Are You a Readaholic?
Are You a Readaholic?
by Saralyn Richard
I’m a readaholic, and my addiction began when I was two years old! My mother realized that I was reading, and she encouraged me by taking me to the children’s section of the library and loading me up with all the books allowed for checkout at one time. By the time I started kindergarten, I had read all the books in the classroom multiple times.
My parents bought the Childcraft books, a subsidiary of World Book Encyclopedia, and I read all the stories and poems and articles in those. I read series, like The Bobbsey Twins, Nancy Drew, Judy Bolton, The Hardy Boys. I read the series of biographies of famous people published by Grosset & Dunlap. I read all the Newbery and Caldecott award-winners. I read over a hundred books for the Girl Scout reading badge, most of them prescribed titles.
I enjoyed all the classics that were assigned in school, and in my spare time, I read whatever interested me. In college I majored in English, and the curriculum required that I take literature classes from all the various time periods in history, so I received a well-rounded education. I taught English in high school for a number of years, and I enjoyed spreading my love of reading to generations of young people.
I was (and am) never without a book to read. I like reading books by favorite authors, but I also like finding new authors whose works resonate with me. Some of my favorites are Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca, Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot mysteries, and Michael Connelly’s Harry Bosch mysteries. John Irving’s books amaze me with their intricate plots, quirky characters, and imaginative worlds. I adored what Barbara Kingsolver did with point of view in The Poisonwood Bible.
I’m somewhat obsessed by J.K. Rowling’s success with the Harry Potter series. It fascinates me that people all over the world know and love the places and characters that have sprung from a single person’s imagination.
Now that I’m writing books, myself, I have less time to read, but reading remains my guilty pleasure, and I have the biggest TBR pile of anyone I know.
How about you? What has your reading journey been? What are your favorite reads, and what do you look for in books that you want to read?
Award-winning author and educator, Saralyn Richard writes about people in settings as diverse as elite country manor houses and disadvantaged urban high schools. She loves beaches, reading, sheepdogs, the arts, libraries, parties, nature, cooking, and connecting with readers.
Visit Saralyn at http://saralynrichard.com.
I’m a readaholic as well. I remember getting my reading badge for the Girl Scouts. I’ve been reading since I was young as well – I can image seeing a picture and creating a story in my head. I remember the library visits and returning in a few days for more books to read. I remember being the first one to complete all the required books before half the semester. It is still I journey I love.
Dru Ann, you are a sister of my heart!
Great post, Saralyn. Like you, I’m a readaholic, though I spend a lot of time reading the latest scientific findings – such topics as the origins of the universe and what the Webb telescope is revealing to scientists about the early universe. I do read a lot of mystery books too, since I love the genre. When I write my own mysteries, I do a lot of research and that entails a lot of reading too. If only I could retain more of what I read!!
Dru Ann, you are a sister of my heart!
I was a voracious reader at an early age. Then I started first grade, and the teacher told my mother to stop allowing me to go to the library because I was too far ahead of the other kids in the class!
Isn’t it funny. I attended the same school as Lois, and I was encouraged to read as much as I could. Like you, Saralyn, I read early (although I believe I was more like three when it truly kicked in) and I couldn’t get enough books. Luckily my parents made sure I had access through the library or buying books and my maiden aunt, who was a first grade teacher, opened the doors to “older” materials by sharing her library and buying me things like MAD magazine before I could fully appreciate the satire.
I’ve always been a readaholic, so much so that when I’m not reading books, I’ll pick up anything in print to pass what little free time I have. Books are my opium habit.
Kindred spirits, Saralyn: Nancy Drew, Hardy Boy Mysteries, Aesop’s Fables, The Highwayman, my favorite poem I read over and over again, Charlotte’s Web… oh dear, the list goes on.
Readaholic? Definitely!