Why do you read?

[cyanea]

I'm posting this here instead of the Lit forum because I don't want to clog up the interesting discussions there with this. I think this fits "Quirks" more than lit anyway.

I want to know why you read, or alternatively, why you don't. Why do you like it or dislike it? Who or what started your like or dislike of it? When did you learn to read? What was your "first" book?

I started reading when I was three. Mom used to read me books when I was in the tub for my bath. One day, she was busy on the phone and wasn't reading to me, so I picked up the book and started reading myself. When she gave me another book to read to see if I was really reading or just reciting the words from memory, she realized that I had learned to read. She said she figured it happened because when she read to me, she always held the book in front of me and followed along with her finger and I remembered the sounds that letter patterns make. Plus, it didn't hurt that the books in question were usually Dr Seuss books, and those are repetitive to help with the pattern recognition.

Reading was an on-again/off-again interest for me until middle school. I read a lot more than my fellow students, but I wasn't really passionate about it, nor did I read at any sort of advanced level. I probably could of had I tried, but I tried very little in school then. Some of my favorites growing up were The Indian in the Cupboard series, The Hatchet, Aliens Ate my Homework, and The Dragonslayers. My grandmother, also a book lover, tried to nurture a love for books in me by buying me books from the Scholastic Book Fair and the Book Club everytime they came to my school, but it wasn't really my favorite thing to do.

In Middle School, that changed. My eighth grade social studies teacher (for the life of me, I cannot remember her name. Neither can any of my friends from that school) had a collection of fantasy books in her classroom that she loaned out to students. When I showed interest, she handed me a copy of David Eddings' Belgariad series. From the moment I opened that book, I was quite literally hooked. I devoured the books on her shelf from one end to another, and I haven't really stopped since. Sometimes I'll go for a month or so without reading anything (too busy with school or work, a really good game comes out, new Warcraft patch), but generally I can devour several books per week.

Aside from my grandmother, I also have my Dad to thank for encouraging me to read once it finally sunk in that it was awesome. He's a huge fan of military history and the like and gave me access to his collection of books. I have a weakness for Tom Clancy when I'm in the mood thanks to Dad. It never ceases to make him laugh; I'm about as liberal as you can get, but I love reading about the army and Marines and military hardware. Mom doesn't read much...she can't sit still long enough. She's read some books (She loves Pride and Prejudice. I can't stand it.). We try to get her to read more (like, she loves the Harry Potter movies. I've been trying to get her to read the books for years), but we've had limited success.

For me, it's a much more enjoyable way to spend time than watching a movie or television. Even when I'm reading the fluffiest, most trashy novel in existence I feel like I'm doing some active mental work in reading the text and creating the image in my head of characters and scenes. I see television and movies as much more passive modes of entertainment; you just sit there and let the entertainment come to you. That's good fun now and again, but I'd rather be involved someway in my entertainment. That's probably why I love video games.

So yeah...what are your reasons for reading? Why do you love it or dislike it so? What books got you started on the path of a reader or turned you away from it?

[devilishlybookish]

I have a really long history with books and reading.

I'm not entirely sure how I learned to read, but I was reading before I started kindergarten. I think it was Amelia Bedelia and Henry & Mudge books, but I'm sure I had to have started with things a little less wordy. None one else in my family reads, but my mother still encouraged me to pursue it and always made sure I got to the library when I needed to. There was a lot of unpleasantness my mother wanted to distract me from as a child, and books were always good friends when I need one. It wasn't until 4th grade that anyone noticed my reading skills were more advanced than the rest of the class' and my teacher made up lesson plans for me with books for middle school students so I wouldn't get bored of reading and quit or something.

Throughout middle and high school I read tons of books on my own but more often than not ignored assigned class reading. I could always fake it well enough to get good grades, and books I chose on my own seemed much more important to me anyway. By the time I graduated teachers had learned to just let me go if I came into class with my nose in a book with no signs of stopping.

As awful as it sounds, depending on the professor, sometimes I even ignored their reading lists in lieu of studying on my own. But I graduated both high school and college with honors so I must have done something right.

Reading is such a rewarding, educational hobby. I find it a much better use of time than zoning out in front of the television. Considering 80% of shows on TV now are Jersey Shore or The Real House Wives of Transylvania or what have you, I'll take a book over television any day.

[alyoshka]

When I was in high school, I got extremely depressed because of the fact that I had an abusive boyfriend, family, and was bullied every single day of my high school life. I NEEDED something to keep me sane and from committing suicide. I basically started to read to escape the horrible reality I was living. I'm still alone, but reading gives me something more than anything. I can't explain, but it gives me emotions, thoughts, anything. It creates something in me. i'm inane, whatever. ):

When I was 14, I read The Sun Also Rises and LOVED it; thus my start in literature. I started stealing books in the library, so I read more and more. I loved Jane Austen, Dumas, Bronte, ect as a youngin.