Every reader has a journey. I got my first addiction to books with the Nancy Drew series. I later moved on to Dean Koontz and John Saul and that addiction continued from high school thru college. I stopped reading during my early twenties and picked it back up at 30. (Note that the timetable on my age stops right here!) I went from being a casual reader to an avid reader because of the places that the authors would take my mind. I felt like I teleported out of my current location and onto the setting of the book. Somehow, I became the character and gained a new set of experiences after reading the book. Any author that made me feel that way deserved my loyalty. As a child, I had no problem purchasing a book simply because the author's name was on it. No synopsis necessary.
I ran across a blog post by Angelique, the novelist of
Leveled Mind Confused Heart
. In this post, Angelique wonders where all the readers have gone. She steps back to reminisce how she got started and then brings a call to action for parents that I wanted to share with all of you. Check out the post by clicking
here.
What books do you remember from childhood that you pulled into becoming an avid reader or inspired you to write? If you have kids, ask them what their favorite series is and post it here. It could inspire another child to check it out.
5 comments:
I, too, read the Nancy Drew books. I was always a reader ... in fact, I don't remember ever not reading. I don't even remember learning to read; it was just something I did. When I was in fifth grade, I was put in an advanced reading class where we read college-level books. Unfortunately, it meant I missed out on many of the books little girls read because they were too easy. However, I did finally get to read them with my own children or just because I finally decided I should after I became an adult.
Thanks for this call to action and for drawing my attention to Angelique's great post. I grew up reading a different set of books being the British system (I was raised in the UK and Nigeria). I probably did read a few Nancy Drew books but mainly, I used to read Enid Blyton books as a child and these were mainly "The Famous Five" series as well as "The Secret Seven". I was such an avid reader by age 5 or 6 that I would read 6 novels in one weekend and my parents could never buy enough to satisfy my appetite for reading. I started out with the "Chicken Licken" series in nursery which is Kindargarten and first grade here and the "Janet and John" series. I did have my season for romance novels by Barbara Cartland, the "Mills and Boons" series etc in my teens and twenties as well as mystery novels by Agatha Christie. Then in my late twenties I slowed down and concentrated on non-fiction, self-help, inspirational and Christian books. Now I am picking up my reading again and reading every genre including self published work since I have recently become an author myself.
My daughter is two years old and already her favorite thing is reading. We have read books every night since she was a few months old. At bedtime she tells me, "Let's read a book."
Reading is truly pivotal to one's education and development as a person and it cannot be stressed enough. I write about how reading helped shape my early life in my book "The Only Way is Up."
I admonish everyone to take this challenge with their kids because they are our future.
Did I really forget to mention the great William Shakespeare? Not sure how relevant he was in the United Sates but we had to read those! Ha.
LuAnn - you may have missed out but you've certainly maintained the love for reading. I guess those stories never get old regardless of the generation that reads them.
Folake,
Shakespeare is read here too. It is usually part of the curriculum in high school. It's not only required reading but I bet you walk into most high schools and find a play of some sorts re-enacted. There may have been some folks that had to read it in middle school.
"Chicken Licken" and "Janet and John" sound very entertaining.
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