Reading is NOT Boring

Ever since I was a kid, I’ve loved books. I’m an only child and the only cousin that was close enough to my age was 9 years older than me. When I started school, I didn’t live near enough to any of my friends for play dates. So outside of school, I had books to keep me company.

My mom would read to me before I’d fall asleep every night. We didn’t have a lot of money back then so all my books were hand-me-downs or we’d get them from garage sales or the Goodwill by our home. So whatever book I could get my hands on, I would read.

When I was 6, the first book my mom and I read together was ‘Sleepy Hollow, and the legend of Rip Van Winkle’.

When I was 7, I read ‘Little Women’ on my own.

When I was 10, the first book I bought with my birthday money was the collected works of Jane Austen.

When I was 11, my cousin gave me her copy of ‘Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone’.

Once at a school book fair, I was in the fourth grade, and I was looking around and found a copy of the Da Vinci Code. I went up to buy it and the cashier wouldn’t sell it to me. So, that night was parents' night, I took my mom to the fair and she bought it and handed it over to me.

There were rules in our home, but none of them had to do with reading. She didn’t deny me any book or story for any reason, she wanted me to read and if that meant a book about serial killers or feminism or J. Edgar Hoover then that’s what we got.

The library was my second home, no matter where we were, the libraries were always there for me. When I was in elementary school, I used to spend my lunch hour volunteering with the Librarian and sorting books that had been mis-shelved. In return, she’d let me check out any book I’d like. I read ‘the Green Mile’, ‘Dracula’, ‘Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’, ‘Treasure Island’, ‘Search for Delicious’, and so many more.

Tales of adventure on the high seas among a band of bloodthirsty pirates.

Squires proving their worth by trekking across continents for Ladies Fair.

Robert Langdon racing across Vatican City to solve puzzles.

The life of Anne Frank.

Riding a train with Anna Karenina.

I fought the French with Henry the Fifth. I’ve listened to the Sirens’ Song with Odysseus. I solved crimes with Sherlock and Watson. I did not cry when Juliet died with her Romeo, but I did when Hercule Poirot didn’t turn in the mother on the Orient Express.

Thanks to books, I’ve lived a thousand lives and plan to live a thousand more.

When a few kids at school would tease me for carrying around my books, I never understood why they did that. I didn’t understand why they didn’t like to read. One girl grabbed a book right out of my hand and threw it as far as she could. I was so mad because it was a Christmas present from my grandmother, it was ‘the Princess Bride’. I picked it up and cleaned it up as best I could with help from my teacher. She told me that the girl had dyslexia and got headaches when she read from a book; that honestly broke my heart more than a dirty book. So, I offered to be her reading buddy. Whenever we had our Silent Reading time, we were allowed to sit outside and I’d read out loud to hear. I remember she liked ‘the Hobbit’ and ‘A Series of Unfortunate Events’. We did become friends after that.

There was another time when I was in high school, my mom had given me a book she had just finished called ‘The Art of Seduction’ and no its not about sex. It’s about how people throughout history were Master Manipulators of Politics, starting with Cleopatra. The book got confiscated by my English Teacher and she refused to listen to me when I tried to explain the book. My mother was PISSED. She came to school with me the next day and asked the teacher to read the inner sleeve of the book.

There is nothing more satisfying than watching a teacher admit she was wrong. Especially when the teacher was a major bitch to begin with.

When I go shopping with my best friend, she glows like the Goddess of Light that she is when she finds the perfect pair of shoes. I feel that same joy when I go to a second hand bookstore and pick a new book.

Maybe I’m feeling this way because I just watched the Pagemaster (I also wrote a review of it if you’re interested, check my profile) but picking up a new book gives me a sense of hope. No matter where I am in life, I find a book to define that chapter of my own life. When I pick a book to come home with me, it’s like meeting a new friend. And I can’t wait to learn everything about them.

In a totally non-stalker kind of way. I’m not like that. I just like to read a lot.

Except college textbooks, for some reason I cannot focus on those fuckers to save my life. Or my grade. But keep reading kids!