I used to love reading as a child. I was a voracious reader. It didn’t hurt to be rewarded with a free personal pan pizza from Pizza Hut for the Book It program. But I loved books! I would watch Reading Rainbow to add books to my list. Library days in school were some of my favorite days. I’d get lost in a book so quickly that I wouldn’t realize that my class had taken a turn in the courtyard to head back until I heard laughter.
It got to a point in middle school that I had no idea what to read for book reports or for pleasure. I’d ask my dad for suggestions who would wrack his brain for some title he could remember. In the fifth and sixth grades, my book report posters were so much fun. I’d incorporate things to make parts 3-D or move. I was so creative! By the seventh and eighth grades, I was reading tons of mysteries by Agatha Christie and Mary Higgins Clark. Almost every free moment was dedicated to reading.
I love books so much that I ended up working in two bookstores, and would still visit other bookstores on days off. But I don’t know where that girl with the voracious reading appetite is anymore. Don’t get me wrong. I still love books. I even have a small collection of autographed copies. It’s just that I don’t read as much anymore. I can’t get lost in a story as quickly.
Often times, I feel like the characters and plots are a bit dull or stupid. Instead of feeling sympathy for the character I want to yell at them and throw my book across the room.
I’ve been trying to fuel my love for reading by picking up “fluff.” The books I’ve been eyeing nowadays tend to be more science fiction/fantasy based. The stories feel richer, vibrant, and sometimes funnier. The characters also feel smarter. They tend to use common sense and are wittier, too.
Do you have any favorites I should pick up? Any books that I should avoid? Or any anthologies that are great? Short stories work well now that I have a 17 month old.
