Book freaks discussion

Ever since I was a little girl I loved reading. My mom and her family loved to read so i guess "it's in my blood" as people say. In my elementary school we read many interesting books so I would convince my dad to buy books for me and that's how my fondness for reading and different types of books grew.

I'm dyslexic, and they didn't figure that out until I was int eh fifth grade, so I was VERY behind. My teacher teacher wanted to catch me up because she knew my parents didn't want to have to send me to a special school so she made the class read a book a week. Soon after that "my problem" became more like a challenge so enjoyed proving people wrong. Before I knew it, I was hooked on books.

I'm sorry but wow that is great!...I love reading because it clears our minds and when we are reading we are stress and problem free. I get really hooked in to the books and I feel as if I'm the character myself and as if I'm in the book.

DOn't be sorry, I love it. Life's no fun without a challenge. And I feel that exact same way. I love reading becasue it lets me leave reality for a little while.

I like to read, but didn't become a true book worm until late 2008. I read the Twilight series in 3 weeks. For me, that is something. Normally it would take me 3 weeks just read Twilight ;) Now I just gobble up books in a matter of days.

I read each twilight book in 2 days. That is how I am with all the books I have and buy. If they are shorter but still have many pages it usually only takes me one day or a few hours.

I read Eclipse in like 36 hrs, the first time around. My personal best ;)

That is awesome!

Angelique wrote: "I'm dyslexic, and they didn't figure that out until I was int eh fifth grade, so I was VERY behind. My teacher teacher wanted to catch me up because she knew my parents didn't want to have to send ..."

I'M DYSLEXIC TOO AND THEY DIDN'T CATCH IT TILL I WAS IN 4th!!! if you don't mind em asking what kinds because I have 3!!!!

Anyways lol. Um After finishing my IEP (individual education plan for kids with reading disabilities fyi) then I was transfered into GATE (Gifted And Talented Education.. the smartie pants class lol) where we did a mock trail on harry potter 1.. deciding whether Quirl was guilty it was fun but I was hagrid and i didn't know much so it got me into reading by listening to those tapes then following along and by 6 and 7 I was reading them in a days time.

I was an early reader and my ove of books developed through my mum and school. I was reading at a Secondary School (high school) level by the time I was 10/11yrs old. Enid Bylton was always my favourite as a child - The Magic Faraway Tree, The Wishing Chair and eventually The Malory Towers series.

I don't know when I started my love for reading. I think it started when I was really young. I remember going to the library every chance I got, with my mom and she's go off to the adult section and I'd head into the rows of kids books and find a book and sit in a corner reading or just checking out all the cool pictures. My fav. was Where The Wild Things Are & The Hobbit. Then I found these choose your own adventure books and couldn't get enough.

Kayla Kateri wrote: "Angelique wrote: "I'm dyslexic, and they didn't figure that out until I was int eh fifth grade, so I was VERY behind. My teacher teacher wanted to catch me up because she knew my parents didn't wan..."

It's sad but I never actually never found out too much about my condition. The school systems aren't to good around here, and my mom didn't really know what dyslexia was or the problems it could cause, so I just kind of taught myself how to handle it.

my son has a mild form of dyslexia and it has been really hard to get him into reading. We read together and he reads a page and then me. We just swap back and forth between pages. He's getting better but I think he has attention problems too. I think I might have to get him reading by dumping some comic books on him like I did my daughter.

Steven wrote: "I don't know when I started my love for reading. I think it started when I was really young. I remember going to the library every chance I got, with my mom and she's go off to the adult section an..."

OMG! I remember those choose your adventure books. Holy cow, haven't read one of those in ages.

Steven wrote: "my son has a mild form of dyslexia and it has been really hard to get him into reading. We read together and he reads a page and then me. We just swap back and forth between pages. He's getting bet..."

i think it's a good idea. It wasn't easy for me to get into to reading at first, but once I stumbled on the the right fit for me it became a passion.

I just want everyone to know that Saturday (tomorrow) I am going to post an update on how the new Moleskine reading journal is on my reading group site: http://www.readingwithsea.wordpress.com

I invite you to take a look because I am starting to feel more and more strongly that keeping a reading journal is not merely something that I personally enjoy doing, but that it will be a wonderful experience for anyone who tries it.

Steven wrote: "my son has a mild form of dyslexia and it has been really hard to get him into reading. We read together and he reads a page and then me. We just swap back and forth between pages. He's getting bet..."

I was the same way. He should find something he loves. Even if it is a comic book or or listening to a great story on tape. That made everything so much better for me, the books on tape that is. It's great that you two are working together. My mom and i did the same thing as you two.

I started reading when I was 3. Before that, though, my mom would read me children's books and I would memorize them word for word. When I got board with that, I asked my mom why I couldn't read and why had she not taught me how to read yet. She help me read Le MIserables. Now, I am what you would call a speed reader. I read Breaking Dawn in 1 day. That is my personal record. Now, I just normally go through a novel a day.

pookie wrote: "I started reading when I was 3. Before that, though, my mom would read me children's books and I would memorize them word for word. When I got board with that, I asked my mom why I couldn't read an..."

Wow I wish I could read that fast sometimes. I probably could read a novel a day if I didn't have so many things to do around the house. Plus we watch my 5 yr old neice 5 days a week and talk about trying to keep up with some one :o)
It is awesome that you go through books pretty quick. If I could do that my wife might let me buy more books :o) I have a bad habit of buying lot's of books and they start to pile up on my to read list.

I read for entertainment, information, education, philosophical stimulation and as a vanguard for truth against the powers of evil and oppression. Not necessarily in that order. It depends on the book. I rotate a historical to fiction to political/economic to theological to classic in order to not become stale or rigid.

I love reading because my late mom used to read to me constantly, and by the time I got to kindergarten I was reading the newspaper to her while she made dinner. The teachers used to send home notes telling her to stop because I already knew everything they were covering in class. So she started me on piano lessons, to give me something new to do. I got my degree in English with an emphasis on writing, because I love to write just a bit more than I love to read. I've got 7 romance novels published in two years, with another one due out in April. My personal best, besides reading multiple novels and writing multiple 25-page research papers per week during my senior year of college, is when I read The Godfather while in junior high, so I was about 12. It was the first adult novel I ever read, and I started it before breakfast, read all day, and finished it about 3 in the morning, after reading straight through...I don't remember how long it was...well over 1000 pages, but it was the longest book I had ever read then! The movie disappointed me for how much it left out, but isn't that always the case?

Now I especially love reading anthropological books by Desmond Morris, and books that give interesting facts, like the origins of the phrases we use in English, or Mental Floss' history of the world.

very cool story Fiona. I sometimes think I should have gone the way of a degree in English and or took some writing classes myself. I was a bit more wrapped up in drawing,painting, and sculpting.
As for reading though, when I was little my mother used to take me to the library a lot and I'd sit and listen to stories read aloud by the librarian and then afterwards go find a quiet corner to read. Usually I picked something full of monsters and or scifi fantasy type stuff. I've always been a big fan of the old Universal Monsters type movies and stories and grew up on magazines like Fangoria, Starlog, and Mad. As I got older I branched out a bit and have read a bit of everything so far. I can't imagine a life without having a great book to read.

One of the things I would ask students if I ever got a job teaching English (be glad you didn't get an English degree...they are a dime a dozen! And most of them want to teach for tenure, even though they either despise or ignore students)...is if they were read to as children, and did they enjoy it? And do they read for pleasure? Those answers allow the teacher to know how to approach teaching them how to write/analyze. Unfortunately we don't value learning/reading for pleasure in the US. If we did no one would admit to not having read an entire book in the last 5 years!

Fiona wrote: "One of the things I would ask students if I ever got a job teaching English (be glad you didn't get an English degree...they are a dime a dozen! And most of them want to teach for tenure, even tho..."

Sooo...how would you rate reading for education/information? Reading philosophical/history/economics/theology are generally disdained and seen as boring and dull. But they are the most important of how we interpret our times and experiences.

I took many philosophy classes and enjoyed them all. I loved reading fiction written by guys like Sartre and Shaw who combined their own philosophy into very good stories that didn't seem as didactic as they were. And I raised all 4 of my kids to be thinkers by reading to them constantly, talking to them about what I had read to them, about what they read themselves, renting movies based on books so we could examine the differences and why the visions had to be changed to be put on film...in short, my kids got their college education really early in life! ;-D
And I fear for the future of our country, when college is no longer seen as a place to expand your mind, to encourage you to think new thoughts, "outside the box", and instead is a glorified vocational school.

I love reading because it is like a movie in your mind. It is better than a movie because you can make the characters look how you want them to look and what you want their voices to sound like, e.t.c. It is a way to escape the world for a little bit. I started reading when I was three. My mom would read short books to me an I would memorize them word for word. Then, my mom would read me Les Miserables and I had to learn how to actually read. I could read part of Les Miserables by the time I was four.

I had a great passion for reading when I learned to do it on my own when I was 5, but while I attended school they killed that love because they force you to read. Surprisingly enough I got terrible grades at the book quizzes and therefore, hated reading forever until the age of 24 when just out of curiosity I bought a book and then a second one... I couldn't stop and that was back in 2009. Now I'm an eager reader and it just takes me to another world where I just communicate with the book, I get its story and enjoy it as much as possible. I love it when I can't put down a book and just keep reading it until it finishes. After I finish some books I feel a bit nostalgic because you don't want it to end.

I believe that reading is the closest you can ever get to living in someone else's mind. When you read the author's words, for a time you ARE that author, seeing and hearing what is going on in that mind. So I regard it as intensely personal and rewarding. I may never get to BE anyone else, but I love to read books that let me experience being others. And when you read my books, you are crawling into my head to hear and see what I live with. Welcome, pull up a lobe and have a seat!

I actually wish I read as much nonfiction and educational type books when I was younger as I did my fictional stuff. I have become a junky for nonfiction stuff lately and my son and I are huge fans of the History, Discovery, Science, and Travel channels.

I wanted to read from the moment I was old enough to hold a book. My greatest desire was to go to school and learn to read...and I did it voraciously! Always several levels above the norm, I read voluminously. I was an only child, in a rural setting. Reading gave me escape to other places, other children, learning new things... If I can read it... I can DO it! I've gone through periods of genres... The Romance bit in my early 20's, Horror thanks to Stephen King, true crime...Vince Bugliosi got that started...Ann Rule has kept me up...The Kennedy Assasination...What a collection! Then there's the practical stuff...cooking, do it yourself, decorating, repair, animal care, philosophy, the classics, paranormal and occult...we have a vast library! Sometimes, our days are spent quietly reading together for hours!

i started reading since i was nine years old, my first book was romeo & Juliet which i could understand easily & since then i was hooked & never stopped, i love reading cuz u lose yourself in a new & different world. it's such an absorbing experience.

I don't know when I began reading, but the first book I read I read about a billion times. It was before kindergarden, but my reading really took off when I read Magyk. Before that I was pretty much only reading books below my level. I love reading for many reasons, some I don't really know. I guess because you can do anything when you write, so you can be in a completely different world, or the same one, just in someone else's life. I guess I don't know why, I just do. I get pretty annoyed when people bother me when I'm reading, and I want a sign for my bedroom door that says - I'm reading. Don't bother me unless you want your throat ripped out. er, maybe without the throat-ripping part.

i have been reading like most people since i was a little girl. reading fiction if my favourite since it allows your mind to explore within imagination...i love english as a whole, because the concept of english means there is no right or wrong answer..your allowed to write whatever you want and be carefree when your reading pieces of literature.

I have enjoyed books since elementry school. Something about them makes me feel wiser, especially with a good book. I don't know about you but to me when I suck at math in high school, having the thought of knowing your wise is something to be proud of. I started reading greatly with the "Magic Tree House" series in elementry school. But in middle school I lost all interest in reading, probaly cause they made it seem so less.. well fun! So I had a cease of reading for a couple years and when I entered High school as a Freshmen it became more of a challenge to read books. We were required to read certain books such as "Touching Spirit Bear" (great book by the way!) and "Firestorm" (another one you don't want to miss, especially if your a teen!) so with all these challenged around I wanted to prove that I can meet and beat any challenge I face! So their I went gobbling up every book I could. Before you know it.. out of the blue, I got hooked on books.

When I first learned how to read, I think I wasn't that into it. Well, I was young and I don't think any toddler kid likes to, but I'm older now and ever since first grade I've been reading at lest 2 or more books at once. Right now I'm reading 8 at once. Anyway, I love reading because I've ALWAYS wished the Harry Potter Series was real and I was at Hogwarts and stuff and now...Well, books just give me a way to feel like I'm really there and it gives me a break from the normal, boring, casual life outside of books so, yeah. And I guess I got intrested in reading because as I said above, it lets me be in a life I wish was real. And I think "Reading is a whole new world". If you've ever read the Inkheart Series you would know about switching worlds and stuff. That's how it is to me.... :)

pookie wrote: "I started reading when I was 3. Before that, though, my mom would read me children's books and I would memorize them word for word. When I got board with that, I asked my mom why I couldn't read an..."

I agree and yeah. I think I learned at 3 to and my sister and mom and dad would read me books and I loved it. My sister read that book in one day 2! You are very talented and fast then! I'm always reading more than 1 book at once so, I don't pay attention much to one book but one book I remember reading in one night was the American Girl books, but those are short. I'm inspired and I'm going to try and read a book that HUGE in one day! Wish me luck

I love reading because you can picture the characters the why you imagine then too be. I enjoy cuddling up with a book and picturing every chapter like a scene in my favorite movie.

I'll pick a good book over a movie any day... : )

I have always read books.. I grab a good book, curl up in my bed, and just read for hours at a time. I have 5 brothers and sisters who live with me (I'm 17) so reading is an escape from this crazy world I live in. I read anything from Homer, to more modern day authors. Vampire and Romace books are my thing right now. Sherrilyn Kenyon is my hero.. lol.

I am new here, but i have always loved reading since i was very small. Technology has pulled me from it...Until I got my nook....now i am all about reading. I have put a high challenge on myself for 2,011 books this year... we shall see.

Hello guys. Recently found this group :)
I love reading cause I think I can have a lot of knowledge by reading a book. Book is a way to touch this big world.

Hi all!

I've always loved to read ever since I can remember. Around 6 years old I would pull out encyclopedias just to have something to read. My mom caught on quickly and started funding my obsession. I loved loved loved every single goosebumps book out there. During middle - high school I slacked a bit..and only recently started to "find myself" again. For me it started with Twilight, funny as it is. I gobbled up all 4 books in such a short period of time. Now my obsession is to find new and interesting authors (to also fill my own personal library), and to broaden my areas in which i find interesting. Reading is such an escape to so many people, it helps with our everyday stresses. Who isn't satisfied snuggling up with an old friend :)Happy reading everyone!!

...when my mother put a book in my hands for the first time, I explored it for a little bit and then started crying. My poor mother thought that i didn't like the gift but when she asked me, I told her that it was upsetting for me that I couldn't read...and that I wanted to read it at once!!so she spend all of her summer teaching me how to read...from then on, I became a book freak...

When I didn't know how to read,when i was little i always used to look at the pictures and make up my own story. Then my older sister, who i always copied, started reading a lot. I mostly day dreamed until about 7th grade. My sister wanted me so much to read and kept nagging me to pick up a book and get read it instead of scanning though it. She finally told me what one book was about and i had to do a book report and didn't know what to do. So i started reading it and took off reading. Now I'm writing a book!!! i looked back at books i looked when i was young and read them and realized that the stories i made up are better than a book.

I read because it makes me happy. I was taken away from my family when I was young and put into childrens homes, group homes and foster homes. The first time I got taken away I was so alone, I started to read. It began as an escape for me, a way to be in a new world living a life I was secluded from.

From then on it became a passion...I can get lost in a bookstore and stay all day. I finally got myself a Barnes and Noble Nook and I love it...it's like an extended arm. Its like there are so many books that I want to read and its just like breathing. Guys need their "man cave" i just want a library. A huge room lined wall to wall in fully stocked bookshelves...with a cozy chair, a side table with a lamp and maybe a mini fridge lol. Like a quote I read...A room with no books is like a body without a soul. <3

I love reading because I am in a totally different universe, the one that was created by the author and it makes all my horrible days just disappear it's just me and my book.

I will admit that I really got into reading by The Harry Potter series and Nancy Drew, which I think may always be the only mystery books that I have ever liked.

Veronica wrote: "I read because it makes me happy. I was taken away from my family when I was young and put into childrens homes, group homes and foster homes. The first time I got taken away I was so alone, I st..."

I couldn't of said it any better. I'm completely the same way!

I've always liked reading. When I was younger I was picky about what I read. But when I enter college, that's when it became addicting and obsessive in a way...lol. There was a lot going on at the time and I guess I was using reading as an escape and destressor. Now I'm a bookaholic...which isn't a bad thing ;-) Not only that it's fun escaping to someone else's world or a fantasy land of wizards, vampires, etc.

My mum got my brother and me into books by getting us take turns in reading her bedtime stories as kids. It was weird to realise at school that most of the other children only read when they were forced to.

Books are a really entertaining way of seeing humanity through someone else’s eyes. What other form of entertainment lets you hold whole new realities in your hands!

I was bitten by the reading bug as soon as I could read. We got to take the book home if we could read it from cover to cover aloud. I read to everybody over and over again because I was so proud I could read. Within a short period of time everybody had enough of Dick and Jane. I came up with a captive audience - the dog. Been reading voraciously ever since.