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My Grandpa Walt was responsible for my interest in reading at a young age. I have many fond memories of him calling me over to read the "funnies" with him. I'd sit on his lap, and he would read to me while doing different impressions. His favorite was "Beetle Bailey, because he'd served in WWII. He said that some of the characters reminded him of his old buddies.

It wasn't long before I began to wonder how stories could come from the strange, squiggly characters on pages. I began studying the words on EVERYTHING. Soon, I could be spotted sitting on the couch with my small legs propped up, studying copies of "Star" magazine, or a newspaper. I'm sure that the articles within them weren't appropriate for a three or four year old, but no one took them away from me.

Although I'm aware that the funnies don't count as a book, I can't go without acknowledging the fact that reading them with my grandpa lead me to really want to learn how to read.

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I loved this treasury of richly-illustrated poems and stories! After I expressed that I wanted to learn how to read, my mother or any other family member who was present would point to words on the page and ask me to sound them out, or find the picture that corresponds to the word. My favorite character in the Richard Scarry universe was Lowly Worm.

I grew quite familiar with this book, almost reverent, handling it so delicately that it still rests on my bookshelf today. The second story about this particular's book's importance in my life took place when I was on a break from college, and was cleaning through some of my childhood belongings. I came across this particular book, and was amazed at how spotless I'd kept it, despite having mostly touched it when I was 3-5 years old.

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I spent the summer between kindergarten and 1st grade at my grandparent's house, swimming and playing outside on hot, sunny days. During that summer, I was expected to complete a list of summer reading books. One of them was "Frog and Toad."

Of course, I now think this book is adorable, clever, and funny. But at the time, I absolutely despised having to read it, partly because I thought it was boring, and partly because Aunt Karen said I couldn't swim until I completed my reading worksheets for the day. For summer reading, I was required to complete books within a first grade reading level that had been established by my teacher. I hated it. I was seven years old, but all I wanted to do was read Harry Potter, not easy readers!

I find my hatred of reading levels at a young age interesting, because I'm really not a fan of limiting children to books within an established reading level, versus allowing them to pick age-appropriate books above or below their reading level.

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I have always loved the Harry Potter series, but I actually did not start with the first book! I was around six or seven years old when the movie adaptation hit theaters, and many book stores were displaying the third book.

While on a shopping trip, I begged my mom to buy it for me. "You can read this? I think it's too hard for you," she said. She opened to the first page and asked me to read it for her. Little did she know, I had picked up reading super quickly, probably because I'd been exposed to so many books when I was growing up. When I read confidently without any mistakes, she was stunned. Needless to say, I got to take the book home.

The "Harry Potter" series had a big impact on my reading journey. I became a life-long lover of the series, and found myself choosing other books within the fantasy genre. I rarely read realistic fiction as a child, and I think this was largely due to my love of Harry Potter and similar stories.

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As a child, I loved reading books, but I also enjoyed writing stories as well. When Nancy Yi Fan published her book at the age of eleven, I felt inspired to hone my craft and hoped to complete and publish my own book before adulthood. As I read her book, I was in awe. I loved her story, and I admired her story-writing ability.

Needless to say, I'm 24 now, and am not a published author. However, I owe it to Nancy Yi Fan for coaxing out the part of myself that wants to create stories of my own.

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When I was 12 or 13 years old, my parents bought me the "His Dark Materials" series box set. Technically, this book was my first young adult novel. I fell absolutely in love with the series, and feel that it inspired me to gravitate towards novels with darker themes. I like that it not only appeals to teenagers, but adults as well. About a year ago, when I was stuck inside during quarantine, I reread the trilogy and picked up on lots of interesting tidbits of information that I didn't notice when I was younger.

Although it contains more elements of fantasy than sci fi, Pullman's "His Dark Materials" series deals with alternate universes. To this day, I am fascinated with the idea that other worlds could exist beyond our own, and often choose science fiction novels about time travel and parallel universes.

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The plot of this YA novel is super dark and disturbing, in all honesty, but when I read it in high school, I found it fascinating. I found that I was developing a morbid interest in speculative fiction, and began pursuing sci fi/speculative fiction books instead of fantasy. Of course I found the story really sad and creepy, but found it thought-provoking as well. I found that I liked deep stories that make me feel uneasy while tickling my brain and making me think about different issues.

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"The Handmaid's Tale" was the book that lead me to love Margaret Atwood. When I read this book in high school, the Hulu series didn't exist yet, and it wasn't necessarily as popular and well-known as it is now despite having been written years ago. The story really gripped my heart and played with my emotions, and like Neal Shusterman's "Unwind," it made me think about social issues.

After reading "The Handmaid's Tale," I went on to explore other novels by Margaret Atwood: "Edible Woman," "Surfacing," "The Blind Assassin," and the "Maddaddam" series.

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During my Junior year of undergrad at Ramapo College, I took an "Intro to Science Fiction" course in which I was required to read this book. It was definitely my introduction to traditional/classic science fiction novels, which make up a large chunk of what I read now.

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"The Dune Saga" is my most recent love. I read Dune at the recommendation of a close friend, who insisted that I needed to read this classic series, and fell absolutely in love with it! I love that this book combines science fiction with philosophy. I am currently on the fifth book, "Heretics of Dune," and to be honest, I'm not sure what I'm going to do with myself once I'm finished with the sixth book and finished with the series!

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This was such an interesting assignment! I don't think I've ever taken time to reflect on my reading journey and how it has influenced different aspects of my personality.

I was a very stubborn child who stuck to my specific interests. I wanted to read what I wanted to read, despite what adults told me I should be reading. I never read books to relate to the characters; rather, I read to escape from the "boring" real world. While I am certainly a lot more open-minded, and love a good historical fiction every now and then, I still prefer sci fi and fantasy novels.

As a children's librarian, I will encourage children to read whatever interests them. Even if the stories are "weird" or "unpopular," I will always encourage young patrons to like what they like.