Did I Always Like to Read?

Ever since I was little, I'd been obsessed with books. I was the one of the fastest readers in my class and took that title seriously (only child problems). It was usual for me in first grade to be found in the teachers rocking chair because I would get excited to listen to the reader or the teacher read or better yet, get to read. 

Now to be honest, I had trouble reading at first. My parents bought me Hooked on Phonics from an infomercial on TV (Yes, I'm showing my age here) and that completely changed the game. It made me obsessed with reading and writing. 

After this, I always wanted to go to the library or sit in stores and read books. And bookmobile days at school? If I had my way, I would've bought out their entire stock. The smell of the pages, the feel of the cover, the way the pictures and words made me feel. It was amazing. When I read, I don't see the pages but the images in my head; It's my own personal movie on display. 

What were some of my favorite books as a young kid, you ask?

1. Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein
2. Berenstain Bear books
3. Goosebumps Books
4. Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark
5. Where's Waldo books (was literally OBSESSED with finding him)
6. Junie B Jones (of course)
7. The I Spy Books Series
8. The highlights magazines
9. The Rainbow Fish
10. Any Dr. Suess book

As I aged, I was lured more towards the dark, the adventure and the knowledgeable genres, but still enjoyed the more childish themes. There was a day when I was younger that a door to door salesman was selling encyclopedias... guess who BEGGED their parents to buy it. For months after buying those, I'd sit on the floor (They were A-Z) and read through them from front to back. I loved anything to do with dinosaurs so the extinction event and different species fascinated me. In the science volume, I'd try out different science experiments (spoiler, I became a scientist as an adult). 

Learning has always been a joy for me, as well as the undeniable masochism of the fantasy and horror books. (Who remembers the girl with the green ribbon; spoiler alert- her head falls off). 

As I advanced in school, we read the usual things each year (The Hatchet, Where the Red Fern Grows, The Great Gatsby), but my favorites at home were:

1. Harry Potter (I'm a total Potterhead)
2. The Dear America Series (I LOVED history and still do) (WW2 and Civil War always intrigued me)
3. Captain Underpants (Told you I'm a huge nerd)
4. Uglies Book Series
5. Nancy Drew Books
6. A light in the Attic
7. In a Dark, Dark Room and other scary stories
8. Shiloh

Any of these sound up your alley? :) 

I was definitely that annoying kid in class who always raised their hand to read and tried to sit in the seat where I'd get the longest passage to read aloud. Another spoiler alert? I got teachers pet in my high school yearbook...

I hope you enjoyed this little snippet about me. My blog series plans to dip into my background, tips for other writes, encouragement for fellow humans and much more. 

As always, you being here means the world to me and I can't thank you enough for your support. <3