This is the 18th post in the Blogging A-to-Z Challenge.
As a kid I loved to read. I was a member of the Troll Book Club (they sent a big package every month with an advice newsletter, stickers, bookmarks, erasers, and two new books) for years. Whenever we went to the library, I’d fill this bag that I called my “library bag” to the brim with books. I didn’t always read every book I checked out, but I sure loved touching them, smelling them, and reading the blurbs on the back. I was crazy about series like The Babysitters Club, Babysitters Little Sister, The Boxcar Children, and Sweet Valley High (and all of its spin-offs).
I think the series spoiled me, because I wasn’t all that excited about the literature we read in high school. English was always my best subject, but some of the books we studied were pretty dry. I bet if I read them today, I might appreciate them more.
I really disconnected with reading after high school. In college I got into the Harry Potter and His Dark Materials series, but other than that, I became a mostly sporadic reader. That changed in late 2011 though, when I decided to make a comeback. I joined Goodreads, and found it to be a very motivating site as far as rekindling my interest in reading. I particularly love the yearly reading challenges. In 2012 I challenged myself to read 15 books; in 2013 I upped it to 25. In 2014 the challenge was 30 books, and this year my goal is 40! I love finishing a book and adding it to my Goodreads profile. The percentage toward my goal slowly creeps up over the year. Plus, some of my work colleagues and friends are on Goodreads, so I get a lot of ideas from them about what to read next.
I’ll read pretty much anything and everything these days. I alternate between Kindle and hard copy, but my preference is hard copy. I’ll never be a 100% e-book reader convert. I’m one of those people who smells books ALL the time, even as I’m reading them. It’s part of the experience, and of course you can’t get that with an e-reader!
If you’re on Goodreads, feel free to add me, I’m always looking to connect with other readers!
I love to read but haven’t tried out Goodreads – I have a Shelfari account which I think is quite similar. I was an Enid Blyton fan as a child (shows my age!) but I’ve also read all the Harry Potter books and His Dark Materials. I’m currently working my way through a list of 100 books to read from the BBC to give myself some challenges. I use the Kindle app, it’s useful when going away rather than carting lots of books in your case but I do love to have the real thing as well.
Ooh, I’ve heard of Shelfari! I need to start that BBC list as well. I do love the Kindle for traveling. Books take up a LOT of space, as great as they are. 😛
Added you on Goodreads! I too love adding a book to Goodreads and seeing my goal go up. I had forgotten all about Troll Book Club! And I was the same with reading as a kid – loved it, only wanted to read in my spare time, then hit required reading in high school and was NOT. INTERESTED. Funny how you can consider yourself a “reader” and not be intrigued by that type of book. To be fair, I read MOST of the required reading, and I’ve gone back to read more lately and liked it. I think I was just a stubborn teen who didn’t want to be told what to read.
– Allison
http://www.allisonwrites.com
Thanks for the add; I’ll add you as well. 🙂 Yeah, I think as a teen I was more interested in reading the escapist series. Everything else seemed boring. I’d like to go back to the required reading to see if I like it better now.