I have been reading voraciously my entire life. Well, obviously not in my baby and toddler years…but you know what I mean.
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I started reading early. When I started crawling my mother would tell me to get a certain book and I’d crawl to the book basket and find it.
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When I was a baby, my favorite book was Splish Splash. I also loved Hand,Hand, Fingers, Thumb.
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My mom used to take me to the bookstore, and she’d leave me reading while she looked around. This would ensure that I’d read almost all the books I was interested in and she wouldn’t have to buy them.
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When I was a little girl I loved the Ramona books. And Nancy Drew. And Little House on the Prairie. And Charlotte’s Web. And the Mandie series.
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I read incredibly fast. Jimmy likes to watch my eyeballs. He swears I took a speed reading class and didn’t tell him. I just read really fast.
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I don’t read every word.
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If I don’t love a book, I don’t make myself finish it. Life’s too short to read books I hate.
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Or depressing books.
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I check out as many books from the library as I want. I go by the synopsis and sometimes just because I like the author.I don’t pressure myself to read them all when I get home. I read the ones I can. I abandon the ones I want to abandon.
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I’m a sucker for a good bookjacket.
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But I always take the jackets off if I buy a book. They will get destroyed and plus…they drive me nuts.
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I don’t use bookmarks.
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I have a Goodreads account but never use it.
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I am a Luddite when it comes to reading. Don’t tell me to get a Kindle. It will not revolutionize my life. It will break my heart. I will always love the feel, look, smell, of real books.
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I have a horrible memory when it comes to books. I’ve read SO many and I don’t really ever remember anything except whether I loved or hated them. Hence the reason I should use Goodreads.
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I refuse to read books that everyone else is reading. I don’t know why.
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There are two exceptions that I regret deeply.
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I hated the Twilight series.
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and 50 shades of Grey. Yuck. Horrible writing. I literally threw the book against the wall halfway through. Horrible.
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I won’t judge you if you liked those books, seems I’m the only one who didnt.
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Believe it or not, despite what you just read, I am not a book snob. I love a good piece of chick lit.
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I love YA books.
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David Sedaris, Laurie Notaro,Jen Lancaster, Tina Fey, and Mindy Kaling make me laugh out loud when I’m reading their books. Repeatedly.
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I love Mary Kay Andrews. She’s amazing. And she’s the only author I’ve met in person. So I can say that and really mean it. 🙂
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Mindy Kaling’s Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (and other concerns) was my favorite book this year. I read it on the plain to CA and laughed out loud so many times. My fellow travelers looked concerned. Now that is the mark of a good book.
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My favorite children’s author is Mo Willems. He is a genius. And I’m not saying that in the Pinterest “GENIUS!” way. He is really a kid book genius.
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I have a hard time trusting someone who doesn’t like reading.
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I make time for reading. Even if it’s only 10 minutes right before I pass out from sheer exhaustion…I read. I read in the bath.I read in the carpool line and I read to show my girls what it looks like to love reading.
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I pray that at least one of my girls will be a bookworm like I am.
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I used to stay up all night and read books. Can’t do that anymore. But I will again one day.
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Reading changed my life. It has been a passion and a free vacation and a gift and a and an obsession and a love and an addiction.
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Amen.
pambennett says
I hated the Twilight series (only read it to see if was appropriate for my girls), and Fifty Shades of Grey made my blood boil.
I do not read as much as I should, but it is getting better as the kids get older. I read ALL of the books with kids from their lit classes…it makes good one on one time, especially with Evan, since he has more of a scientific mind, and the discussions we have help him in class 🙂
Deb says
Wow, this was like reading about myself. Love to read and have to read every night. Loved the Ramona books when I was little and now both my girls have read them. Both my girls are bookworms and have to read nightly. Last time we went bowling, they both took books to read while they waited for their turns. I also have a terrible memory for books and what and who I have read. I love chick lit. I have never read Twilight or Harry Potter and have no desire too. Will have to check out some of the authors you mentioned. Have a wonderful weekend.
Kristen S says
I am right there with you Stephanie, on so many things on your list. So….all of that and no mention of what you are reading right now?? Or, what was that really good book that you read recently? I love that you love YA books. As a middle school English teacher, I read a lot of YA and I love when I hear adults are reading them because there is SO much to offer in YA books now that wasn’t there when we were teens 🙂 So much! Right now I am reading Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell and am loving it! Happy reading!
Dana N says
I love reading, too. And I never thought that I would like an e-reader… I, too, love the feel of a book, the smell of the paper… But I fell in love with my e-reader. The fact that I could have so many books at the ready, without the bulk… The e-reader fits so nicely in my purse, and travelling? A breeze! But I did break down the other day and cracked open a “real” book, and I’ve been enjoying turning the pages. I feel a little sad for those who don’t like to read. They are missing out. 🙂
Kristen S says
Oops, reading over your post and I see you mentions your favorite book this year, sorry I missed it 😉
becky dunnell says
This sounds so much like me! Although, in stead of reading Twilight & 50 Shades then hating them, I hate them for what they are & what I have heard about them…YA Lit is my favorite (which is good since I am a middle/high school English teacher), but I am trying as hard as I can to read more books that are in the adult section of the library, lol…
Laura says
I’m the same way and have been since I was small. It’s one of the greatest joys of motherhood so far that my daughter is a total reading fiend just like me. I just bought her Anne of Green Gables for her 9th birthday. I haven’t read the Twilight books and have no intention of reading 50 Shades of Grey either. There are so many other things to read, why waste my time? Happy reading!! ~ Laura
Barbara Eads says
Another voracious reader here. I was on the fence about the Kindle for a couple of years. I felt like I would miss the tactile experience of a real book—plus I have a huge library at home. I got one, unexpectedly for Christmas two years ago and cannot turn back. I even have the cheapest one—nothing fancy and no backlight (my booklight clips on just fine). There are several features that I absolutely love—the built in dictionary (I’m obsessive about looking up words), I created a category called “Books Read in 2013”—It’s really fun to know how many books I’ve read in a year. And best of all—I have the Kindle app on my iPhone. It syncs both devices. Now, I am NEVER without my book—and am always at the exact place I left off. That’s HUGE for me.
Now for the downside—I often cannot remember the title or author of the book because I don’t see it constantly when I pick up the “book.” Plus, without seeing the cover of the book all the time, I do not have a point of reference for it.
Deb Wisker says
I have no desire to read the Twilight series or the 50 Shades stuff. Not my cup of tea. I know I’m not missing out on any literary masterpieces there.
As far as your Goodreads acct, you really should use it. You could be reading some good stuff I’m missing out on!
Jan says
Yes, yes, and yes! I don’t have small children and had never heard of Mo Willems. I will certainly check that out for my small but growing children’s book collection. I did get a Nook (it was free with Office Depot points!) and I find that I like it okay, but it is not quite the same as the real thing.
Michelle says
I love to read too (and read fast). I have stayed up into the wee hours reading (then pay for it the next day). LOL I am not in the the Twilight series or the 50 shades of grey. Won’t even attempt to read them. Greg loves to read and so do my kids. My 15 yr old reads a ton of books. Ben is in kindergarten and is reading on his own. I just bought him one of the Magic Treehouse books.
Sarah H. says
Oh my gosh, this is me to a tee. Although I do have a kindle for traveling. I always have a huge pile of books on my nightstand waiting to be read. There really is usually nothing I’d rather do. And it’s always been like that for me. Books are the best adventures!
Louise Dubord says
I could have written the same post, except that since I am French Canadian, I was reading in French as a kid… but that didn’t last long. I learned English, so I could read more books… I don’t mind waiting for 2 hours, if I have a book. Other exceptions : I read Twilight and liked it and got an e-reader for travelling. My husband is so happy he doesn’t have to carry a huge box of books everytime we go on holidays, that was a compromise. And I absolutely refuse to read 50 shades…
Suzelle says
FUN post. I LOVE, LOVE to read as well. I did like the Twilight series….but 50 Shades…..yuck is right. Felt like I was cheating on my husband. Bookworms ROCK !!!!!!
Candy says
T love those little anchors.i read a lot too. A fellow mom friend of mine rarely reads. We talked about it one day. She has a hard time sitting still. I think it is her medication. But I do not know how to suggest she explain this to her doctor. And yet the world still revolves. You should be able to get English books in Italy.
Kimber-Leigh says
this post made my day. glad i’m not the only one who has felt this way about books all my life. 🙂 freshman year, my roommate (coincidentally also Stephanie) and i stayed up until 5am on a Friday night finishing books we’d bought the day before. our hallmates thought we were crazy that we wanted to read on a friday night instead of go out. and it’s one of my favorite Baylor memories now! 🙂
i’m going to have to add a few of these to my list! i need some good new fiction!
Kami Pfingsten says
I totally agree with you about Mo Willems!!!! Hands down our favorite children’s author as well!! My kids can’t get enough! I sadly don’t make the time anymore to read for myself though. I used to read ALL the time pre-kids! LOL!!! I know that I just need to carve out that special time just for me because I deserve it and like you said it is a tiny vacation!! I too will not finish a book if it is awful. Such a waste of time. But lately I have a hard time finding what interests me. I never got into the Twilight Series either. The last great book I read was The Shack!! Changed my life. Highly recommend! 🙂
Kami Pfingsten says
And might I add that part of my problem is my failing eye sight!! LOL!! I don’t wear glasses normally, but with age (I am 40) my sight is going down hill and I just cannot get used to my reading glasses. Pathetic, right?!! Ha!
Heather B says
I love to say that reading is my favorite vacation.
Sky says
Me too. Amen.
My says
Huge reader here too. I completely agree about our pal, Mo. He really is brilliant and gets kids in a way I have never seen before. If you ever have a chance to see him in real ice, take the girls and go! He is everything you want to be and ,ore in person. He signs books afterwards and really connects with the kids. I adore him!
Twilight was so vapid and poorly written I couldn’t get past chapter two. I do not understand how people can read them.
I read all the time too, while brushing my teethe and drying my hair, while cooking (waiting for things to cook), every morning and every night, without fail.
You can never be bored if you love to read.
Stephanie, did you ever read the entire Anne of Green
Gables series? It would be a great read aloud for your big girls.
My says
Good grief, talk about poorly written! I am typing on my iPad with out my contacts and didn’t notice all my typos. I promise I am not an illiterate dolt, just blind as a bat!
Jessica says
50 Shades of Gray….worst book EVER! So glad to see someone else who threw it against the wall halfway through it! I really admire you for your love of reading….I was never a great reader as a child and really wished I was. I think you should start a book club on your blog….would be fun! 🙂
doris sander says
bookworms untie! yay for young adult lit! newbery winners are some of the BEST! so glad to hear someone else has rejected the 50 shades phenomena.
doris sander says
p.s. i actually like reading on my cell phone. people think i’m crazy, but i hate the size of the big clunky readers. i can hold that little phone in one hand and read the little lit screen in the dark. it makes me laugh to think how easy it would have been to stay up reading all night as a kid with one of those. remember the days of a book and flashlight under the blankets?
Kim S. says
from one bookworm to another….no e-reader for me, love the feel of a real BOOK. You’re the reason I bought some Mary Kay Andrews books after you met her and blogged about her. Like you, I never finish a book if I don’t like it. I just joined Goodreads yesterday, now i have to figure out what to do with it.
Happy Reading!!
Jonnelle says
Loved everything about this post!
Love the anchors, preppy squeal! Adore MaryKay Andrews, ready for her to write a whole slew of new books. I put books on my iPad, but never read them, need to hold a book, flip thru pages. In my previous life (ha!, before being a mommy), I taught 7th grade literature/language arts, so I love reading ya books, still do now. I love, love, love series.
Ugh, enough babbling, I agree with your entire post!
Happy weekend!
Stefanie says
I loved this post.
I never bothered reading either Twilight or Shades of grey.
I have a kindle app on my ipad – never thought I would change to the other side being an avid book reader. However I get free books almost daily – can’t argue with that at our exchange rate. I love free and fabulous authors. Christian romantic suspense is my favourite and http://www.spiritfilledkindle.com links me up with cheap or free reads.
I still have a pile of books next to my bed, but the kindle disturbs hubby less than reading with the light on.
Kristy says
My kind of post! I speed read too which allows me to read even more books, ha. I’ve found goodreads as an excellent way to keep the books I read organized because otherwise I can’t remember authors or titles. And yes, no kindle for me either 😀
Kirsten J says
Oh thank you for not liking 50 Shades. Sorry but I haven’t read Penthouse forum since I was 20 something but I think that was better. I also have a Goodreads account and should probably take the time….I can’t always seem to remember how books end. Or, I’ll read an obscure book and want to find another book by the same author, but can’t remember what it was. At least our library keeps records online….so that helps. The library also has these tricky little things called Plaways. Great for popping in your pocket and listening on a walk.
dana a. says
Haha, I’ve been meaning to tell you that you need to get a Kindle! Okay, I was like you, and I still love books, but man it is so nice to pull out my Kindle and have several books available to me. I still get books, I cannot go into a bookstore and not get one.
Love that you are reading in front of your kids and letting them see what a gift reading is. I have loved to read since I was little and now many kids don’t read as much as we did:(
Gotta go check out the mindy kaling book, thanks for the recommendation!
Have you read any YA books? I have read several and they are great! (Divergent, Matched, The Variant and Beautiful Creatures series)
Stacey says
Love this post! I also love to read and read all the time as a child. I am not a fast reader though. I read slowly because some books are so good I don’t want to finish. I read slowly and enjoy and pictre what is going on. My 15 yr. old loved to read until a few years ago. She also reads fast like you. I mean she could read a harry potter book in a day. It amazes me. No early readers in our family, but my husband taught himself to read at age 4. I also pick books by beautiful covers and anything that looks beach related. I love your book recommendations, I have some on my list that are on your picture!
Sally Danes says
Another vote here against 50 shades! Hated it so gave it up. I haven’t even bothered wig twilight! Not my bag.
Try the Jennifer Worth trilogy! It’s non fiction and so all encompassing you will wonder how you will ever put it down!
Happy reading xxxx
frklfac says
You echo my same experiences and opinions!!! And I JATE THE CONCEPT of the 50 shades series and LOVE hearing you agree!!! -T xo
Danielle Barton says
I can realate to everything pretty much but i too have let reading slip… 🙁 it is by far my favorite thimg to do. You’ve inspired me to make some time for me!
ginny says
My daughter Amanda says Amen to everything including hating Twilight & Fifty Shades! She says have you read Sherilyn Kenyon? I swear the 2 of you could be sisters!
Linda says
I knew we would be friends. We even have the same tastes, but i think i found a new author in this post so that is always good. So happy that all three of my girls are readers, I am sure yours will love iti too.
Miriam Prantner says
I am right there with you! I have loved books since I was a kid…I think my parents deliberately moved to within walking distance of the library so we could go by ourselves and not harass my mom to take us. I’ve been so happy to find that my eldest LOVES reading as much as I do, and from an early age…..it’s so much fun to rediscover my favorites with her, we’re working our way through the Little House series now. I was so concerned that the littlest one hated books….it was until about 6 months ago that she got into reading. I wouldn’t call her a voracious reader yet, but she will sit and read now. Her current favorite is Pete the Cat.
Margaret K says
Amen is right. I feel the same way you do Stephanie. I don’t understand and trust people who do not like reading.
SMG says
Hi Stephanie – here is my 5 cents’ worth!
The short version = I’m with you!!!
Longer version =
I’m so glad to hear that someone else in the world thought the Twilight series stunk! Yuck! I’d rather spend my time on better things.
And, I know so many people who have converted to an e-reader (you might find it would help your space crunch with living overseas), but I won’t ever get one, for a number of reasons. Nothing beats holding a real book in your hand. Nothing! Plus I don’t seem to apprehend/retain information gleaned from a screen the way I do from a book. Just me. I’m a Luddite too. maybe we could start a club.
I am a really eclectic reader. I don’t like button-buster romance novels, or science fiction, or “girl loves horse books” but I love many genres – biography, history, political science, psychology, quotes, fiction, spy stories, some Oprah type books. I don’t like smut in books.
I love Jane Austen!
I fell in love with the books of Gene Stratton-Porter a few years ago – she’s an Indiana author who died in the 1920s. Her character development is really awesome…you have to remember the time period she was writing in… every single book I’ve read I’ve started out by intensely disliking the characters, and then, like a crazy relative, they grow on me and by the end I love them. The first one I read was The Keeper of the Bees, then Freckles/Girl of the Limberlost/Freckles comes home {these last two usually get classified as YA – they make more sense if you read them in that order}, A Daughter of the Land, and the Harvester are all some of my favorites.
Some of my other favorites over the past few years:
Nancy Turner’s books These is My Words, Sarah’s Quilt and the Star Garden
Kate Morton’s books – The Forgotten Garden, The Distant Hours, The Secret Keeper
Shaffer and Barrows – The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
Beth Hoffman’s Saving CeeCee Honeycutt
The Kate Jacobs Knitting Club books {fell in love with the characters}, and a few of Penelope Lively’s books – How it all Began and Consequences. I read a few more of hers, but I didn’t like them as much as these two.
As for children’s books – love them! I like Kate DeCamillis – my favorite of hers is the Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, but I know some people didn’t like it much.
My favorite children’s lit author is Rob Scotton – author of Splat the Cat, Russell the Sheep and a Christmas book about some character I can’t remember. He is an AMAZING illustrator! The Splat books are delightful.
My crazy confession – I also love to read cookbooks like they were regular books. Love them! Especially all of the Cook’s Illustrated books – I love their nerdy, scientific approach to cooking.
I don’t use Goodreads – I save books I’ve read or want to read to my Google Bookshelf, and then I have a visual of each cover. That helps me remember the books I’ve read more easily.
I think I’m going to sign off now to go read… 🙂 God bless you.
Sheila Mayden says
Great post…..
I love MKA as well and have read everything she has ever written and wait anxiously for every new book she writes.
Have you read Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum novels? I love those as well, she reminds me of MKA.
Carollee says
I am so glad that I am not the only one here on Earth that hated the Twilight and 50 shades books. I think I was actually disturbed at the subject matter of Twilight, especially since it was written by such a religious woman. I’m no prude, but the books just rubbed me the wrong way. Right now I am reading the Beautiful Creatures series with my 12 year old. She reads it, then I read it and then we talk about them. Its allowing us to have some really great conversations and the books are pretty good. Next she picked the City of Bones series and she is waiting for the last of the Divergent books to come out. And to think 18 months ago, I couldn’t get her near a book.
Jenni Hufford says
i love to read too and want to make more time for it.
remember babysitters club and sweet valley twins???? those were my faves!
Lynn hamm says
Stephanie huge reader like you and a huge fan of the library. I switched to reading on the iPad and borrowing from the library through overdrive after we moved to Japan 4 1/2 years ago. I agree reading from books are great but English books were harder to get in a foreign country and also I needed all my weight in my suitcase for other things when I did get to travel home. We are now in Australia for 5years and I’m looking forward to reading books from their libraries.
AmySorensen says
I am SOOO with you on the Kindle/Nook thing. It breaks my heart as well. And while I LOVE depressing books (is that weird?) I nodded in agreement with so many of these. Love this post and I might just respond to it on my blog!
sherried says
I love books, too. Thanks for sharing!
Danielle says
SO with you on the kindle thing! I love having books too much. AND on the staying up all night to read. Can’t tell you how many times my mom caught me reading under the covers with a flashlight. Great post!
Jennifer C says
Your definitely not alone… I hated Twlight, only read the first two books and I haven’t read 50 shades! I could have written what you wrote except I use bookmarks and I do love my Kindle. I still get books from the library to feed my need for a real book but anything I buy for myself is digital.
I too hope my girls love to read!
Shelby says
I love reading too. I confess I ended up getting a kindle because the stack of books I had accumulated drove me nuts. Now I just accumulate them on my kindle. When I was younger and on summer break I used to stay up until 4 or 5 am if I really loved a book. Ramona was one of my favorites too 🙂
You should share a list of books you’ve loved. I’d love some new recommendations 🙂
Pam says
I almost thought that I wrote that post. The parallels are uncanny. I didn’t even bother trying the Twilight series or 50 Shades of Gray because I knew I would hate them. I, too, refuse to get a Nook or a Kindle – just a real book, please. Mo’s books are pure genius – “Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus” – ever. I make cards, scrap & READ!
Lisa Martin says
I knew before I skimmed the comments there’d be a bunch of “oh that’s me to a T!!” but yeah, Oprah’s book club? sheeple much??? 50 shades of Grey ??? are you serious? I need an agent if that got published because I could write better than that with my freakin’ eyes closed. I only got a Kindle a week ago because I live way out in the country. My taxes don’t go to the library. So I’d have to buy a card. $65 for one year 🙁 I agree the feeling of books is the best. I actually got my sister to give me her card when she moved away but it expired 🙁
Helen says
I despise both Twilight and 50 Shades. You are not alone!
Gail Isles says
I always loved the Anne of Green Gables books (and all by L.M. Montgomery), and still read them every so often! However the one I absolutely love reading to my class of 8 year olds is Charlotte’s Web- it’s still hard to stop myself crying when Charlotte dies, even though I must have read it at least 10 times. Such a beautifully written book!
Katherine says
Great post!! I can attest to, if not all most!!
CJ says
Oh thank goodness someone else loathed Fifty Shades. I was so angry at the blatant copying of characters from the Twilight series – really, so very unoriginal, poorly written and just plain ridiculous. And Twilight – well – okay, at least it was more original, but yes, you are right, really not great. It is frustrating when rubbish books are bought in such numbers. Some of the best books I have read recently are His Dark Materials trilogy (Northern Lights, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass) by Philip Pullman. I think in America, Northern Lights is called The Golden Compass. They are just amazing – he has been called the greatest storyteller alive, and it is well justified I think. Anyway, thank you for this post, it was really enjoyable. Sorry for ranting!
Christine Campbell says
I have to admit, I was sucked into the whole Twilight thing and though it wasn’t for the writing and more for the idea of the series, I did enjoy them. It was different.
My favourite though was and still is, Harry Potter – JK Rowling amazes me, she really does. I’d die to meet her.
I’ve read better (and much racier) than 50 Shades but since my grandmother read it first (and was too embarrassed to go buy the second one- my mother had to go buy it for her) I had to see what all fuss was about.
LOVED the Anne of Green Gables series as a girl – I have antique versions of 5 out of the 8 books and am still on the hunt for the last 3. It’s a mission of mine. The older the better.
I enjoy James Patterson and liked the earlier John Grisham novels.
My all time favourite book though is still, To Kill a Mockingbird. Could read that over and over.
Thanks for sharing your love 🙂
furrypig says
I love books and now have to make the effort to read them as time just seems to disappear! I did read 50 shades of grey but it was soooooo badly written, completely unbelievable and very repetitive but wow she has amde a lot of money from that trilogy! Currently I am reading a street cat named bob which is so sweet xxx
dawn says
LOVE LOVE THIS POST!! This is a lot like me too, never read those books and don’t intend to either. The library is my home away from home, could live there and be so happy. I have to have a book or magazine with me at all times and read whenever I can fit in time. Some days have found me so lost in a book that dinner doesn’t get made and we order a pizza which I eat while still reading. When the kids and I go to the library we fill up our bags to the top and still a few that we have to carry, the people in line always tell me what a great thing it is for them to see. My one daughter is the bookworm out of the 4 of them and she loves to hold and smell the books and can’t get enough from reading. Sometimes it’s hard for her to find new books to read because she’s read all the ones there and that inspires her to go back and read all the younger day books, Little House on the Prarie, Bernstein Bears, Boxcar Children and more. My youngest who is my only son only likes reading and only when he has too. The few times he gets really into a book series I am right there with him though and making time to read at bedtime each night. I use to try forcing him to read more and finding books for him which just made him like it less so I’ve finally just let him lead the way and he may not read just for fun all the time but when he does, it makes my heart happy!!
There is one author that I’ve read since high school and have read all her books… Danielle Steele. The woman I use to babysit for read these and got me started on them.
Thanks so much for this inspiring post, happy reading to you!!
dawn says
So happy to see someone else who feels this way about cookbooks. I LOVE LOVE reading them just like a regular book. Thanks for reminding me, forgot to put that in my comment below. Everyone says I should be a great cook and be cooking all the time due to my obesession with cooking books. That is so far from the truth though, don’t really enjoy cooking and only read them for fun. One day it would be great to finally cook some of these recipes I keep reading over and over.
Happy reading to you!
Trish says
Amen, Amen and Amen! I adore books and any way to read them!
Vickey E. says
Oh, Stephanie — we are more alike than I realized! Especially considering age, etc. I Looove to read and always have. I am a bookworm and always will be. Now that I am a senior citizen though I find that I enjoy my Kindle because I can read the LARGE font and not strain my eyes so much. I really liked the Twilight series though, but I agree, life’s too short to read books you don’t like. I still like “real” books and I agree with the person who said they can’t remember the titles and authors without having the actual books in their hands. I was just saying the same thing to someone the other day. I read constantly and with something to read, I’m never bored — ever! My three grown daughters also like to read and one of my granddaughters is also a bookworm like me — we have a Florida vacation picture where we’re both in the living room at night, reading! I love that! Let’s hear it for the bookworms and let’s all keep reading! Love you, girlfriend. Am looking forward to your adventures in Italy too.
Vickey E.
Lyn says
I think you just described me to a tee with books…except I flat out
refused 50 shades of grey and loved twilight, ha!
julis says
Reading changed my life too..
I remember that when I was little I used to read with a flashlight under the blanckets when I suppose to be sleeping, but once my parents discover me and I couldn’t do it anymore :)but the passion for reading remains !
Natalie says
I also love reading. Love it. And I have a few things in common with you. I do not read a book or series because everyone else is. In fact that will make me avoid it like the plague. And I hated twilight and I haven’t attempted shades of grey!!! I will say the only reason I bought a kindle was for vacations. Having 3 kids and a van fun of stuff plus a bag with 5 books is just too much. So for traveling is easier with the kindle.
Lisa H says
Wow, our reading habits and likes/dislikes are so similar! I will have to check out some of your other recommendations. Thanks for sharing this!
Lisa S. says
thank you for for this! i too LOVE to read and have really enjoyed seeing the ones you’ve been choosing from the library for some new authors/ideas. i also HATED 50 shades, it truly was the most horrific writing ever. and i applaud you for being the example for your girls of what it looks like to love to read. my little one is a complete book lover and only 21 months 🙂 can’t wait to see which books she will love as she grows up!
Ruth says
It was Enid Blyton for me when I was a child (British writer from the 1940s and 1950s) ~ I’m not that old, but they were still popular in the late 70s and early 80s!
I think it was Cicero who said that a room without a book was a body without a soul (or thereabouts).
Shereen says
I loved this post. I’m a reader too, but haven’t always been. I remember loving to be read to as a child, but somewhere in my school years, I would say I hated it, but that would just be too harsh. Anyway, somewhere along the road I started loving it again. LOVING IT. It is my *cast off my troubles at the end of a difficult day* treat. I probably spend too much of my time doing it, my housekeeping skills would attest to that. But I need it to keep my sanity.
I’m not a fast reader as you are, but my daughter is. She swears if she put her mind to it she could read a thousand books in a year. I don’t think its possible, but have challenged her the last couple of years to keep track to see how many she does read. She hasn’t done it yet. I kept pretty close track last year of the books I read, may have missed one or two, but my total at the end of the year was 96. I could probably beat that this year, like I said my housekeeping will wait. 😉
Like you I don’t remember what I’ve read and if I’m reading a series, will go back to re-read the previous books to refresh my memory before reading the next edition.
Plus I have been known to stay up all hours to finish a can’t put down book.
OH, and the thing that DRIVES MY DAUGHTER CRAZY!: I read the final pages of *almost* every book I read… I have to know that everything’s going to be OK. If it’s not, I won’t read it. 😀
This feels like a good scrapbook topic!
Fay says
You sound like just my kind of reader – will check out some of the books you’ve noted. I don’t read what everyone else is reading either. Haven’t and don’t plan on reading Twilight or 50 Shades. Haven’t read Harry Potter but probably will at some point when my girls get interested. Currently I have one daughter who likes books but is a bit lazy (prefers to be read to) and another who is going to be a bookworm hopefully. Books are very much part of our family life.
crafty chic girl says
i’m a complete bookworm too! and i’m right with you on needing to have the book in hand…feel it…smell it…i just can’t do the kindle or ipad in place of a book.
kathy says
I was punished by my parents (as a child) by missing the bimonthly bookmobile trip. When my mother was asked (when I was getting my first library card at age 4) if she wanted to limit the number of books I could check out, she responded (like the bibliophile she is), “Why?” I used to sign out of class in elementary school for the bathroom, but go to the library instead.
I remember the first book I bought with my own money (and I still have it) _The Secret Garden_ by Frances Hodges Burnett. Cholera, India, Yorkshire, hidden doors, Diccon, and the robin are beloved images burned into my head…
If you like chick lit, check out Jill Mansell, Katie Fforde, and Hester Browne; they are British authors. I liked the _Bridget Jones_ books, but love these three authors. Typing this reminds me to check to see if they have anything new out.
alissaC says
I could have written this same list. I loved reading it!
Especially the not wanting to read what everyone else is reading. So funny. I thought I was the only one. But Im curious, what are the 2 regrets?
Mel Brewin says
Ooh I am an absolutely bookworm too & hubby thinks I read way too fast. Didn’t love twilight, have not even bothered with fifty shades & I love mixing it up too. I never thought I would ever go electronic as I love paper but my iPad is awesome!! I have to admit I still go to the library every week & borrow books. Love paper & my girls do too. We just started fancy nancy books & they LOVE them, I am sure your girls would too!!!
Kimberly ORosky says
I love when you post Instagram pics of your books. Always gives me great ideas. I’ve always been a huge bookworm as well and so far my two year old looks to be following in my footsteps. We must read every morning before she will eat breakfast then several times throughout the day. She even recites her favs. I love GoodReads and I also use Fict Fact to help me keep track of what I’ve read in series.
StaceyLynn says
You are not the only one who hated Twilight and Fifty Shades! The writing was horrible in both. I love books, I love to turn the pages and I love the way they smell and I resisted getting an eReader but I was this crazy person who rode the subway carrying an extra book just in case I finished the one I was reading. But my husband got me a Nook and I love it too! I still have books but I have so much more room in my bag and I swear I am not all hunched over from carrying so many books!
Shanon Gibson says
I love to read, too! It makes me happy. I can stay up all night reading and my husband says there is no way I can read so fast. I have always been a fast reader. I read every Nancy Drew book my library had when I was a kid. I am amazed that my kindergartener is reading! Since I have had kids though I tend to read more magazines than books. It is easier to sneak in an article since it is short, once I pick up a book I cannot just set it down. My husband bought me a Kindle Fire for Christmas and I was really hesitant but totally love it. I still go to the library and pick up real books and my kids love picking out new stories to read.
Cari says
I am right there with you Steph! I am the very same with books, with the exception that I do force myself to finish some books I shouldn’t. I almost always have a book with me because you never know when you might get stuck somewhere! My favorite authors right now are Louise Penny and Alan Bradley (both mystery writers). When I was younger I think that I read every Sweet Valley High book written at the time.
My oldest is not a big reader (although he will read), but my 10 year old twins are bigger book lovers than I am. They are always reading! They have competitions between the two of them to see which one can get the most AR points (reading tests for school). I think they both have the most in the school.
laurielariviere says
I LOVE to read too, anything by Nicholas Sparks, Jodi Picoult, Danielle Steele and I will admit that I am a Twi-Hard and have read the Twilight series four times each book…and I love the feel of books in my hand, will never own a kindle, my hubby loves his kindle, but it’s not for me
Koko @ Koko Likes says
Obsessed with this post. I am a HUGE reader, one book a week at least. I just grew up that way, Q can just pass out, but I NEED to read to fall asleep at night. Love this.
Stacy says
YAY!
I agree with almost every single point you have. My mom and I still have Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb memorized from her reading it to me over and over (dum ditty dum ditty dum dum dum). I will never own a kindle. I read for 10-15 minutes every night before I turn out the bedside light just to turn off my brain and refocus it on something besides my never-ending to-do list.
My mom used to buy my brother and I each a book every time we went somewhere that carried them because, “A book is not a toy.” He and I still read everything that isn’t nailed down, and we buy each other books for holidays and birthdays. I took my kids to the library every week when they were younger and let them check out as many books as they wanted. They still read voraciously (they’re 18 and 13).
I have three books started on my nightstand right now. I hated 50 Shades, enjoyed Twilight. I read all the Percy Jackson’s with my kids.
I could talk books with you all day (and secretly kind of wish that I could, as I don’t have many friends that read like I do). I am so glad you are instilling a love of books with your children.
MelanieJ says
I love YA books too. Have you read Into the Woods and Out of the Woods by Lyn Gardner? Very fun reads that your girls will love when they are a little older. Also, I just finished The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander. Amazing! Such a great message. Oh, and love love love These is My Words (and Sarah’s Quilt and Star Garden that follow) by Nancy Turner.
Christina A. says
Hey, so I started keeping a “Books I’ve read” journal in 2000 (woah, it’s been 12 1/2 years! I feel old) so that when people asked me for book suggestions, or that innocent “what’s your favorite book?” question I don’t look at them blankly like an illiterate idiot. I can NEVER remember what I’ve read, except that now all I have to do is open up my little journal and look at the titles…sometimes it sparks my memory as to what they were actually about…ha ha…but at least I have an answer to give!! And I can also tell which books are my favorite because they have popped up the the list over and over. I like it when you share the book you are currently reading. I have read some of them and liked them!
Sonya says
I LOVE to read! My husband LOVES to read! Our son LOVES to read! We lived for 6 months in Alaska without a TV and survived through the library! My husband bought me an ipad for Christmas because I couldn’t read books on my iphone anymore, even WITH my glasses! I did not read 50 shades of grey, because I think it is pornography geared toward women. I did, however, LOVE Twilight, even though I don’t like vampire lit, because I viewed it as a love story. I read the entire series in 7 days. The best present I ever got when I was young was an entire brown grocery bag filled to the brim with used books. I feel bad for people who never learned the joy of reading for pure enjoyment.
Valerie says
A perennial favourite in the UK and of our boys when they were little is “The Gruffalo” – don’t know how well known it is in the US but I’d highly recommend as it’s won lots of awards and the BBC made it into a short animated programme and it debuted on Christmas Day in the afternoon. I think all your girls would enjoy it – it’s quite funny. It’s by Julia Donaldson who also wrote another favourite ” A Squash and a Squeeze”.
From my childhood, Enid Blyton books were my favourite and top of the list was “The Enchanted Wood” series. I think Harper would LOVE those. I had scores of Enid Blyton books and read them several times.
I can’t imagine not reading – that seems too terrible!
Elizabeth W. says
I, too, refuse to read what’s in, haha. I will never read Twilight or 50 shades. Have no desire.
You MUST, must, must read “These is My Words”, if you haven’t yet.
Wendy F says
Mo Willems is fantastic! My fave is, There is a Bird on My Head!
Emily B says
I’ve been traveling the last couple of weeks and finally had some time to catch up on your life 🙂 I have to say that I am SO thankful for your love of books! When I traveled full time I would read a book a day, now I only read when I do travel. Over the last couple of weeks I finally gave in and tried Mary Kay Andrews. I am OBSESSED! Thank you for the inspiration to start on another author! I can’t get enough! Hugs!!
Summer says
I swear, Stephanie! You and I are kindred spirits when it comes to reading. I was nodding with everything you said. And I thought I was the only one who read the whole Mandie series as a kid! Thanks for making me smile.
Asha says
When anyone ever asked me what my favorite toy was, I’d say books. I was obsessed with reading as a child, I try to now as much as I can but I’m really busy.
I refused to read 50 Shades of Grey because I heard they were horribly written.
I’m currently reading The Secret Garden to my daughter every night before bed. It’s such a wonderful book that not only she’s enjoying but I am too. I don’t know how this book got by me when I was younger.
Becca says
I think you are my reading twin! As I was reading what you wrote, I was saying “yes, yes,yes”. Becca 🙂
sarah says
i shouted YES! after several of these confessions…
i LOVE hand hand fingers thumb. one of my most favorite books to read to kids. my favorite baby shower gift to give is a stack of my favorite kids books and i usually try and include hand hand fingers thumb if i can. and don’t even get me started on ramona. i’m also horrible about remembering what books were about, updating my goodreads and i cannot make myself join the hype on books (or tv shows, which is why i’ve never watched ‘lost’). though, i did unfortunately read the 50 shades series. well, skimmed them is more like it — so horrible!