Today is Book Lovers Day. And while I don’t need a special day telling me to sit back and read, it’s nice to have a whole day dedicated to the love of books. I’m one of those people whose heart breaks when someone tells me they don’t like reading. I’m a firm believer in the saying, “If you think reading is boring, you’re doing it wrong.” I am convinced that everyone can learn to love reading with a little push and shove. All of us who love reading can remember the things that turned us into readers for life. A certain book or series that solidified our love.
For some the love for reading does come more natural than others. My mother loves to always talk about my obsession with books, even at a young age, reaching for books at the age of one over every other toy offered. I read my first book when I was three-years-old, Bears on Wheels. Sure most of that “reading” was just memorization but this is still one of my mother’s favorite stories to tell (brag about!). Between the ages five and seven, I probably went through every single book Stan and Jan Berenstain had to offer. Twenty years later, these books will always hold a special place in my heart, especially The Berenstain Bears and the Bad Habit, as I still struggle with a nasty nail biting habit to this day.
After that I progressed to my Nancy Drew and Harriet the Spy books. It was nice to escape the reality of being an awkward preteen and pretend to be Nancy or Harriet. Needless to say I spent a lot of time “solving mysteries” in my house.
Matilda will forever be my one of my favorite books. The movie is also one of my favorites. It made me realize how amazing it can be to see your favorite literary characters come to life on the big screen.
I remember reading Go Ask Alice, A Child Called It, and It Happened to Nancy. Stories about drugs, rape, AIDS, and abusive, sadistic parents. Thankfully they were horrors in the world that I otherwise would have been blissfully unaware of. I couldn’t get enough of these tragic stories, slowly realizing that life is not as easy as my 12-year-old self thought it was.
And Speak is probably the book that solidified me as a reader for life. I felt a connection with Melinda Sordino that I wasn’t able to fully get with any other character I’d read about before. I felt her pain and wanted to be her friend.
Sometimes finding your love for reading just takes some trial and error. Some people may not have any desire to ever read the classics, and that’s fine. As long as you’re reading, that’s all that really matters. Try out a few different genres to see what sticks. You’re never going to like every book you come across. If you find a book boring and think all reading is boring, then clearly you’re doing it wrong.
So in honor of National Book Lovers Day and because I am always looking for new books to add to me to-read list, what are some of your favorite books?
Note: This post originally ran in a blog I used to run about books and food.
Am I Thirty Yet 
Matilda was one of my favourites as a child too 🙂 I also love Little Women.
I am a fantasy reader and particularly enjoy Fiona McIntosh books, she has written in a few different genres, but her fantasy ones are my favourite. In my opinion the Trinity and Percheron series are her best, but that is just me 🙂
Little Women is another great book. Loved that one. I’ve never read Fiona McIntosh. I’ll need to check her out.
Whatever you do, don’t start with her series “The Quickening” 1st book is “Myrren’s Gift”. It is heavy and I am still trying to get through it hahaha.
Ah ok, good to know!
The Babysitters Club were the bane of my existence as a kid! Really wish they still sold them. 😛
Yes! “The Babysitters Club” was my life!
I’m sure I did but I can’t remember reading any Babysitters Club books when I was younger. But I do remember the movie very well.
Happy Book Lovers Day to you, too! I definitely recall reading the Berenstain Bears when I was younger, and a lot of “The Babysitters Club.” Also “A Series of Unfortunate Events:” brings back memories. And I still can’t seem to stop reading YA novels, even at my age! What can I say? They’re addictive!
I read so much YA. I know I’m not the target audience but I can’t help it. Some of the books are really good.
Who says we need to be in the target audience? For all I know, I still read YA novels, too! 🙂
I always recommend In Cold Blood to anyone looking for a new book to read. The book I’ve re-read the most often (and that I think is the best-written I’ve ever read) is probably Lolita
Lolita is one of my favorite books of all time. I’ve never read In Cold Blood but it’s been added to my to-read list.
Reblogged this on milanioliva/ olivera kovacevic jankovic.
Growing up my favorite books were The Berenstain Bears, Amber Brown, The Babysitter’s Club and Charlotte’s Web. Now I enjoy reading Karen Kingsbury series and single books.
I’ve actually never read Charlotte’s Web. I don’t know how I’ve gone 29 years having never read it.
I’ve not always loved reading, but I do more now. I’ve never really made a priority of it, but when I do read I love it. Of course, I loved all the Harry Potter books and enjoyed the Hunger Games ones, and I have loved reading my friends books series. I do hope to have the one I’m working on published someday. Then I would definitely read that one.
Harry Potter is the best! I tell everyone that they need to read that series. It doesn’t matter how young or old you are, you’ll enjoy it.
Yeah, she was definitely one that inspired me to start thinking about writing. (Probably because she is a billionaire), but no, just the creative world she came up with was pretty awesome.
Reblogged this on This, That and the Other Thang and commented:
A b-e-a-uuuuutiful ode to my one true love and BFF for life: Books. 🙂
My very first serious “collection” of books were the Goosebumps books by R.L. Stine. I was just at my parent’s house a few weeks ago and came across boxes upon boxes (upon boxes) of them! So naturally I had to pack them into my car and try and fit them into my teeny-tiny (already book-laden apartment). My book love/hoarding tendencies have only gotten progressively more worse/awesome from there. 😉
OMG how could I forget Goosebumps? Do you know they are making a movie based on the books? I saw the trailer recently when I went to the movies.
Oh my gosh I know!! Jack Black is in it! It actually looks kind of good, an interesting take on a lot of the books for sure! Naturally I will have to see it just to compare (right after I rerereread all of my Goosebumps books haha).
So nostalgic reading this and the other folks’ comments! Honestly, I didn’t get into reading fiction until I was probably 20 years old. When I was a teenager, I’d read philosophy, religion, and science books–I read the book “Genome” before the Human Genome Project was complete! I gradually fell in love with Charles Dickens, and I transitioned into classics from there. Truth be told, that was partly due to classics being free via the Kindle app.
Tolkien made me a book addict though. I recommend LOTR obviously. I love Dostoyevsky. Also I loved the Harry Potter books perhaps more than someone who only read them at age 25-26 should.
I agree with your advice about trying different genres. I’d add to it to try things you don’t even expect to like, too.
I read the Harry Potter books when I was about 26 as well and I fell in love. You really can be any age to enjoy the series. I’ve never read LOTR but I’ve always been meaning to. I read The Hobbit but want to get around to LOTR eventually. Maybe once school is over and I have more free time.
Argh, I should have left my books post until today! Oh well! I was the same a toddler with Winnie-the-Pooh. Then all sorts up until I discovered Sweet Valley and read every book of every series.
My recommendations now: Harry Potter (obviously), The Humans by Matt Haig, The Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce, One Day by David Nicholls, the Delirium trilogy and Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver, The Last Letter from Your Lover by Jojo Moyes… I’ll stop now!
Ooh, so many books that I haven’t read. Thanks! Adding them to my to-read list!
Lovely, I’ve grown up with these books. Fond memories 😊