I'm a reader

I'm taking a Children's Literature class this semester, and our first assignment was to create a literacy memoir. By the time I sat down to complete this assignment, I was shocked at the number of books I've read! Reading is one of my favorite hobbies, and it's one of the most essential abilities I possess. I encourage you to explore your own literary history. What do you like to read? Do you like to read? What was reading like in your family? What types of books do you like? What do you dislike? How did your formative reading experiences shape your relationship to literature and life? Deep stuff, I know. While your head explodes as you ponder those life-affirming questions, read my memoir. Happy reading!

            I’ve loved to read for as long as I can remember. If there’s anything I love more than reading books, it’s buying books, especially older books. The smell of books is intoxicating! I asked my mom to share some of her earliest memories of me reading, and it’s comical and enlightening. She said that I would do anything my siblings asked (I’m the third of four) if they would promise to read to me in return. “[I] loved being read to any time, any place… It was all stories all the time.” I remember building book forts in my closet, filling them with a day’s worth of books, and sitting in my closet all day long reading. I shared a room and we lived in an 1100 square foot house, so it was the only place I could get some quiet.

 My mom recalls again, “I would often go in her room to check on her at night and find her bed full of books. Not just one or two, but every book from the shelves would be in her bed, on her bed, and under her bed.” During the summer, I moved my reading outside, often carrying a book (or two or three) up the apple tree where I’d perch myself on my favorite limb and read until it got dark. I made forts outside and set up school for my dolls. I read to them and tried to get my friends to let me read to them as well. I’ve read every Berenstain Bears book, anything written by Dr. Seuss I loved Sesame Street books, and in the first grade, I found Arthur. I remember being on my first trip to the library, and I was awestruck at the sheer number of books. They were on every wall, on shelves in the middle of the room, and even on little tables with chairs just my size. Our librarian was so kind, and she asked me what I liked. I must have mentioned my love for talking animals who teach moral lessons, so she recommended an Arthur book. I came back every week for what seemed like ages and asked for more Arthur books. After a few weeks, I read them all, and the sweet librarian told me that I needed to wait for the next new Arthur book to come out and come to our library. It took FOREVER, but finally I got the new Arthur book. I kept playing the hurry up and wait game until I had read every Arthur book that came out. I remember being so disappointed when the show finally came out on PBS, because Arthur was so much cooler in my imagination!

We made weekly visits to the public library in our town as well, and I’d check out as many books as the librarian would let me. I often couldn’t carry the whole stack, but my mom was ready, willing, and able to help. She diligently helped until I started “losing” my books. She took away my library card because I’d racked up at least $30 in charges for lost or overdue books. I remember being told that books are treasures, and we must treat them responsibly. Having books was a privilege, and until I could bring my books back, I didn’t get to have that privilege. I learned quickly! Now I always have a library card, and I try to pay my late fees. I still forget to take my books back.

I remember being about five or six and being home sick. My parents had strict sick day rules. If you were sick enough to be home, you had to be low key and be sick. I was restless and I asked my mom, “What am I going to do all day?” She encouraged me to read a book, and then she went to the bookshelves and brought back a thick hardcover book. A chapter book! She told me that the story was sad, but that I would love it. That was the first time I read Charlotte’s Web. After I read that, I knew nothing could stop me, and I set out to devour all the big books in the world! I read all of Beverly Cleary’s books, most of Judy Blume’s books, all the Boxcar Children books, and all the Babysitter’s Club little sister books. Then my parents set me loose on the Babysitter’s Club books. I’d read them so fast that I could hardly wait for my older sister to give me another book in the series. Soon I was reading Roald Dahl’s classics and eager for more!

I continuously raced to finish my classwork early so that I could have “silent reading time” in class. I’m sure my teachers wanted me to stay quiet (I’ve always been a social butterfly), so they let me read a book. I still always have something to read with me, whether I’m reading ingredients, a magazine article, or the newspaper someone left on a chair.

By the time I was old enough to babysit, I packed my babysitting bag with Zoobooks and Highlights magazines and tons of picture books. I made sure to read every character in its own voice, and the kids I watched loved reading time.

My love of books came from my mom. She’s always been an avid reader, and she read to us kids all the time. She and my dad sacrificed a lot so that I could get a giant stack of books from every book order my teachers sent home, and they continued to pay for my reading habit well into high school. My dad loves reading now, but he struggled with dyslexia as a child and young adult, so reading didn’t come naturally to him. However, now he never leaves home without a book or a kindle in his hand. He reads all the time. He taught me to love reading as an adult.

I remember being in a class at work and having a book with me. I was learning from course material that I’d written for the organization, so I finished my worksheets quickly. In order to not be a distraction, I brought books. I averaged a book and a half per day. My manager pulled me aside and told me that I needed to pay attention. I informed her of my quandary, and I got to keep my books!

I love historical fiction, murder mysteries and romance. I should qualify that by saying that I don’t like mass market romance novels. I love books by Jane Austen, I love to read F. Scott Fitzgerald’s work, and my favorite author is Harper Lee. I find memoirs fascinating, and I read 15 of them one year. I love reading about others’ lives, seeing that even famous and successful people have struggles and work to be better humans. I struggle with some chronic health issues and seeing that other people face challenges with grace and courage inspires me to attempt to move forward with grace and a large amount of intestinal fortitude.

I could go on forever about how reading shaped me, molded me into a productive member of society, and so forth, but reading just makes me human. I can understand another person’s pain because I’ve read, I can express elation at someone’s success because I’m a reader. I interact effectively with the world because I’m a reader.