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My earliest memory of reading was at a library with my mom. We read all types of books, but especially picture books. I can specifically remember going to the library just to find Max and Ruby books. I had the privilege of having a parent really engage me and surround me with reading, even before I was in school.

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My mom is a reading role model to me. Even though she wasn't a big reader on her own time, she would always make time to read to me every night. Or even just encourage me to keep reading throughout school. My grandmother is another reading role model. She has he own library room in her house dedicated to all of her books. As a kid I always remember her bringing a book with her no matter where we went. Even now her house is still cluttered with books that have sticky notes stuck between pages with her thoughts or notes while she read the books. Her books are laid open, holding her place in the book on the kitchen table, on her bed, and even on the patio outside. Although her reading style is much different than mine, she taught me reading isn't lame and it doesn't have to be "formal".

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Some of the books I would check out in my elementary school library were book series like The Boxcar Children, Judy Moody, and any Judy Blume books (Double Fudge, Superfudge, etc.). I really enjoyed reading fiction, but even as a kid I never really enjoyed much fantasy or fairytale books. Reading more realistic fiction books is something that has carried over into my adult reading habits as well.

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Pleasurable Reading experience in school

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Pleasurable Reading experience in school

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One experience that comes to mind is a project in 6th grade. My teacher chose a book for each student to do a "book report" on. When she chose my book it was something I would've never picked out myself, but after finishing the book I found that I really enjoyed it. It was the first time I was put out of my reading comfort zone. The book report wasn't your usual book report, but instead we sat in a circle as a class and each of us took turns talking about our books. We spoke about the basic plot of our books, what we enjoyed about the books, and we could ask each other questions as well. I enjoyed this because we could hear how each student felt about their book instead of just writing a report and never hearing about other students experiences. This experience made me realize that there were books that weren't my style, but I could still read and enjoy them.

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In middle school I started to expand my genres in reading. I tried out a thriller book about a kidnapping. As I read this I noticed that there were some "bad" words in this book. This made me love the book even more, I felt so cool and almost like I was rebel for reading this book. Now this shows me that maybe at that time I was ready to start reading the next level up or more mature books for my age.

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Experiences with reading I did not enjoy

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Experiences with reading I did not enjoy

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As high school began I did not read as much. I joined clubs, dance teams, and had new friends. I didn't have much time left for readings and I also stopped being interested in reading. We had books in class that we read, but I only read them for the assignments. I did enjoy the stories overall, but I did not truly want to read them at the time. I can remember reading Romeo and Juliet and just skimming over the text so fast just to get over with the assigned reading. In high school I did not check out one book for my own reading until senior year.

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I never really read children's books after elementary school. Only when my sisters were born did I start reading children's books to them. I would read them books I enjoyed as a kid, and also read them whatever books took their interest. One of my sisters is now in 5th grade and is starting to expand her interests. She recently started Diary of a Wimpy Kid, which I read as a kid as well. I see the importance of staying "up to date" with books kids, or potentially students, enjoy. In order to give recommendations or keep your own library an option kids can use we need to read books kids could be interested in.

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I would say my biggest reading gaps throughout my life have been in Fantasy and Mythical books. I have read one "fantasy" book and I finished it, but I had no interest in reading another like it. Nonfiction would also be a reading gap. I've read a few autobiographies of people that really interested me on my own, but the others have only been for school. I also would say Romance was a reading gap for me while I was younger and in school. I can see how my reading gaps have changed over the years, and as I've grown so have my books.

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I enjoy reading in my spare time. This summer was one of my most successful when it comes to reading. I found a friend that reads a lot, and has a similar taste in books as I do. I found this summer that I love to talk about books after I finish them, explaining my thoughts out loud helps me see things that I might've missed while reading. I also highlight or mark up my books as I read because I like to go back and read parts that really spoke to me while I was reading.

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Currently I enjoy a lot of romance and realistic fiction books. One of my favorite authors is Emily Henry, I found her books through a recommendation of a friend. She writes about romance, but still includes the hardships of life, relationships, and even adds a little humor to the story as well. Her stories seem more attainable than other genres do. I enjoy reading about things that make sense to me, and for a long time romance books did not. So finding an author who writes romance like Emily Henry does was exciting for me.