What Got You Into Reading?

[yukoxholic]

Ok, to make a long story short so I may get to my question I will be as brief as possible! ^__^

When I was little, I hated books and boy, do I mean HATED books. Sure, when we did have to read books in school I'd open the book, read the first chapter and than read the last (Surprisingly enough I still passed tests and book reports). I did not like to read at all though I came from a family of avid readers who on a daily basis would finish one book and move onto the many others, stacked neatly on their bookshelves. I, on the other hand used my empty shelf to store figurines, holiday cards, and spare change. I don't know exactly why I hated books so much and being that I came from a family of heavy readers there was ample opportunity for me to take their recommendations on what to read I suppose you could say (better put in an anime example) I was the 'Anita' of the family. I'd much rather waste my time with friends or playing with our dog or doing anything other than sitting and staring at 'boring words on pages' until one day on my mother's ritual Library outings, all us kids would go to pick out books to read.

I'd usually go to the magazine section flip through a magazine than venture over to VHS Tapes (R.I.P) and than blindly pick up any book I could find never to read it. When it was getting close to leaving I wandered around the 'Thriller Fiction' section and as I always did, I blindly picked out a book to read. This time I chose "The Night of the Solstice" by L.J. Smith. I mainly picked up this book due to it's pretty artwork and bright orange cover, little did I know that this book would be the first of many on my empty bookshelf. On the car ride home I couldn't help but keep looking at the cover ( I mean come on BRIGHT neon orange could attract any kid ) I opened it up and slowly began reading the first, second, and well into the third chapters of her story.

Lisa Jane Smith is a dear author to me. She was what sparked my interest in books. I read and reread (devoured practically!) all of her supernatural series and begged my mother to buy me all of her books on birthdays, Christmases, and any other holidays I could think for gift giving when I was young! ^__^

One aspect I loved about her was that I didn't know she was a she until I was older. When I found out that "L.J" was actually a woman, I was overjoyed! It had been a long kept secret for some time, her bio in the backs of books were always vague and never stated her gender. She did this so she could compete with the many male authors out at that time Christopher Pike being one of them as well as R.L. Stine (Fear Street Saga Series). I remember my first thought after I heard this was, "Wow, I want to write just like her and be better than the men!" but I will not hide my gender I will be a woman, confident her work can stand on it's own! ^__^

Though I have outgrown supernatural thrillers and moved onto other genres, every time I read a book I always think of that unknowing day in the Library, when I thought it'd be like every other time, pick a book, never read it, return it, repeat but her works of fiction will always be noteworthy to me no matter how cheesy, stupid, or redundant they are. So, thank you Lisa Jane Smith for making me the happy bookworm I am today!

So, my question is, what/who got you into reading?

[GhostontheNet]

Well, as I grew up with aspergers syndrome, I found myself fairly poor at dealing with people and very good at dealing with letters and words. As such, I would often find that books were my only friend, so I read a lot from a very young age up to the present.

[uc pseudonym]

It is a habit in my family. My parents read story books to me when I was a baby, then various light novels once I got old enough to understand English. Once I got into school there were so many things that interested me in books: science, theology, fantasy, etc.

[rocklobster]

My reasons are a combo of Ghost on the Nets and UC pseudonym. I found books to be so much better than the real world, that they became an excellent method of escape.

[Angel Tifa]

I think what really got me into reading was starting my first full time semester at Palomar College. We had to do ssoooo much reading (like a helluva lot), it pretty much de-sensitised me into reading. Before that I would get too many migranes or too sleepy from reading too much. That's because I remember my eye doctor telling me I had visual integration problems. My newer eye doctor told me that it may be due to the fact that I may have one eye bigger than the other which was very odd and interesting O__o. But thanks to my new eye doctor, I've got way better reading glasses and I love reading now ^__^.

I've read the most books last year than I ever did in my life. I think I've even lost count as to how many books I've read now .

[the_wolfs_howl]

For me, I think the real question would be what got my parents into reading. From what they've told me of their childhoods, they didn't actually read all that much as kids. But for whatever reason, they decided to read a lot to their children, me obviously included. So they read tons and tons of books to me as I was growing up, and then one day when I was four, I realized that I knew how to read too. I don't really know how it happened, but somehow I'd taught myself to read by being read to. Ever since then, I've devoured books. I love reading, and ultimately my love of good books was what led me to writing, which has become one of my main passions in life.

I become somewhat crazy when it comes to books, sometimes. I read the entire 1,000+ pages of The Lord of the Rings when I was eleven, as well as the entire Silmarillion. I read this hulking tome of behind-the-scenes stuff about Star Wars Episode I when I was ten, because I was such a big fan. And more recently, I read the entire unabridged Brothers Grimm Fairytales. On the bottom shelf of my bookcase is a complete, unabridged Webster's Dictionary, which I requested because no other dictionary has some of the words I've needed to look up.

Yup, I'm a bookworm.

[ShiroiHikari]

I dunno. I've been reading since I was four years old, so I don't really remember what got me into reading. XD I guess because my parents read storybooks to me a lot.

[Htom Sirveaux]

My parents taught me to read at age three or four or something like that. I remember my first book was Hop on Pop. When I was maybe eight years old my mom read The Hobbit to my sister and me. I was enthralled. Thus began my love of fantasy.

[Maledicte]

My parents, definitely. Started me and my sister off young. Read Bible stories to us at night, and I don't know how the book of Grimm's and other fairy tales ended up in the house, but we devoured those too.

[mitsuki lover]

Basically because I wanted to imitate my older sister when she started to go to school.I would pick up a book and pretend I was reading it.

[yukoxholic]

Basically because I wanted to imitate my older sister when she started to go to school.I would pick up a book and pretend I was reading it.

Ok, that's classic why didn't I think of that when I was a kid? ^__^

[Mist]

The Bailey School Kids and The Babysitter's Club books. Until I found those series, I HATED reading. As I got older, I began reading a series called Girl Talk. Those were good, too. When I was about 12-13, I discovered the wonder that is Fantasy and Science Fiction. Since then, it's pretty much all I read. My favourite are the Dragonlance books. Of course, I read manga as well, but not so much.

-Mist

[Doubleshadow]

I wanted to understand the Garfield comics. There was a particular one early in the series wherein Garfield uses dramatic language reminiscent of Shakespeare to describe looking for his dinner. I remember reading determinedly after that in an attempt to understand that which I could not. This is more of an expression of my stubborness regarding doing whatever I want because I want to regardless of restrictions than academic drive, from the same part of me that put a knife in the light socket just because I was told not to.
My mother tells me that she thought my brother and I learned to read because of our fanatical devotion to my MK II codebook. Personally, I think she underestimates how much I loved Garfield.

[Slytherine]

My parents always would read to me at night. I had all my baby books memorized by the time I was two, and I should read by three. The prep school I went to was a little crazy when it came to reading, and I was always at the top of my class (or close to it). I read To Kill a Mockingbird by age seven. But when I was nine was a big age for me, I guess. I never really cared all that much about reading before, but when I was nine I read Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter and the Sorcerors Stone, and thus began my uber love for the written word! I found mystery's at 10 (my mom's, actually), and I got into classics when I was 13. Go Lit!

~Slytherine

[Kurama]

I never enjoyed reading, not at all.

Till about..... September, I got into reading Eragon then Smallville Novels now Lord of the Rings. LOL
I had never dared myself to read those till I found the Two Towers at Goodwill for $0.99 ^__________________^

[choklit]

I've been reading ever since I can remember. When we first came to the U.S., we didn't watch a lot of T.V., so all we really did was read. My mom said I could read by the time I was three. She said I didn't even like playing with toys, all I did was have my nose stuck in some book. But it's okay, I now have a love of reading I think few people nowadays can boast about.