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My first ever memory of reading anything book related was in Pre-school when my teachers forced me to read Scholastic's Little Leveled Reader books. Although they were super easy, they felt like a chore and made me think I despised reading for some odd reason.

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“Now he wasn't hungry any more- and he wasn't a little caterpillar any more. ”

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My Kindergarten teacher would always choose this book to read during our read along sessions on the carpet. It was one of my favorite books as a child and I loved reading it.

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"A long way out in the deep blue sea there lived a fish."

This was another example of a book my Kindergarten teacher loved reading to our class. The colorful front cover of the book has been ingrained in my head since I first saw it lol

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"I want to fly into space when I grow up!"

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This was a book that I bought at my school's book fair and loved. My brother and I would always take turns reading it and had a common fondness of the humor within the book. I am pretty sure I read all of the entire Fly Guy book series as a child!

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I also found a massive love for reading National Geographic Books because the facts I learned were all super interesting.

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“When given the choice between being right or being kind choose kind.”

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This is another book I fell in love with when I was younger. Similar to Fly Guy, this was a novel that connected me and my older brother because we both heavily enjoyed reading it. I read this book as a 6th grader and it opened me up to a bigger love of reading.

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"Maybe I'm dead. It's completely black."

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The Night She Disappeared (Love of Mystery)

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The Night She Disappeared (Love of Mystery)

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This book was the book that started my huge love of the mystery and horror genre. I read this novel in 7th grade and as soon as I read the first page, I was completely hooked. I think I read the book in like a few days because it was so attention grabbing.

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“'When people don't express themselves, they die one piece at a time."

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This was the first ever book that I read in middle school that had a super serious and heavy undertone. My brother recommended me this book and I cannot thank him enough because it still remains as one of my favorite novels of all time.

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Just to recap, my reading experiences as a small child and even in middle school were overall very positive and I very much enjoyed reading.... UNTIL HIGH SCHOOL :(

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I have no favorite quotes from this book because I still despise it lol

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This was the novel that shifted my perspective on reading. It was my summer reading book for freshman year and I absolutely hated it. I honestly think a large part of my hatred probably stemmed from the crazy amounts of annotations that my teacher had required me to complete for a grade. But the book was also not my favorite either since the characters all annoyed me for some reason.

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“The one thing that doesn't abide by majority rule is a person's conscience.”

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This book added to my hatred of reading as a high schooler. I remember we had so many random school assignments related to this novel and it drove me insane. I think freshman year kind of ruined my love for reading.

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SOPHOMORE YEAR (the year I met the amazing ms. edels)

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SOPHOMORE YEAR (the year I met the amazing ms. edels)

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This was another major shift in my perspective of reading since Ms. Edelstein changed the requirement of annotating our books which made me fall back in love with reading.

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“But his heart was in a constant, turbulent riot.”

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This was the first book I read during sophomore year and it changed me as a person forever! I absolutely adored the evolution of the characters within the book and it made me fall back in love with fiction novels. All of the symbols and motifs in the book were also super captivating and I learned how to read books from specific lenses.

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"The real reason for a quest is always self-knowledge."

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I read this book for summer reading for this past year and it opened my eyes to a brand new perspective of how to read novels. I always find myself remembering random facts and strategies that the book taught me. I have never in my life read something similar to this novel (in a positive way).

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"God is inside you and inside everybody else."

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This was my favorite book I read during AP Literature and the plot and characters really captured me. I give this book a 10/10 and recommend everyone to read it to be honest. I even watched the new movie adaptation that came out last year because I was so obsessed with this novel.

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My biggest influence as a reader is most definitely m,y brother. Because both my parents are immigrants and are not very fluent in the English language, they never really recommended me any book to read. However, my older brother always gave me tips on how to read and which books he thought I would enjoy to read.

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I really hope to:

Start reading for fun again and not just for school assignments

Read at least 3-4 books during summer

Explore new genres that I may enjoy

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I need some book recommendations, so if you're reading this and you have some,  PLEASE LET ME KNOW :)

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I need some book recommendations, so if you're reading this and you have some,  PLEASE LET ME KNOW :)

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"Justin is definitely one of the biggest readers I know. Although we are 3 years apart, we have a very similar taste in books. I enjoy discussing books we have both read together and super glad that he took AP Literature this year!"

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I love reading so much because it allows me to explore new worlds, ideas, and perspectives, and ignites my imagination and curiosity.

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The most challenging thing I find with reading books is maintaining focus and comprehension, especially with complex texts or distractions around. I have super bad ADHD sometimes and can't stay focused on one thing for too long.

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This is an article on my all time favorite novel!

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The enduring legacy of 'The Color Purple' | CNN

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Fans tell CNN "The Color Purple's" themes of sisterhood, women's empowerment and overcoming abuse and hardship have continued to resonate across the decades.