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In elementary school, I mostly read picture books and books that were appropriate for my age such as If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. I used these books to earn my AR points by the deadline and didn't really get into more challenging texts until I was older. I loved getting to go to the book fair and finding new books that I could add to my collection at home.
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I made the transition from picture books to chapter and series books. The first chapter books I read were Junie B. Jones and Rotten School books. I would read these books in the car and when I came across a word that I didn't know I would spell it out for my mom or older brothers. They would tell me how to pronounce it and what it meant. This taught me the importance of context because sometimes I would have to read the complete sentence for them if an unknown word had multiple meanings.
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Throughout my years in upper intermediate school, our librarian would read aloud to us for half of the time we were in there. I would always get distracted and never be able to catch back up with what the librarian was reading. At this point in my life, I realized that I am not an auditory learner and that I need to read along when someone is reading aloud.
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During this time I really only read the books that we were reading in class or that I was required to read. The book I remember the most from this time was Animal Farm and I thought it was too complex so I couldn't enjoy it. I also got involved into sports at my school while I was in middle school so that decreased the amount of time that I had to read outside of school.
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When my school district started implementing DEAR (Drop Everything and Read) day in middle school, I lost interest in reading. I was forced to read so I didn't enjoy it as much and would stare at the pages until DEAR time was over. I viewed it as a waste of time because I was focused on everything else I could have been doing.
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I found the genre of books that I enjoy reading the most: romance novels. This passion started when I read The Notebook and The Longest Ride, then developed when I read The Selection series. This was the first time that I couldn't put books down once I started them. Every since then, romance novels are my first choice because I can relate to the characters more and visualize what is occurring.
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Since being in college I haven't really had time to read except for what is required in my classes. I mainly read textbooks or educational articles and not really for pleasure. Since being in this class I have rediscovered my love for books and I have started re-reading books that I enjoyed reading in the past.
