My Interest In Reading Books

My interest in reading started from a very young age when my dad would sit down and read stories to me and my 3 other siblings. I even remember a few times where he would read upwards of five or six books in one night just to accommodate the shouts of, “one more!” when the story was over. He would also take my brother and I to a store called Half Price Books. It was essentially a large store of discounted books, much like a library, where I learned to choose, seek out, and discover new genres of stories that interested me. It’s where we would spend up to two and a half hours sitting and sorting through countless novels and stories to take home and enjoy. He would not only encourage my family and I to read, however, he would also come into my class and read books like The Giving Tree and hand out little reminders to read, such as little clasp bracelets, which all the kids enjoyed. One time, my dad even convinced my grandfather to fly in on a jet all the way from Washington, D.C. to read Cat in the Hat dressed as the character and acting out the lines; it was hilarious! These memories created the foundation to my experiences as a reader and fortified my passion for tackling a good book.

Although I did enjoy to read, however, I also liked creating stories of my own and even wrote an official hardcover printed book at age 10. I wrote about “The Adventures of Ash Ketchum,” a Pokemon story. It was about a journey of a Pokemon master who captured and trained various Pokemon and competed to win against all the other trainees he versed. Needless to say, it wasn’t the most interesting book but it gave me a feeling of pride to see it come in and triumphantly carry it around the school saying I was a “published” author. This sparked my interest in writing and I began to write more short stories and gathered inspiration from books like Ender’s Game and Maze Runner. Even though many said they were out of my age range, I had a Lexile score far above which enabled me to read them from my school library, (even though I DID need a written letter from my parents allowing me to read them).

The summer after school that year, I sat down and read the entire Hunger Games series in 4-5 days which made me look at the world from a different perspective. I started to see the tiny details in life and think of imaginative and unrealistic reasons behind daily habits. It was almost like I was constantly writing a mini story in my mind everywhere I went. I next went on to read all the Harry Potter books, (that were out at the time) and even the entire Maze Runner series. By reading these books I learned not only how to enrich my learning and excel in literature but to realize that there’s a story for everyone and that knowing how to be creative is life changing. It’s a way to stray away from the norm and create a unique and exciting “second life” to let loose. Without books, I honestly don’t know where I’d be.