April 24, 2006
When did you become a reader?
Written by Anne Mallory in Jaunty PostWas it late one night with a book you couldn’t put down? Or on a long car ride, or stretched out on a towel at the beach? Do you remember the moment, or can you only remember always being enamored of the written word?
I spent a lot of time on long car rides as a kid, and from my earliest can remember my brightly colored plastic tapes (Sinbad!), plastic player and the accompanying texts that allowed me to read along as I listened. But even before that it was Dr. Doolittle. I had a Dr. Doolittle book, and would beg my Dad to read it to me before bed nearly every night. “Read about the Push Me Pull You, Dad!” And bless him, he always did.
The Push Me Pull You was a two headed llama (two fronts, no rear), and Dr. Doolittle could talk to it (Yes, I know you know this — save the snark for the llama!). I always wanted a Push Me Pull You of my very own. It delights me every time I open a good book and discover a different kind of Push Me Pull You within. One that reminds me of that youthful excitement, that discovery of other worlds trapped between the pages of a book, begging for me to release them by reading. The same can be said of writing books, but that’s a different post. 
When did you become a reader? Or what was your earliest book memory?
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Robyn DeHart Says:
I started reading VERY early so I don’t really remember much of the early books. But I think what made me a reader for life, or I suppose I should say who made me a reader (aside from my mother) was Judy Blume. Oh, how I loved her books. I must have read Are You There God, It’s Me Margaret a million times - my copy is tattered and well-loved. I remember reading Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great on a fishing trip, I was sitting on the steps to our fishing cabin with a SugarDaddy in my mouth and devouring the pages. The first romance I read (young adult romance, as it turns out) was a book called Brian’s Girl and I still remember how it made me feel. I read it over and over again, longing for the sensations the book brought. Oddly enough, I don’t re-read books as an adult, but as a child I loved to. Reading as a child is different than reading as an adult, it’s more magical and exciting. When I hit chapter 5 in the first Harry Potter book (this was well before the big hype) I had that feeling. The oh-my-gosh-this-is-gonna-be-huge-feeling.
Reading is just so powerful. I think it’s why I love that movie You’ve Got Mail. Because of all the lovely things she says about reading and books. Really hits home. That’s the cool thing about being a writer - you get to hang out with other writers, which really means other readers.
Great post, Anne!
Margo Maguire Says:
I don’t remember my childhood reading, although I know I was a good reader (all those standardized tests, you know …) but when I was in my late teens, I read a Rosemary Rogers book and thought it was pretty cool. Didn’t pick up another romance until the early 90s when I read some Kathleen Woodiwiss and Julie Garwood. They hooked me :-)!
Jennifer Yates Says:
I have been a reader for as long as I can remember…not sure how it started. The first book I remember reading on my own was “The Giving Tree” by Shel Silverstein. My parents gave me a copy of it for Christmas a couple of years ago because they knew it had been my first.
Once I discovered reading, I read books whenever I could. It allowed me to escape the real world and visit new places and people. I read anything from the Babysitters Club, Sweet Valley books, to Beverly Cleary and Judy Blume, to the classics and R.L. Stine’s horrors. My elementary school had a great program where you could get tickets to Six Flags for reading for 600 minutes. I was usually the first to finish my reading log sheet. I was one of those kids who read for fun and didn’t mind reading assignments and book reports. LOL. I was a loner in school and didn’t have many friends. Books became my friends. I still have many of my childhood books.
When I was about 14 something wonderful happened…I discovered the world of romance books. I watched a movie on television called “Rose Hill” with Jennifer Garner and really enjoyed it. I saw that it was a based on a book and my mother bought it for me when I asked her. The book was Julie Garwood’s For the Roses and it was NOTHING like the movie. However, I enjoyed the book even more. I did not realize it was a romance novel at first, but eventually did (man, those scenes were eye-openers…LOL). After reading it, I wanted more romance books….and the rest they say is history. I began reading romances daily…the Babysitter’s Club were retired from the bookshelf and replaced with Garwood, Julia Quinn, Johanna Lindsey, Linda Lael Miller, etc. In high school, I read during class and the teachers didn’t mind because I always got my work done and did well. I would put post-it notes on the more risque covers. LOL.
I cannot imagine my life without books in them.
(Sorry for rambling…this is just a great topic)
Krystal Says:
“Love you forever” by Robert N. Munsch. It was my favorite bedtime story since about the age of three. Now that I’m older, I can really see its implications. It’s really a phenomenal for little ones. For those of you who haven’t heard of it, check it out:
http://www.rogerknapp.com/inspire/loveforever.htm
Lacey Kaye Says:
My life story is almost exactly the same as Jennifer Yates, but without the Rose Hill. Cool!
Kimberly Logan Says:
My parents read to me from the time I was very little, so I think I always had an appreciation for books. I can still remember when my mother used to enroll me in the summer reading program at our local library. But the book that really kicked things off for me was the first book in the Trixie Belden series, The Secret of the Mansion. My mom got it as a gift for me for my seventh birthday, and I read it in one day. I was hooked on both reading and writing from that moment on.
Shirley Karr Says:
I can’t remember *not* being able to read, yet I don’t remember my parents or big sisters reading to me, either. Mom says she always made sure I watched Sesame Street — maybe that’s what did it.
I used to come from the class trips to the library, balancing my armload of books, shaking my head about other kids who struggled to find even one book they wanted to read. And my reading level was always way ahead of the curve. I was bored with the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew by fourth grade, and moved on to Alistair MacLean, Mario Puzo and Isaac Asimov by the time I was ten. Mom took away my copy of Jaws, so I read The Godfather in secret. (Yeah, at age ten. Very, ahem, eye-opening.) I tried a couple Barbara Cartlands in high school, but went right back to Stephen King. Didn’t try romance again until my early 20’s, when I got hooked on Sylvia Thorpe. A lot of romance writers count Rosemary Rogers or Kathleen Woodiwiss as being a huge influence on them, but not me. Mary Jo Putney did it, with The Rake and the Reformer. Incredible book. When I grow up, I want to write as well as MJP.
Mary Says:
Like Robyn, I reread books again and again as a child. Maybe we worried we wouldn’t find books that made us feel the same? There were two I had that I can’t remember the title, but I would LOVE to find them now. And there were Trixie Beldens and Little House and Judy Blumes and Lois Lenskis….I think I would give up writing before I could give up reading.