I Loved At The Library

Thanks to hours and hours of bedtime stories, I was able to read from the age of 3. In kindergarten I read to my classmates, and by second grade I was reading series like The Boxcar Children and Trixie Belden. Books allowed me to get lost in other worlds full of adventure and excitement. My love for what words can do has extended through high school. I pride myself on my book collection, anything from Hunger Games to The Picture of Dorian Gray. I’ve continued to read all the way through high school, some books four or five times because I love them so much.

I have always loved reading due to the exciting stories and the interesting characters that provide a good backbone. All my early books I remember as feel good tales to make the young reader fall in love with the characters while usually having a central theme to teach. Some of the charm of these books was how it got the reader engaged and taught along the way. Just like children shows such as Sesame Street the books where entertaining and also educational so it gave children a early start for school; I would be excited whenever the teacher would teach something and you would already know the new word or

My love of reading blossomed when I was a child, because my parents showed me how wonderful reading is. There were countless nights when I remember myself as a little girl refusing to go to sleep before ‘tucking dad into bed’ by reading him a picture book. Not only did I uphold that tradition though, but my mother is a preschool teacher, so she gets really into reading out loud, and she would help me read books such as The Boxcar Children set, The Secret of NIMH and The Chronicles of Narnia weekly until I didn’t need help anymore.

As I look back on my childhood, I don’t remember a time when I wasn’t fond of reading. I love the way a good book just draws you in and it is almost impossible to set it down because you want to know what happens next! Looking back to my earliest moments I can always remember my mom and grandma always reading me books for hours and hours at a time. My favorite saying when I was younger was, “just read one more!” I couldn’t go to sleep without my mom at least reading me five books! My favorite was “The Little Mermaid” but I loved all of the princess books and I had possibly every one you could think of!

I strongly believe when some people grow up they lose interest in reading books, you can see the many people that don’t like reading in our schools, because most of us are on our phones and reading articles. I mainly read on my phone and I enjoy that more because the articles are short and to the point quicker. Phones have changed on how much I value actual books.

Before I began elementary school, I enjoyed reading picture books, the touch and feel books and pop-up books. I loved the author Dr. Suess, because he was funny and because I loved the rhyming he did in his writing. I can remember before bed, my mom or dad would read to me until I got old enough to read myself. My mom has always enjoyed reading, if she is not reading a book, then she is reading a recipe or a magazine. My dad on the other hand, I have only seen him read one book, besides reading manuals for his tools. Reading was not a big deal in my house, all of us kids were told that we needed to read, but they did not force us to read. This brings me to Richard Rodriguez’s essay, in his household reading was not as important, but once he got to school, he realized that reading is one of the main activities. I can relate to Rodriguez because in either one of our households we weren’t told that we had to read before we did something else. Once I got to elementary school is when I realized that reading was not for me. Before school, I enjoyed reading, then once I began elementary school, I was forced to read, take tests over books, and read out loud in front of the class which made reading a chore.

Some of my earliest memories of reading and writing took place in preschool. My former teacher, Mrs. Williams always made reading a fun and new experience which helped encourage us to read. I remember always being excited to read a new book as if I were embarking on a new adventure. My mother also encouraged me to read by reading to my brother and I at bedtime. She also gave us plenty of genres to choose from. Even though my dad did not reach much, my mom was very much interested in books about British crime mysteries. My brother, on the other hand, read anime’ comics and video game instruction pamphlets. Although reading has not been my strongest subject, the subject has always been part of my life.

I’ve always been an avid reader. When I was in elementary school, my mother would take my brother and I to the library every week to pick out books. I would take the books to school and read them all in one day. I loved reading so much that my teachers would call home and tell my parents that I was reading my library books during class instead of my textbooks. Reading has always been a major part of my life. I used to aspire to become an author. I even wanted to become an editor at one point. I used to make daily household newspapers and magazines for my entire family to read and enjoy. My strong love for reading certainly came in handy during my freshman year of high school.

Harry Potter, Junie B. Jones, Narnia, Lemony Snicket, Hunger Games, Lord of the Rings, Goosebumps, Magic Tree House, and the Boxcar Children: Popular book series that most kids get into. I never did. Ever since school required mandatory reading, I perceived books as hassles. School effectively turned me off of reading for pleasure. Going into middle school, where students have regular book reports and summer reading, I faced a challenge. To make it by I had to learn to live with books, as they played an integral part to my career as a student. However, my current state of mind labeled reading a hassle and wanted nothing to do with it, necessitating change. Transitioning from elementary to middle school, I matured both physically and intellectually.

I never had a passion to read when I was younger in grade school. I never liked to read, unless it was any of the “Black Lagoon” books then you had my full attention, and if it wasn’t any of those I would not read it for anything. All I wanted was to read those books, and I am pretty sure I read almost all of them I liked them so much. I especially did not like reading when teachers would make us read at night and fill out a reading chart to go along with it and would make our parents sign it so they made sure that we really did read everyday. It was pure torture for me. I dreaded the reading. My teachers even gave us prizes and treats for reading at home and I still did not want to read. One year I did not tell my mom that I had a reading log and was required to

Moving into middle school, I expected to continue to love reading, and that was true at some points during this time. However, it was also marked with times where I loathed reading, it had become a chore. I still loved reading fiction, and my winter break in eighth grade included long readings from The Mysterious Benedict Society series; but I would struggle in attempts to really enjoy what literacy was meant to be. Reading was no longer

The earliest I have of myself reading is in early kindergarten. Vividly, I remember parking my butt right in front of my decaying bookshelf. The white shelves was filled with skinny books placed in our kitchen (at the time my family lived in a small apartment, so the entrance near the kitchen was the only place to put it). At the time, I picked books of the bottom shelf and try to read the whole stack. I absolutely loved reading when I was younger. Yet somehow, whether or not it was because I was forced to read in school, or over a gradual slump- my passion died out. Nevertheless, my younger self was infatuated with reading, and it might as well be worth sharing.

Reading has been one of my favorite hobbies since I was a little child. I grew up as a normal child should grow and eventually I had to start learning for me to fit in society. My literacy started many years ago, after I knew how to talk and communicate with people. Reading my alphabet was quite stressful and I had to be given a hand by my family members. I remember my parents reading with me and it was the most meaningful and memorable way to spend time with me. This is because I liked reading a lot and I was eager to learn so that I could fit in with my older siblings. My favorite books were storybooks taking about adventures and fairytales

At this point in my life, reading would definitely not make a list of my favorite things to do, but this wasn’t always the case. Some of my youngest memories involve reading, and many of these memories are enjoyable. Every night before bed my mom would read to me, and I remember begging to read just one more before she tucked me in almost every night. This is when my love for reading sparked. Throughout grade school, I continued to read frequently and never found it to be a chore; however, once middle school hit I no longer included reading as a past time or found it pleasurable. Looking back now I realize this was when English class included more forced literature, and school consisted of reading extensive pages in textbooks. Reading

From an early age I loved to read. At just two years old I would beg my mother to enroll me into school. I watched as my older sister meticulously picked out her outfit each night in preparation for the next school day. At such a young age I somehow knew that this thing called “school” was the answer to something spectacular. My home was chaotic and reading became an escape and helped distract me from the unpleasant family dynamic.