Why do you read?

[Kathy]

Hi guys! Tell us why you love to read! When did you start loving books? Why do you like them so much? :)

[Alyssa]

it was different stages for me. At first I forced myself to read books for school. I thought all them were boring and a waste of time. Then 3rd grade Harry Potter is when I realized, wow great books do exist, however that was only one great series and other books still sucked. I believe it was when I read Twilight actually that I started reading a lot a lot because that when I discovered the genre of books I liked, thus me reading more.

Did you like that magical story? There's more but I rather not bore you with that. I love reading because every time you open another books you (and this is going to sound cheesy) it's you go into another world. Let's face it, most our lives are going to be typical but books are different and I want to read this new thing the author created, even if it is only in our imagination.

[Zhanaestilinski]

It's like Television for your brain! A lot of YA literature reminds me of bad soap operas...

I remember this one day in fifth grade where the principal was announcing awards and birthdays over the p.a. system and I heard my friend's name--he had won a bookworm of the certificate--and I keeled over and died of laughter. I literally yelled "WHAT A LOSER!" and then, they called my name...[insert stale-face]

Reading came and went in phases for me also, but now I can't stop and am an aspiring writer. Go figure. Your greatest enemy can became your strongest ally--or something like that.

[Mpiggy]

In grade school, I was never very good at reading (actually, I was very bad, always got C's in school) but I think it was in grade 4 or 5 that I started reading more. Then in middle school I started reading all the time. In grade 8, I was hoping to get the reading award but...
Anyways. Now, I am a major bookworm, I can't believe some people find reading boring!! Reading transports you to different worlds!! That's why I love reading fantasy, because no matter what people think about dragons or magic or all that kind of stuff, while I read fantasy books, everything is real and possible!!! When I read Anne of Green Gables the first time, I felt like we were actually friends!!
And since I read so much, I love to write... except for poems, I can't do poems at all... except for one part in a recent story, I kind of had to write a poem for it. But yeah, LOVE READING!!

[Manny]

My mom started reading to me at a very early age. I would get lost in the story telling and the pictures. It was my escape because i was very shy, awkward and was bullied in grade school and it was my only constant that never let me down. I like reading other people's stories and it's awesome going on adventures in my imagination and just going along for the ride. My favorite childhood memory is getting caught stealing in school. Normal kids would steal toys, candies or lunch money but I got caught stealing books from the school library. We were very poor and my mom couldn't afford all the books that I wanted so I guess I took drastic measures lol. When I was confronted by the librarian she didn't punish me because she said "at least you took something that enables you to learn, grow and be creative." She told me she had never seen such a passion for reading and my "punishment" was working in the library during reccess and afterschool for two weeks! Not much of a punishment being surrounded by all those books. I learned a very valuable lesson and yes my mom punished me at home lol but not too harsh considering the consequences. That is why I love reading so much. "I'd rather read the worst book ever written than see the best movie ever made."

[Kennedy]

Ive loved reading for as long as i can remember, when i was able to read by myself i would get up every morning i really early and tiptoe over to my book shelf and read little chapter books and picture books, my favorites when i was that age was Horton Hears a Who! and The Giving Tree

[Shubhra]

My teachers made it compulsory to read at-least one book a week, and made us tell the story in front of the entire class. We hated it at first, especially when the books were thick and in small print. But after a few years, we actually looked forward to the reading time, and even exchanged books, so that we could read more books within a week. I started reading more and more because I liked how the writers started with something new each time, and later made an entire story out of it. I am amazed how they keep their readers engaged , and it gives a great sense of satisfaction to just sit and relax with a good book on lazy afternoons. I love reading because it reminds me of the past, when life was not so fast , and we could cheer ourselves up with a good book, a good story, and a cup of coffee. They make me be myself again.

[Gabriella]

I've always been the type who loves getting lost in another world. It's why I love watching tv shows and movies, too. But books will always be my favorite. I love fantasy, it completely enthralls me. I started off with Harry Potter at age 6 and haven't stopped since. I loved Warrior Cats for a long time and even went through my Twilight phase, and since then have discovered Eragon, the works of Tolkien, Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles, Game of Thrones. I just really love fantasy novels and being spirited away by them.

[Stephanie]

My mother read to me, and somehow it just came to me like a gift. I read Jane Eyre in 3rd grade, MacBeth in 4th, and never looked back. I like stories in any form they come but reading is such a private, wonderful thing. Which is why I wrote two fantasy YAs, a adult SF novel, and now my new woman-centered trilogy. I wrote stories just about as early as I read them. See Warpaint

[Maggie the Muskoka Library Mouse]

I started reading at a very young age. My mother is a huge reader, and I grew up with books everywhere. I am an introverted person, so I find books a huge comfort. I read all the time, and love all genres. Some of my favourite books from childhood are "White Fang," "The World's Worst Fairy Godmother," and "I Rode a Horse of Milk White Jade." I love books so much because they are an escape, and open up a world to explore you otherwise would never see.