Reading has always been very important to me
I just always forget how much I enjoy it when I haven't read in awhile.
I have never been a voracious reader. I wasn't the kid who learned to read when they were 2 or 3. I didn't gobble up books as an escape from my boring/tragic/shy lifestyle. I have fond memories of reading, but it wasn't the big defining aspect of my childhood.
I learned to read in the first grade when I was taught. My mom said that she didn't want to be one of those parents who taught their kids to read early, but wanted us to learn in our own time. Apparently, I wasn't precocious enough to want to learn on my own. I did learn fast, though. I remember learning quickly and being bored while waiting for the slower students to figure out what's going on. I don't think I was the best reader of the class, but I was the quickest. But then, I've always been impatient and in a hurry to move on.
My first chapter book was Socks by Beverly Cleary. I read it because I was doing one of those summer library reading contest things in the summer between 2nd and 3rd grade. I would mow through the little children's books and Mom put a stop to it. She said it was like cheating since I was obviously beyond the level of the books I was reading. She had a point. So she made me read Socks. I remember slogging through it and not really understanding what I was reading. It was a struggle, but I did it and felt very accomplished. Chapters! No Pictures! What a challenge! I think after I read that book, I went back to reading the smaller kids books and ended up getting the blue ribbon for reading that summer. It wasn't technically against the rules, but I think it went against the spirit of the contest.
My first adult book was All Creatures, Great and Small by James Herriot. Well, I don't know if it was an adult book, but it was in the adult section of the library. I tore through that book and most of his sequels. I have a soft spot for animal stories and I love true ones even better. It's pretty much the only non-fiction I would read. And still will read. Non-fiction, how boring! :) Lillian Jackson Braun's The Cat Who... books were probably the first real adult fiction I read. I liked them, but my obsessive nature would only allow me to read them in chronological order and there were probably 15-20 books in the series and our library only had the first 4. I moved on to Danielle Steel and my romance novel addiction was born (also, the concept of sexuality and my body....but that's an entirely different entry!).
I didn't become a "reader" until high school. It wasn't due to some fascination with books or the desire to read, it came from the desire to escape...but not in the way you might think. I attended a very small school. There were about 250 kids in my high school and we all had lunch at the same time. I had plenty of friends, but I never really belonged to any group enough to feel comfortable to sit with them at lunch. Usually I hung on the fringe and shyly kept to myself. If we weren't in the lunchroom during our 45 minute lunch, then the only other place we were allowed to be was the library. I made the library my safe haven. NO ONE went there at lunch. So I was able to go there and hang by myself. Eventually, the librarians would come to adore me and let me actually eat in the library. After a few boring lunches, I would drift to the sci-fi/fantasy section of the library and browse. Terry Brook's Heritage of Shannara series caught my eye and I started reading that. Once I started, I couldn't stop. Fantasy was awesome! All these cool things like elves and fairies and magic. What fun! I could entertain myself AND get away from the crowded lunchroom. After my freshman year, I didn't always take lunch in the library. I became more social and felt more comfortable eating with various groups as the cliques became more solid. But I did go to the library a lot and check out tons of books.
My first job was at 14, but it didn't really count as it was a summer job bussing tables and I didn't make much money at all. My second job (at 16) introduced me to the idea of "disposable income". I also worked at a Drug Store, so I learned that employee discount + trashy novel = cheap access to books. I had pretty much gone through the interesting books in both the school and city library (really, really small community), so I got new books! This kicked off my book buying frenzy. In the following 6 years (2 in high school, 4 in college) I probably bought and traded-in close to 1000 books. I cringe when I think of all the money I spent on books. I ended up with 500 in my collection by the time I moved to Japan.
The move to Japan started a period of decline in my reading. Obviously, living in rural Japan meant I had little to no access English books. what books I had, I either brought with me or had shipped to me from America. This meant I went from reading about 3 books a week, to 1 every couple of months (except the time my mom surprised me by shipping me a carton-load of books...that was nice). When we returned to America, I returned older and a little more pragmatic (thanks to a very pragmatic husband). I decided, after not-too-much soul seraching, that I needed to sell my books and not buy them at the ridiculous rate I had been.
So we sold 90% of my 500+ collection. I got maybe $150 for it, but I can no longer stand to own a book I'm not going to use. Books are for reading, not for collecting dust on a shelf 8 hours away (I kept my books in my mom's house, since we didn't have nearly the room required). I kept the books that I knew I would reread and few for sentimental reasons. The rest? Gone. I have done good with not buying too many more books. Sometimes I slip and get disappointed when they go straight to the "to be sold" pile after one read. Because I was still not buying books, I didn't restart my reading habits. I was still reading about 1 book a month.
Lately though, I have rediscovered the library and rediscovered my love of reading. The Monroe County Library is huge and has an endless supply of books for me. We only intend on staying 1 more year, so there is no way I can possibly run out of reading materials. I'm able to grab a stack of books and just read again without being sad when the book is done (beyond the slight regret that the story has ended). I don't think I will ever return to my reading frenzy of my youth. I do have a husband now and it's nice to do things together and to be active. But I am able to get that relaxed feeling of reading a good book at the end of a long day. Reading is excellent. I think I will never get tired of it.
I have never been a voracious reader. I wasn't the kid who learned to read when they were 2 or 3. I didn't gobble up books as an escape from my boring/tragic/shy lifestyle. I have fond memories of reading, but it wasn't the big defining aspect of my childhood.
I learned to read in the first grade when I was taught. My mom said that she didn't want to be one of those parents who taught their kids to read early, but wanted us to learn in our own time. Apparently, I wasn't precocious enough to want to learn on my own. I did learn fast, though. I remember learning quickly and being bored while waiting for the slower students to figure out what's going on. I don't think I was the best reader of the class, but I was the quickest. But then, I've always been impatient and in a hurry to move on.
My first chapter book was Socks by Beverly Cleary. I read it because I was doing one of those summer library reading contest things in the summer between 2nd and 3rd grade. I would mow through the little children's books and Mom put a stop to it. She said it was like cheating since I was obviously beyond the level of the books I was reading. She had a point. So she made me read Socks. I remember slogging through it and not really understanding what I was reading. It was a struggle, but I did it and felt very accomplished. Chapters! No Pictures! What a challenge! I think after I read that book, I went back to reading the smaller kids books and ended up getting the blue ribbon for reading that summer. It wasn't technically against the rules, but I think it went against the spirit of the contest.
My first adult book was All Creatures, Great and Small by James Herriot. Well, I don't know if it was an adult book, but it was in the adult section of the library. I tore through that book and most of his sequels. I have a soft spot for animal stories and I love true ones even better. It's pretty much the only non-fiction I would read. And still will read. Non-fiction, how boring! :) Lillian Jackson Braun's The Cat Who... books were probably the first real adult fiction I read. I liked them, but my obsessive nature would only allow me to read them in chronological order and there were probably 15-20 books in the series and our library only had the first 4. I moved on to Danielle Steel and my romance novel addiction was born (also, the concept of sexuality and my body....but that's an entirely different entry!).
I didn't become a "reader" until high school. It wasn't due to some fascination with books or the desire to read, it came from the desire to escape...but not in the way you might think. I attended a very small school. There were about 250 kids in my high school and we all had lunch at the same time. I had plenty of friends, but I never really belonged to any group enough to feel comfortable to sit with them at lunch. Usually I hung on the fringe and shyly kept to myself. If we weren't in the lunchroom during our 45 minute lunch, then the only other place we were allowed to be was the library. I made the library my safe haven. NO ONE went there at lunch. So I was able to go there and hang by myself. Eventually, the librarians would come to adore me and let me actually eat in the library. After a few boring lunches, I would drift to the sci-fi/fantasy section of the library and browse. Terry Brook's Heritage of Shannara series caught my eye and I started reading that. Once I started, I couldn't stop. Fantasy was awesome! All these cool things like elves and fairies and magic. What fun! I could entertain myself AND get away from the crowded lunchroom. After my freshman year, I didn't always take lunch in the library. I became more social and felt more comfortable eating with various groups as the cliques became more solid. But I did go to the library a lot and check out tons of books.
My first job was at 14, but it didn't really count as it was a summer job bussing tables and I didn't make much money at all. My second job (at 16) introduced me to the idea of "disposable income". I also worked at a Drug Store, so I learned that employee discount + trashy novel = cheap access to books. I had pretty much gone through the interesting books in both the school and city library (really, really small community), so I got new books! This kicked off my book buying frenzy. In the following 6 years (2 in high school, 4 in college) I probably bought and traded-in close to 1000 books. I cringe when I think of all the money I spent on books. I ended up with 500 in my collection by the time I moved to Japan.
The move to Japan started a period of decline in my reading. Obviously, living in rural Japan meant I had little to no access English books. what books I had, I either brought with me or had shipped to me from America. This meant I went from reading about 3 books a week, to 1 every couple of months (except the time my mom surprised me by shipping me a carton-load of books...that was nice). When we returned to America, I returned older and a little more pragmatic (thanks to a very pragmatic husband). I decided, after not-too-much soul seraching, that I needed to sell my books and not buy them at the ridiculous rate I had been.
So we sold 90% of my 500+ collection. I got maybe $150 for it, but I can no longer stand to own a book I'm not going to use. Books are for reading, not for collecting dust on a shelf 8 hours away (I kept my books in my mom's house, since we didn't have nearly the room required). I kept the books that I knew I would reread and few for sentimental reasons. The rest? Gone. I have done good with not buying too many more books. Sometimes I slip and get disappointed when they go straight to the "to be sold" pile after one read. Because I was still not buying books, I didn't restart my reading habits. I was still reading about 1 book a month.
Lately though, I have rediscovered the library and rediscovered my love of reading. The Monroe County Library is huge and has an endless supply of books for me. We only intend on staying 1 more year, so there is no way I can possibly run out of reading materials. I'm able to grab a stack of books and just read again without being sad when the book is done (beyond the slight regret that the story has ended). I don't think I will ever return to my reading frenzy of my youth. I do have a husband now and it's nice to do things together and to be active. But I am able to get that relaxed feeling of reading a good book at the end of a long day. Reading is excellent. I think I will never get tired of it.