Then
I love reading like I love breathing air. When you love something that much, you engage with it any way that you can. Reading has always been a concrete absolute in my life. I credit this to my Mom, who fostered my love of reading to connect with me and grow my imagination and playfulness. When she’d ask me to pick out a bedtime story, I’d spread out every book I had in my room, giggling with mischief as I wanted to read all of them at once.
My love for reading couldn’t be contained, it filled my whole heart and constantly expanded. I’d sneak and crawl in the doorframe of my room to read by the hallway light long after I should have been in bed just to finish “one more chapter”. My teachers would have to pluck a book out of my hands because I didn’t even notice class starting around me as I was so lost in a story. I infamously can walk and read at the same time (if it’s in a straight line that is).
Books taught me all about life, skill building, reflection, my own core values and identity, and the people different than me I wanted to learn from. Books also taught me that while I always love my Wyoming roots and where I come from, there was a wider world out there if I dared to go find it. They gave me such comfort as they made me feel safe and let me be comfortable in being exactly who I was.
A lot of my reading influences when I was young spanned from stories that were cozy and entertaining or made me laugh. As I got older, they began to challenge me in how I thought about the world. I read a lot of “sad” or “intense” books as a teen. When asked why, I said I wanted to know the hard things so not only I could be prepared for them in the world but also so I would know how to embrace and help others through a difficult experience. These books raised me throughout the early stages of my life and they will always hold a beloved space in my heart.
A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket
Now
These days, I’m still a self-proclaimed book goblin as my friends lovingly call me from the way I devour books. There are so many wonderful stories out there I want to get to know and staying eclectic in my reading helps me go far in that ambition.
Books are my first, deepest, and greatest love; often to a crazy extent.
I will pick up a freshly printed hardcover and love it as much as a beat up, peeling, torn and spine cracked yellowing paperback. If I don’t have a bookmark, I’ll tear off scratch paper corners or use bill envelopes, Taco Bell napkins, silverware, stickers, even a dollar bill a time or two just so I don’t crease the pages. I practically swoon at a bookstore or library as I feel pure love and peace surrounded by so many stories.
I read so much as I’m racing the clock on my own mortality. I will be quite disgruntled when I die about how much I still had to read.
My reading tastes have grown a lot in depth and expanded across all genres. I read everything so I always have a book to talk about with anyone. I even read the books I hate as I believe if you’re going to hate something, you should learn why.
Lately I’ve been into memoirs and nonfiction which is a delightful surprise for me as I used to be mostly a fiction reader. I still love a good literary or historical fiction, mysteries where I feel like the world’s greatest detective if I crack the case before the characters do, or a romance now and then for variety. I love reading about social issues or things I haven’t tried but would be open to the idea. I have the best time paging through a gorgeous cookbook and trying a recipe out of it. I adore reading a good graphic novel to see how art and text combine in story telling as a newer experience for me as well.
I am always excited to see myself change and grow by marking the books I read as they still have many lessons, joys, sorrows and hope to give me.
Really, I just need a book and I’ll get along in the world just fine.
