Bookworm

I first realized I was a reader in Mrs. Ladd's first grade class. While my commrades stumbled through Arthur books and Frog and Toad, Mrs. Ladd gave me a challenge. Though I no longer recall the title of the book she presented, I do remember it was about a salmon and his trip from stream, to ocean, and back. Knowing I completed and comprehended a chapterbook on my own, at six years old I felt like hot shit. I liked reading and I was good at it. By second grade I was enrolled in a semi-accelerated reading program. I was allowed to leave class and meet my reading group in the hallway to discuss our assigned readings. We read several chapter books, but my favorite was about Harry Houdini. Not only was I encouraged to read fascinating literature, but I also got to work in the hall for twenty minutes a day. If any of you remember your elementary education, you know that working in the hallway is only the most fun thing ever! As I entered upper elementary, I continued to perform well in Reading and Language Arts, but my enthusiasm for books began to slip. I was no longer challenged in the classroom and as a result, my motivation to read outside of school decreased. I was your run of the mill, A/B student who like so many children in this country was neglected  because I was doing well academically, and I was not disruptive in class.

It is important to note that this is all my mother's fault. I know what you are thinking, "sure play the mother card, blame all your failures on her," but this time I am serious. I recently discovered, per my mother, that my third grade teacher (whom I love dearly) suggested that I be placed in a talented and gifted program. My mother, and I guess my father too, decided against it. When I asked for her reasoning over a decade later she told me, "I wanted you to be normal." While I do agree that TAG students can be too mature for their own good, I can't believe my parents didn't want to give me a leg up when it came to education and my ACT scores. I will keep this in mind when choosing their nursing home.

Anyway, the point is that I was not reading for pleasure. The only things that kept me reading were assigned school books and Harry Potter. Bless you J.K. Rowling! Once I got to High School, things didn't improve. The only things that kept me reading were sparknotes and Harry Potter. Bless you J.K Rowling! It wasn't until my senior year of high school and even the beginning of college that I really started to read. At first, I dabbled in your typical beach reads by Jodi Picoult and Nicholas Sparks. Though highly preditable, these repeated plots kept me turning pages. I was reading, wasn't I? That was a huge accomplishment and besides, sometimes you just need a guilty pleasure book. Though I hate to admit it, I must say that Hollywood also deserves some credit for my reading transformation. Since the movie making industry is extremely uncreative, filmmakers are turning beloved books into movies. And because film makers often botch these lovely stories so horribly, I read the books so not as to be dissapointed by the film.

Now that I am a college graduate, I frequently read for leisure. Not only do I read, but I read truly wonderful books. These books come from diverse writers and genres, they are a mix of fiction and nonfiction. They are classic, modern, and everything in between. I keep a book in my bag, a few on my desk, I am never out of reach of a book. Though bookworms often get a bad rap for being, introverted and odd, I adore these compliments. There is nothing more refreshing than sitting on the train, sipping coffee at the local cafe, or curling up in your overstuffed chair with a book and being noticed. It makes you feel intuitve and sexy. When you are a fervent reader, life is good.

If you want to be a fervent reader, and are having great difficulty finding books you enjoy, please consult my list of books read in the last year (in no particular order other than my memory):

1. Bossypants, Tina Fey
2. The Perks of Being A Wallflower, Stephen Chobansky
3. The Hunger Game Trilogy, Stephanie Collins
4. A Long Way Gone, Ishmael Beah
5. Macnolia, A. Van Jordan
6. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Betty Smith
7. The Glen Rock Book of the Dead, Marion Winik
8. Safekeeping, Abigail Thomas
9. A Three Dog Life, Abigail Thomas
10. You Don't Look Like Anyone I Know, Heather Sellers
11. Reality Hunger, David Shields
12. The Boys I Borrow, Heather Sellers
13. Drinking Girls and Their Dresses, Heather Sellers
14. The Glass Castle, Jeanette Walls
15. Mennonite in A Little Black Dress, Rhoda Janzen
16. Drown, Junot Diaz