The World War Z, Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sleep, By Isaac Asimov

The books we read in middle school and high school were genres not right up my alley, which made it hard to read them and connect with the books. Also, we would only have two or three weeks to finish the book, which meant we had to read 30-50 pages each night. That made it difficult to want to read for enjoyment because I was focusing on finishing the reading to make sure I knew the material for the test. The only book I do remember from high school, I enjoyed was The Outsiders by S.E

“To read is to fly: it is to soar to a point of vantage which gives a view over wide terrains of history, human variety, ideas, shared experience and the fruits of many inquiries.” - Anthony Clifford Grayling, a British philosopher. I recollect my first time opening up my first book to read; it was a groundbreaking occasion. I did not realize that reading would be so astounding. All through my adolescent years, I did not have the opportunity to read books. I guess it is because of the surroundings that I experienced in childhood. My father was not a fanatic of reading books since he felt that it was a time executioner and that it does not help him profit; he was a drug dealer and a crackhead, which should give you a hint about his mentality.

In elementary school, I loved to read. Writing was not a big deal either due to the fact that we did not have to write four page essays. It was in first grade when I started to like reading. Reading has just been freshly introduced, considering we had only completed one year of school. My teacher always read to us and I wanted to read those books as well. Throughout elementary school I started to read Junie B. Jones books, which were my favorite. All of the books were about a first grade girl and her different adventures. I had always enjoyed reading those books. Each book had a different topic which I would always relate to in some way. Although I liked to read, I did struggle with reading comprehension which made me dislike writing as well. I hated having to read and then go and write about it. To this day, I still do not like reading comprehension, but my feelings toward reading and writing have changed.

I have made it my goal this year to read harder and older books rather than newer and easy books. I think that I have followed through quite well, though I did read a few easy books. Three years ago I purchased an Amazon Kindle Paperwhite I have found it easier to read challenging books. It makes books easier to read because, of the in-text dictionary I can look at the definition of an unknown word inside the book, it takes the words I have searched and, makes them into flashcards that I can go through later. By virtue of this technology I was able to read many challenging books such as the Three Musketeers, Journey to the Centre of the Earth, a quarterly synthetic biology journal, and many other challenging books. Fiction books I read mainly for pleasure, unless assigned or if it's a fiction wrote in an historic time period. I appreciate historic books because they offer an insight on the thinking and way of life of the people of that era. I also think that reading books written in an classical style influences your writing style. It is my opinion that some of today's literature has become more simply worded and not nearly as descriptive as previous eras. I found that in Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne there were many outdated theories that I had never heard of this gave me an insight into the ways people thought. I have two mediums by which I read first of which is my Kindle Paperwhite which has almost every

The first book I remember reading was Go Dogs Go by P.D. Eastman. I would read that book once a day with my mother, and never get tired of it. Then other books like The Cat in the Hat, Green Eggs and Ham, Horton Hears a Who, and many other Dr. Seuss books came next. I couldn’t read enough of them growing up through kindergarten and first grade. Then all of a sudden I moved to Chelan and forced to read to meet my AR goal. Now, I am not trying to blame Accelerated Reader for my lack of motivation to read today, but I do believe it played a role in how I began to hate reading in elementary school.

I cannot recall the exact age I started reading, but I do know by second grade I was well on my way. Books interested me back then. I remember going to the public library and sitting on the bean bags and just reading. By, fifth grade I was breezing through books and getting all my stars for the Pizza Hut and scholastic challenge. The teachers made us do reports to make sure we were actually reading the books. However, I think even back then I was in a rush to get my stars that I skimmed through the books. Was this a decline to my leaning process? Maybe but I still had the joy of reading. The last book that really caught my attention was “Where the Red Fern Grows.” I remember having conversations about this book in class and the

Science fiction and graphic novels both possess special niches in literature. Writers like H.G. Wells, Ray Bradbury, Douglas Adams, and Phillip K. Dick progressed the genre to reach a broader audience through increasing exposure in society. Today, writers like Orson Scott Card continue to popularize science fiction through both published works and online stories. The new medium presented by the increased accessibility of the internet allows for the genre to grow, allowing recognized authors and aspiring authors to share their stories in an easier manner. Moreover, the newer wave of graphic novels such as Maus and Fun Home break through the barrier of popularized text with recognized literary merit due to the ability to engage readers by adding deeper meaning and employing literary devices. A highly regarded Science Fiction novelist should reimagine the text with a dignified Science Fiction illustrator in order to recreate Phillip K. Dick’s novella Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? as a graphic novel, creating a new experience in the novel and facilitating in bridging the gap between science fiction and graphic novels.

Reading was the new outlet for my imagination and the stories I read fascinated me. They weren’t too unlike the scripts of computer games or the own stories I came up with on my own, but books actually had the action and emotional aspects written out. And again, while my peers were reading things about growing up, things that had morals and would teach valuable lessons (I remember one book about a shoplifter who had to do community service at an animal shelter), I read real fiction: Jurassic Park, Dragonriders of Pern, Lord of the Rings… Stuff of fantasy and science-fiction that let my mind stray from reality. Stuff that kept my imagination alive while I was being forced to learn multiplication and the names of countries. Of course, my teachers encouraged me to keep reading, as long as I wasn’t doing the reading in the middle of their lectures. But it wasn’t because of their influence, however, that kept me interested in books. It was because I loved it. It put pictures into my head and made me think. So I kept reading. But even then I knew reading wasn’t enough… Yes, the stories were fascinating, but they weren’t what I wanted. Back then I wasn’t sure what I wanted, but as middle school came to a close, I found it.

In Philip K. Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep he attempts to predict life in the future. Throughout the novel, there are advances that seem possible in the distant future. From robotic animals and channeling different emotions to emigrating to Mars, Dick was able to accurately predict 2017, but was not able to do so completely.

My experience with literature begin in kindergarten when reading the Magic Treehouse books. These books were the first in my life that I would actually read willingly cover to cover. Before I would begin to read a book just to quit after I deemed it boring or dull, but these books were different I actually liked them. This would continue until the 3rd grade where I would read different books like don’t you know there’s a war going on, it was a World War II book that was centered on an elementary kid like myself. After that, I read historical fiction consistently mainly involving wars Civil War, WWI, WWII, Vietnam, etc. I also felt like if I had to read for an any assignment it was forced and I would skim or do little actually

I usually do not read any books outside of the assigned reading for school. Some of the in class books that I have read interest me like Catcher in the Rye. I sometimes will find certain school books enjoyable. I dislike having to write out long essays in class since I need time to collect my thoughts and synthesize them. I enjoy reading out of school if I find the school book interesting; if I don’t, I dislike it.

At the age of eight I was reading at a college level. I had no particular interest in any particular subject, yet I was reading books that no grade schooler would normally look at, let alone comprehend. Literary works ranging from alchemy, to zoology could be found piled floor to ceiling in my bedroom. But try though I might, I was still a listless, quite boy with no particular interest in anything. I had yet to find something truly extraordinary locked between their pages. So, for lack of anything better to do, I kept digging. I tore my way through most of the school library and any other work of academia I could get my hands on. However I always found myself losing interest soon after I began.

Although I don’t find reading for school as enjoyable as reading on my own time, I haven’t always felt this way. In my second grade class, my teacher introduced me to the Magic Tree House Books. From that point on, I looked forward to our twenty-five minutes of ‘sustained silent reading’ time every day. Jack and Annie, the two main characters would travel in time and go on all these adventures and I remember feeling like I was also traveling back in time with them. My twin brother was interested in the Warriors series, but I found them so incredibly boring. My favorite genre has always been realistic fiction; I find scientific fiction hard to believe, so it’s hard for me to really be interested. Of course, I can’t just refuse to read a specific genre for an

As a child, my interests were more focused on reading than writing. In elementary school I fell in love with books. Initially I read simple children’s books, much like everybody else in my class, but it did not take long for my passion to drive me to read more difficult writings. Fiction books quickly became a replacement for any childhood toys. Instead of blocks or stuffed animals I would ask my parents for books. Since they were aimed at young readers, they tended to be short. I found myself going through them within days, and then soon several hours. Towards the end of elementary school I was reading series like Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events. I was captivated, and reading truly opened up a whole new world for me.

The beginning of my interest in reading goes way back, although I don’t have any defining “aha!” moment, where I all of a sudden enjoyed reading books. There were always books around when I was growing up, if I was at my grandparents house it was the books they kept from their youth; classics like Treasure Island or any Hemingway book, the hard covers permanently infused with dust; plenty of History books, particularly World War II history; and the children’s books I always received as presents when I visited. My mom also read a lot, but more modern books, like supernatural or light horror books, nothing too difficult (or scary). I spent a lot of time reading magazines, mostly Video Game (note: spent more time creating stories off the