Friday, January 9, 2015

The Girl Who Hated Reading

As a kid I hated reading. It took too much effort and any book bigger than a picture book took forever to finish. My mom tried everything to get me to read. She suggested I read Harry Potter, which my older sister loved, I refused. The introduction was boring. She tried bribing me with money if I finished a book by a certain date which resulted in me reading Tuck Everlasting. I can honestly say I don't remember much of the book. I don't think I even read the epilogue because in my mind it wasn't technically part of the main story just an after thought tacked onto the end. I finished it, got my ten bucks, and didn't pick up another book until my mom once again forced me to.
However, sometime in sixth and seventh grade something in me changed. Suddenly I couldn't read enough. I read Eragon, Harry Potter, Leven Thumps, anything and everything I could get my hands on. I didn't just read them, I devoured them, completing books in a matter of days that used to take me weeks to read.
When I finished these series I wanted more and that's when my mom introduced me to the LDS fiction genre. I read Sian Ann Bessey, Betsy Brannon Green, Lynn Gardener, and others. Looking back I remember these books with fondness, not because they were literary genius, but because they told good stories and got me to start reading. Since then reading has become a central part of my life that is essential for my major (English), my job (writing tutoring), and my faith (through scripture reading and study). If it weren't for my love of reading I wouldn't be where I am today and it all started with some children's fantasy and some LDS fiction.


6 comments:

  1. It is interesting that you had such a change of heart towards reading. Can you think of any reasons why that would have occurred? I think that it is intriguing and immensely meaningful that such a change can so dramatically influence each aspect of your life.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I agree--the reasons behind your change of mind would be interesting to me. Do you think it had to do with the genre? It sounds like the first few books you liked were all fantasies, and while "Tuck Everlasting" does have some fantastical elements, it doesn't have the otherworldly feel that books like "Harry Potter" and "Eragon" do.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I was completely the opposite. I fell in love with reading so quickly and so young. Harry Potter was my first chapter book, coincidentally. What really sticks out to me in your post is the word 'devouring'. Ugh, I love that. It describes how we should "feast upon the words" wonderfully. And how we English majors tend to treat literature in general.

    ReplyDelete
  4. That is so interesting! I never would have guessed that you didn't like reading before. I am so glad that your mom was insistent in helping you read. I think that a love, or at least an appreciation of reading, is such an important gift for parents to give their children because of how much it can help them in life.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I can't remember what exactly led to the change of heart, but I think it did have something to do with the content of the books. They held my attention more and made me what to know what came next.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Interesting that your love of fantasy books has transitioned into a love for LDS fiction. Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete