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Readers--When did you fall in love with books?

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Haven

Haven

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We have so many avid readers on here, so I''m wondering:

Avid readers, do you remember the moment that you fell in love with reading? And if so, what did you in?

I love hearing about the works and circumstances that turned people on to reading, so I''d love to hear your stories if you don''t mind. Here''s mine:

My 7th grade English teacher handed out copies of Ray Bradbury''s "A Sound of Thunder" one day, and we read the story as a class. That was it. I was done. I fell in love with the alternate future Bradbury created, and the whole problem of the butterfly effect and time travel and consequences had me working out scenarios and asking questions in my little mind for months.
I read everything I could get my hands on after that, and I still love dystopic stories above everything else.
 
What a great question! I have a few things that stick out in my mind, I don't think it was any one event for me.

1. My first grade teacher ALWAYS sent us home with books. I remember they were more than just a few pages. They were full of illustrations and didn't have more than a line or two of text on each page, but when I finished one, I felt as though I had truly accomplished something.

2. My 5th grade teacher always read to us after lunch. She'd read a chapter or so and always stopped at a point that you wanted to know more. She encouraged reading and really helped us to see how reading was fun.

3. It also helped that my parents are avid readers. They read a lot and we made family trips to the library very, very often growing up. They always had us join the summer reading program at the library and also put an incentive plan of sorts in place for us.

All of these things resulted in me being an AVID reader as an adult. I refuse to go anywhere where I might possibly have to wait without a book. I hate having time to kill and nothing to read!!!
 
What sticks out in my mind is Highlights for children. I had a subscription to it when i was very young.

Later came those books you'd order through school. The ones that if you bought three of more, you'd get a free poster of kittens or puppies.

Then the summer before 7th grade a friend lent me Judy Blume's "Oh God it's me Margaret". I was shocked (and hooked).

7th grade came and Orwell's "1984" was required reading. Have been a fan ever since, and that in turn lead me to other authors of similiar genre.
 
I don''t remember ever not loving books. I remember being in first grade and my grandmother read the Narnia books to me - after a while I was reading them on my own because I wanted to know what happened and it took SO LONG when they were read out loud (yeah, I''ve always loved books and I''ve always been impatient, lol).
 
I learned to read very early. (Like, around 3 years old) I don''t remember a time when I wasn''t a reader. I remember the first series of books that I read voraciously was Babysitter''s Club. I also had all of the Beverly Cleary books. When I was little I would hole up in my room and read for hours! I loved escaping to various lands and adventures!
 
It wasn''t until high school that I developed a love for books. I''m embarrassed to admit, the author who turned me onto books when I was in 8th or 9th grade was Stephen King. Even though it has been 10-12 years since reading any of his books, all of them were still kept on my bookcase. I finally got rid of them because people thought he was still my favorite author. Oh, along with Anne Rice and her vampire series. I had to get rid of those too because someone saw all her books I owned and gave me one as a gift.

I remember the first "real" book, a chapter book of course, that I read was in elementary school. . .of all books it was "Amityville Horror!"
 
Reading was always very difficult for me (I''m dyslexic) but I fell in love with reading in 9th grade reading Jane Austen''s "Pride and Prejudice." I *heart* Mr. Darcy! Been a book lover ever since.
 
I also can''t remember ever not loving reading. I feel like I''ve always been a reader! My twin sis and I learned to read when we were 4 and used to read constantly as kids. I remember going to the library once a week every summer. We would get huge stacks of books and just blow through them!

And it''s funny-my parents were very strict about television and movies, but we were allowed to read books that were written for adults at a very young age. I don''t think my mom ever told us we couldn''t read something! My twin sister''s favorite author in probably 5th grade was Stephen King. She used to scare the crap out of herself and have to sleep with the lights on every night, but she loved his books! (I''ve always been a wimp and don''t like scary movies or scary books!)
 
I am not sure where my love of reading truly came from. I have always loved to read, I have always loved books. From the time I was a toddler I loved to read.

I DO have one strong memory of what made me a truly AVID reader. My second grade teacher was one of the most enchanting women I know of. Every morning she would have us sing songs from The Sound of Music. She LOVED to read, and loved GOOD books. She is the reason I love to read. In her class, we read a book. It is called "No Flying in the House". It is about a little girl who''s mother collects crystal figurines, and the child never gets to play because she might break these. One day one of the crystal figurines... a small dog... comes to life and teaches the child to fly. The dog becomes something of a playmate to the child, until the child learns some valuable life lessons. Then... one day she turns back to crystal. At the end of the year my teacher let us choose one book to keep that we loved in her class. I chose that book and still have it in my library.... the same 1970 paperback copy (no I didn''t attend her class in 1970 that just happens to be the edition she had for us). She is the reason I truly LOVE books, and can fully appreciate them. She happens to be my mother''s best friend''s mother... so I get to see her from time to time, and have been meaning to show her that book.
 
Interesting question! I think I fell in love with reading in 3rd or 4th grade. Before that I was such a tomboy and hated to sit down and read. Then my family moved to another country and I disappeared into books because everything else was so unfamiliar and weird. I still remember that I started reading Enid Blyton''s books and just could not get enough of them! We were in Taipei at the time and it was so hard to get English books!
 
I''ve loved to read since I was a toddler. I moved from China when I was 3, and my parents'' English wasn''t great, so they got me a lot of books. My earliest memory of loving a book was reading The Phantom Tollbooth in 3rd grade. Great great book!!

I read so much that my parents actually would lecture me about reading too much, and I would get in trouble in class because I''d be in the back of the room, reading a book under my desk instead of paying attention.
 
Date: 9/12/2009 6:09:05 PM
Author: Tuckins1
I learned to read very early. (Like, around 3 years old) I don''t remember a time when I wasn''t a reader. I remember the first series of books that I read voraciously was Babysitter''s Club. I also had all of the Beverly Cleary books. When I was little I would hole up in my room and read for hours! I loved escaping to various lands and adventures!
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Wow, Tuckins! I learned to read at around 3 as well! (We have a few things in common- D diamonds, anime, and young readers) Little things though but by the time I was maybe 5 I was reading the Golden Books series. We didn''t have Dr. Seuss (did I spell that right?) when I lived in the Philippines. We didn''t watch too much tv either. I think we were only allowed an hour of tv on the weekdays, but my dad would hand me a book and let me read for hours!
 
I started reading early but cant say I was really into it until the 4th grade.
Had an awesome teacher who recognized that I was bored in school and she sent home the first in the Chronicles of Narnia series, I read the entire set in a week.
Later in the year when we did the standardized testing I was reading at a 12th grade level which is as high as the test went.
Maxed out the test every year after through high school in reading and close to it in math.
Took the ASVAB in 11th grade and had the second highest score in the nation.
 
I know I''ve always loved to read, but I don''t remember the first time I was turned on to reading. I do remember listening to my third grade teacher read my class "The Cay," and I loved it. We used to live in a condo development that had a large yard, a pond, and lots of weeping willow trees. I used to love climbing the trees and reading for hours on end. I read Beverly Cleary, Judy Blume, Christopher Pike, Lois Lowry, and later on, Cynthia Voight, mostly.
 
When I was 3 and learned to read. Apparently, I never went anywhere without my Grimm''s fairy tales from that day forward ;)
 
The library was a second home from the time I was very litte; I have a sister who is two years older and we went from the time I was born. My mom has never enjoyed reading (she has comp/retention issues) and it was very important to her that my sister and I not feel the same way she does about it. She read to us constantly. We were the kids with flashlights under the covers reading until all hours of the night, trying not to get caught. I can''t remember ever not loving books/stories/reading.
 
I really can''t remember not loving books and reading. My mom used to read to me a lot when I was little - she would read every night with me before bed.

I know I LOVED "library time" in kindergarten and early grade school years. Our class would go to the library and the librarian would read us a book and then we got to look around and check out books to bring home for the week. I absolutely loved the librarian and I think that really contributed to my love of reading.

I remember throughout the years my family would joke around about just how MUCH I read. When I was younger, we used to go on a 10 day vacation to Florida every year over Passover and I would read anywhere from 15-25 books over those 10 days - ALL I did there was sit by the pool or beach and read and read and read..... And I loved it!

I wish I had more time to read for pleasure now because I enjoy it so much.
 
I too was an early reader. By the time I was in 1st grade I had my own Grimm''s, Hans Christian Andersen, and 1001 Nights. I loved fairy tales. My mother was an avid reader also, so we spent a lot of time at the library. I was choosing books from the adult section by 3rd grade. I could probably do a life sentence in solitary as long as they kept the books coming
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As long as I can remember, I have loved to read. My mom tells me that I taught myself to read using a phonics set she bought for me the year before I started kindergarten. My mom always read to us when we were children, and she saved our books to read to the grandkids when they came along. I can remember my dad giving my mom and me a hard time for staying up too late reading!

I taught first grade at one point in my life. I spent a lot of time in the library picking out books to read to my class, and I tried to find props that went along with the book so that the kids would enjoy story time. When I taught 6th grade, I set up a reading corner in my classroom with a fish tank, carpet, big fluffy pillows, and bookcases. We had a rotation of 4 kids every 1/2 hour, and I think they really enjoyed it. Every time I checked on the reading corner, the kids were actually reading (I took that as a good sign).

I wish I had more time now to read for enjoyment instead of reading legal junk for my job.
 
It must have been my mother''s doing. She always bought me books way above my "level" and I just loved reading. I think I could read before kindergarten because my mom taught me. During summer holidays from school I''d go to the library and take out a weeks'' worth of books at a time and ended up reading through the entire children''s section quite soon. I was so proud of the day that the library allowed me to used the "adult" section upstairs because I was so much younger than was usually allowed. (talk about nerdy!) Then in school they ended up taking me out of English class completely in Grade 6 because I was too far ahead of the rest of the kids. They had me do other things and tutor special needs kids, do art projects, sort math tests for other teachers, a whole lot of free labour IMO.
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I don''t remember feeling that I was different than everyone else, because in those days (60''s and 70''s) lots of kids read books for pleasure. It''s very different today.
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I always loved books but I can remember becoming an avid reader in 4th or 5th grade. My aunt gave me a box of my cousin''s old books. A few I can remember: Nothing''s Fair in 5th Grade (must have read this one 100 times), Ramona Quimby, Goosebumps, How to Eat Fried Worms, Baby-sitter''s Club, Narnia collection, The Last Unicorn, Judy Blume books...there are others.
 
early elementary school. first grade? Our teacher read us stories like James and the Giant Peach and what made it reall cool was she brought in peaches for everyone and other things from the books. When when ever she read us books she would bring things in... if there was a hamster in the book, she''d bring one in, if there was a large meadow, we''d go outside. She linked books to the read world and reinforced them with tactile things.. touch, see, hear, smell, taste. I still average 7 books a week, even with work and everything. Prefer fiction. Many genres, and majored in English.
 
I love reading all of your stories! Thank you for sharing, and please keep them coming!

And, may I say, I am SHOCKED that several of you began to read at such a young age. It is extremely rare for a child to read at age three, you are all prodigies. Seriously.
 
I don''t remember when I didn''t love books. I remember my grade school library well; I always had library books checked out. I blame Dr. Seuss for my addiction! But he was only the beginning.
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I remember some very good books in my grade school years; Harriet The Spy, A Wrinkle in Time, Octagon Magic, The Velvet Room, just to name a few. Every one of those books would still be a good read today.

One summer, when I was 9 or 10, I discovered my mother''s (original 1930s - 1940s editions) Nancy Drew books.

My first reading of Gone With The Wind was probably around the age of 10.

Anyone remember the books we could buy through the school, kind of like a book club for kids? They gave out brochures with synopses of the storylines, and a price list, and you turned your order form and money into the teacher. I always had the biggest order in my class!

I was a student librarian all four years of HS, and my first paying job was working for my school district in the summer to take physical inventory of all the libraries in the grade schools, and type up all the catalog cards for new books and films. I originally started my college education with the intent to become a librarian - - or as they said even then (in the dark ages), an Instructional Media Administrator.
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There is no smell, anywhere, that can top the smell of new books. I would hate to see the world go Kindle on me. God forbid. Turning a page, the scent of the paper and ink, the feel of the cover, the heft in your hand, cannot be replaced by a tiny computer. Books have souls. Don''t they, Haven?

My favorite feature about my new house? A built in oak bookcase, floor to ceiling, six enormous shelves. Nothing makes me happier than a house full of books.
 
I honestly don't remember a time when I didn't love to read...I swear I must be the only kid in history who used to be told by her mum to put that book down and go and play and I wish you didn't read so much (I liked to be outdoors as well and play sport lots but books win hands down). I would read whatever I could get my hands on.

I do remember in grade 3 having a special reading corner in the classroom with one other girl for reading time, all the other kids had to read with a parent or teacher helper but we had our own special corner with our own books and could read whatever we wanted - the books were also of a higher level one of my most fond memories of reading at school.

I really love the baby sitters club series when I was younger they were my faves I read other stuff as well but those were my mainstay.



ETA I adored Enid Blyton as well - I still do :).


ETA again Holly I loved book club :D
 
I have always loved books, even from before I could read. My mom used to read to me all the time when I was very little, and in the summer, we'd walk to the local library to watch some community acting troupe performing children's stories. When I could read myself (learned at the average age of about 5 or 6), I read tons of fairy tales and Greek mythology, and then at around the age of 7 discovered The Chronicles of Narnia, which I have easily read at least 100 times over the course of my life (each book 100 times, with the exception of the 7th book--that one was not nearly as good as the rest and I only read it maybe 3 times).

Every summer my family would go away on vacation to the Poconos, and I would always bring my Narnia box set with me to read while laying out in the sun before going for a swim or to read before bed (no TV there, so reading, board games, music, swimming and boating were all we did when on vacation). When I got to be a bit older, maybe 10 or 12, I started taking my younger brothers out into the rowboat for an afternoon of picnicking and Narnia. We'd row the boat out into the middle of the lake and then I would read to them. When they got hungry, we'd either eat out picnic lunch in the boat or row it to this little tiny beach near a place we named Blueberry Island (which was more of a big rock than an island, really, but it had blueberries growing on it) and have out lunch there, complete with just-picked blueberries. When we'd stop the reading for lunch, they'd often ask me questions about the story or the characters, or talk about what they would do differently if they were in the story instead. Sometimes we'd row to the beach near Blueberry Island and have to stay in the rowboat, though, because there were kids who would go there to drink and they'd leave broken beer bottles all over the little beach. But it was still nice, even when we couldn't land, because it was like we had a bubble around us--just us, our lunches, and these great stories.

Those memories are far and away my favourite reading memories.
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I can''t remember not loving books either. My parents always surrounded us with books as a child. I''ve loved reading since then.
 
I have always loved books from when I was small. I always loved to read. The first book that really drew me in tho was The Hatchet. I just remembering having to read it for class and were supposed to read it in 2 chapter intervals and I read the whole thing in one night. That book captivated me. An I also loved me some nancy drew!
 
Date: 9/13/2009 12:07:39 AM
Author: purrfectpear
I too was an early reader. By the time I was in 1st grade I had my own Grimm''s, Hans Christian Andersen, and 1001 Nights. I loved fairy tales. My mother was an avid reader also, so we spent a lot of time at the library. I was choosing books from the adult section by 3rd grade. I could probably do a life sentence in solitary as long as they kept the books coming
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I adore the classic fairy tales. I hate how watered down they have become.
 
I''ve loved books ever since I learned to read. In this age of computers, I feel sorry for the children who will grow up never knowing the joy of holding and opening a book.
 
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