Why I’m a Reader Tag

Hello! A tag(ish) thing today. I wasn’t tagged and I’m not sure where this tag originates, but I found it here and thought it’d be a good thing for me to write out. :”D

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Choose one word to describe yourself as a reader.

I’d have to say ‘spastic’, both due to my reading patterns and my behaviors while actually physically reading. My reading patterns are very irregular, spastic even (haha). I’ll go a month without reading anything, then I’ll read five books in two weeks. I’ve never been able to keep a steady reading schedule. I’m either frantically drinking books in or I’m staring at my shelves saying “I should read something” before promptly going on reddit.

As for my behaviors while reading, I scream at books, I slam them shut and cry out, I laugh, I cry. It’s probably entertaining to watch me read. I’m all over the place.

What is the first book that made you fall in love with reading?

I think my gateway books, at least the ones I remember reading over and over, were the Pokemon novelizations by Tracey West. There were a series of them, and I think I had the first six. I’m not sure where my copies are now though – hopefully in a box at my parents’ place somewhere. I hope they haven’t been thrown or given away.

 

Hardback or paperback?

Paperback for sure. They’re cheaper, they’re easier to read, they’re lighter. I don’t dislike hardbacks by any means, but if given the choice I’ll get the paperback nine times out of ten.

 How has reading shaped your identity?

Aside from others being aware of the expectation that we’ll stop in a bookstore if they go into public with me? I feel like reading has made me a more compassionate person and better aware of the world around me. Fiction and nonfiction alike allow a person to see what others are thinking and how they choose to portray those thoughts and that has exposed me to more values than the ones I hold myself to. Reading has also been a bridge that created a lot of friendships for me and those people have in extension further shaped who I am. Also, it’s bumped me to be more active in social media – never before have I taken so many damn pictures until I started snapping photos of books.

What book do you read when you want to be comforted?

There are a few. Most obvious is Harry Potter, but I also tend to gravitate towards Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine and Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer. These were all the series I read growing up and make me feel nostalgic every time they’re opened up.

 

 

Who influenced you or taught you to be a reader?

Three people, namely. My parents and my grandmother. All three of them used to read to my sister and I when we were little and all encouraged us to pick up books on our own and read them. They always made a point to take us to the library too and made it a fun occasion. I’ve been reading books since I learned to read and will likely always read them. (Funny thing  – my sister never developed the same love of reading as I did even though we were both encouraged to. I got her to start reading Harry Potter the other day though, so score!)

Describe your dream reading lounge

Big, comfy, brown leather armchair in front of my wall of book cases. On the ground is a fluffy rug. Chair has a side table to it, made out of dark wood where my coffee/tea/beer is. Cat is on top of chair. I am in chair. Fluffy blanket is on me. Huge bay window lets in natural light during the day, nice lamps give off light in the evening. Fireplace on otherwall does the crackling during the winter. Yes, me want it. It’ll happen, dammit.

What book changed how you saw the world?

In Order to Live by Yeonmi Park. I read this book last year and it made me more aware of the ongoing injustices in the world that I don’t think about on a daily basis. I’m from America – I’m living a privileged life on that fact alone, let alone other things. I know that I’m lucky to have the life I do, but it doesn’t always sit at the forefront of my mind unfortunately. It’s easy to forget how hard others may have it when I’m distracted by my own issues that are small in comparison to some other people’s. I don’t mean to forget it, but it happens. This book made me more aware of that fact, more humbled, and more admiring of anyone who has gone through was Ms. Park has and is still fighting. It made me more aware of other people and what they may or may not be struggling with on a daily basis, whether it looks like they are from outward appearance or not. It made me more patient and I hope it’s made me more open to understanding problems that others may have that I wouldn’t know how to cope with or wouldn’t come across otherwise.

PS. If you know of any other memoirs that you feel would broaden my horizons, please do speak up. I’m always looking.

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And that’s it! I liked this one. :”D

I tag:

The Orang-utan Librarian

Acey

Zezee

Nora