Do you remember the first book you ever read? I'm talking ever. Like, kindergarten-age ever? I do. It was one of the classic Winnie the Pooh books, and I vaguely remember sitting on a beanbag in my kindergarten classroom and having my picture taken while I did that. I cannot guarantee or deny if that candid photoshoot happened, but I say it did with all of my conviction. Now, obviously being no older than 5 years old, I was not a fluent reader at all, but it was the first step in a lifetime of reading and it's a memorable one.
Of course, everyone has memorable book moments that stand out from their childhood. The next book I picked up and read hundreds of times over was the Rainbow Fish- the way the publishers designed the reflective scales on that paper made it an addicting read. The classics also included Junie B. Jones, The Magic Tree House, Harry Potter, Dr. Seuss (as culturally blind as he was), Eric Carle, E.B. White, The Pigeon series, Curious George, Little House on the Prarie, Berenstain Bears, and the Ramona collection. That's just up through fifth grade, and it's not even counting the lead stars, but I grew to love reading books because I was taught to love listening to books.
In primary and elementary school, it's very common for books to be read aloud to the class, but something about my elementary school hyper-emphasized the importance of a good story and taking the time to appreciate it. While some teachers might read it plainly to communicate the importance of big words and improving lexile, my lovely teachers read Junie B. Jones in varying comedic voices with modulation and enthusiasm. Changing accents in Harry Potter was a must, and Dr. Seuss had to have exaggerated rhyme recitations, not just boring read throughs. Before I could actually read a lot of the more upper level books, such as J.K. Rowling's masterpieces, my parents would take me to the local public library to check out audio tapes. (Of course, I'd ask to buy the whole set every time the Scholastic book fair rolled around, but my parents were firm in making sure that any money going towards books would not be for entertainment but for usefulness.) Every morning and evening when I was dropped off and picked up in the family Mitsubishi Gallant, I'd listen to the meddling ways of the Harry Potter trio and the mysterious nature of Dumbledore's actions.
NPR was also a constant play in the car, which for a 7 year includes words that seem completely made up. My love and commitment to finish books in close to one sitting continued throughout middle school, when I blew through the Warrior Cats Series in a little under two months. Around those times, my family had moved out to Watkinsville, and while there is a public library, it wasn't as big and wasn't as appealing of a place to always take your kid to when you work long days in research and pharmaceuticals. My middle school teachers implemented silent reading time, but we would only get those designated twenty minutes on Mondays. I began a little mission that I like to think of as black market book borrowing, but it was really just borrowing a book from a friend. It would be one every two days.
One of my best friends growing up owned the entire Warrior Cats collection- and yes, I'm talking about 40-50 books about these forest clan cats, give or take a few. Every day, my friend would bring me one book, I'd store it in my middle school locker until the end of the day, start reading it on the bus ride home, and then lay on my living room floor until I finished it. The same thing happened the next day. It got to a point where my mom felt that I was "addicted" to reading story books and that a 6th grader's time would be better spent doing things other than reading about imaginary cats with overly complicated naming systems and hierarchies. Looking back, she was probably right, but in those times, it felt like she was taking away one of my lifelines. This was before teenagers were superglued to their phones and devices, so you'd think she would have appreciated my avid love for paperbacks.
I've rambled too much about cat books.
The point is, I would speed through an entire series over the course of one weekend and it was a magical time in my life. Right about the time I hit 10th grade is when that high speed rollercoaster slowed and reading turned into something that drained me.
Why?
It's because high school automatically calls for reading the "classics" by American and English authors and then writing numbing essays on it. Don't get me wrong. While I fell out of love with reading in high school, I fell in love with writing. I just hate that I had to give up one love for the other. The constant "read a book, write an impromptu essay, analyze this paragraph, write a reflection, present the book to the class" cycle was painstaking, and the standardized and AP tests made reading seem like the bane of my existence- words that I had to find meanings for instead of enjoying them as I read.
That lull in reading last through most of my freshman year in college, but then I started to get back into reading for fun. I'm determined to finish the books on my "to read" list right now--there are currently 4. Two of them are more career-related because one of my lovely mentors gifted them to me for my high school graduation. The other two are memoirs. I'm excited to be reading again, and I've tried to find the best times of day to dedicate to reading. I had a few free moments at work and got through a couple of chapters today. Sometimes after a 10-12 hour day on campus, coming home and devoting time to reading a chapter just seems like the worst thing to do for my body and sleep schedule. Some friends have suggested the common "read before you go to sleep" thing, but I'm more of a "try to watch a Youtube video and fall asleep with your headphones still in" gal right now. Hopefully I can transition over to the bedtime bookworm basis. Either way, I know that I'm reading more often because I love reading, and not because it's required in a class. I want to get back to the days when I would spend Saturday afternoons lying in my yard under the sunshine with a page-turner. I want to return to the times when not finished a book would keep me up at night. It's a work in progress. So here's to improving my relationship with books.
Feel free to send me book suggestions and reading habit ideas!
