Writers as Readers

Whenever I sit down to crack open a good book, I like it to be either inside on my couch with bright lighting, or outside in a hammock in the shade of a tree. It can't be too cold, but I can ignore heat for my book, and while it's not a necessity I love having a cool cream soda while I'm reading. I love any sort of writing of any genre as well as fiction or nonfiction too. However, I really love reading fantasy because I love the freedom of knowing that anything can happen in such a story, and you don’t have to worry about the limitations of reality.

 

My first reading teacher was my mother, who is now an elementary school’s librarian. When I was very small she would show me flashcards of letters and ensure that I knew each letter and the sound that went with it. When I was older, we would sit on the couch, me snuggled into my mom’s side while I meandered my way through The Poky Little Puppy, Mr. Poppleton, and The Hallo-wiener. Those are some of my fondest memories of reading, besides the time I devoured the first four Percy Jackson and the Olympians books in four days when I was ten, or the times I read The Great Gatsby while I was camping with my family beside a freshwater lake.

 

My favorite books are a wide variety. Of nonfiction, I love Kisses from Katie and Eat, Pray, Love, because I love sharing the experiences of others, I was touched by the selfless heart of Katie on her journeys, and I really, really want to travel. Fiction could go on for a while if I stated them all, so I’ll stick to a few. Looking for Alaska, The Great Gatsby, The Promise, The Lunar Chronicles, and The Outsiders are all I’ll list here. Each of these touched me most because of the life-filled characters in each of them. If any of them were real existing people I would truly want to meet them because they’re all remarkable individuals. Besides the wonderful characters, each story had an interesting plot with adventures, romance, important messages, and friendships which are some of the best parts of life and certainly the best parts of any story.

 

Books certainly have the power to move people to action with or without the people reading them. However, they more powerfully motivate someone if they’ve read the book in question, and it is more often out of ignorance someone will take action without having read the book. Someone who reads a lot will be a better writer, indeed. When someone reads a lot, they’ll increase their vocabulary, learn new themes, and learn new sentence structure and will certainly incorporate such writing into their own writing at another time.

 

I may write a book someday, and I certainly hope I do. I imagine the book would be some sort of fantasy novel in which the characters go on a great journey. In the About the Author at the front of the book, I would want it to say I’m married, that I have kids, have pets, and live somewhere spectacular. I’d also want it to say that I’d published a lot of other writing. Finally, I would also want it to say I’m a total nerd, I like fanfiction, and that I have a serious sweet tooth. There would also be a mention of my favorite books somewhere.