of holding something so powerful in your hands. I was always taught to handle books with care and respect, and have carried that lesson with me throughout my entire life.
I quickly graduated from picture books to chapter books in elementary school. Like most kids my age, the first chapter books I recall reading were The Magic Tree House series. Once, in third grade I was able to read an entire book in just one day. Soon after this feat, I read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. That book quite literally changed by life (reading it revealed I have an astigmatism). But really, I fell in love with reading all over again it seemed after reading that book. I quickly finished the series (which required many nights up past my bedtime reading) and moved on to more series. Reading in elementary school and throughout middle school, was always something I enjoyed and never dreaded doing. It wasn’t until I got to high school that I began to slack off on reading. It seemed that reading something that someone else told me to read made me want to read it much less than if I had chosen it myself. Even books that I would normally be drawn to I was reluctant to read only because it was required of me. High school was also the time that I stopped reading in my spare time. It seemed that I always had something better to do. Usually it was binge watching some TV show on Netflix. I was barely reading required books for class, and not at all for myself.
Once I got to college I told myself I would start reading for pleasure again, and also start to actually do my readings for class. My freshman year I tried to read in my spare time, but it ended up affecting my school readings, so I quit early on. Over the summer however, I was able to get back into reading and finish a couple books. Last year I was actually able to keep up with my personal and class readings, and this year I hope won’t be any different. Sometimes I like to read books that I enjoyed in middle school or even high school to give me a sense of nostalgia. Sometimes just picking up a book from back then and reading just a couple chapters can put me back in the mindset I was in when I originally read it, and helps me remember good memories that I might have associated with that book. The books I most frequently reread are the Harry Potter series. Those books always take me back to my early childhood and the simpler times of my life.
I am always looking for books that can make me not want to put them down. It is rare now that I can find one, it seems I am always starting books and not finishing them, but every once in awhile I find and amazing book that only takes me a few days to finish. I hope to share my love of reading with everyone, and it always makes me sad to hear someone say they hate reading. If you love reading, or don’t know what to read next, check out my wide range of book suggestions!
Book Suggestions:
The Husband’s Secret by Liane Moriarty
To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han
Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
My Sweet Audrina by V.C. Andrews
Dracula by Bram Stoker
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie