Imagine sitting for hours and hours, flipping through the pages of some new book your teacher wants you to become “FAMILIAR” with before next week’s test. You know in the back of your mind that you probably won’t get through the first chapter let alone the first couple of pages. Then your teacher announces that the test has to be moved up because she will be absent on the day you were originally supposed to be tested. You think “Ah no biggie, I’ll just spark notes it or something the day before.” Little do you know that the book isn’t located online yet because it was just published a month ago! You scramble to skim through the book two hours before class starts and a few minutes before the teacher hands you the test, your mind goes BLANK!!! Whatever are you going to do? This has happened to me countless times in my youth. Books became an essential part of my life when I was in my early teen years. I never really paid much attention to them at first and only read when I had been told to by my teachers. School books weren’t of any interest to me and neither were any other types of books. I preferred to spend my free time listening to music and doing other creative things like writing stories, poetry, and many miscellaneous subjects. My love for books started when I entered seventh grade and since then I have read many genres such as African American Romance, Drama, Humor, and Mystery/Suspense regularly. I am very proud of my reading habits because I feel like there is something out there for everyone to be interested in.
Later on I started to read more about other topics. It was amazing how I went from not reading at all to practically reading every chance I got. The more I read, the more I became aware. Reading helped me to broaden my thinking skills, and to also become socially active. I started hanging around people with similar interests and this was really important to me because I was shy and almost never talked to anyone unless I had too. This is why I spent most of my time alone writing my own stories. I was given a book as a gift from a friend when I was in the eighth grade. I remember him asking me what kinds of things I liked to do and me replying that I liked to read. He had no idea what type of books I was interested in because I forgot to mention it and he just bought me anything. I have yet to remember the title of it but I remember everything that happened in this book. I took my time getting around to reading it because this type of story was not common to me. It was a mystery/suspense novel that was somewhat like a ghost story where you had to figure out what was happening and why. I didn’t want to be rude and turn the book down so I kept it. When I finally got around to reading this book I found that I couldn’t put it down. It turned out to be a very good book and helped me to open my eyes to what else was out there. Brenda Jackson also wrote a few mystery/suspense novels that I loved titled The Savvy Sistahs and Ties That Bind. I like to call these two books my “who-done-it” books because they kept me guessing until I reached the end.
The last of the genres I like to read is humor. In middle school I read a series about a mischievous pre-teen named Alice McKinley by author Phyllis Reynolds Naylor. These books were quite humorous and fun to read as I followed along with the many MIS-ADVENTURES of Alice. She was always into something that led to trouble but at the same time, she encountered many situations that were not so thrilling. After leaving middle school I no longer kept up with the series but I’m sure Phyllis Reynolds Naylor has developed Alice’s character from a young lady to a fully functional teenage girl with lots more issues than she can handle. I enjoy anything that makes me laugh and the most entertaining book I’ve read recently is titled The Incident of the Curious Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon. The book’s main character is a 15 year boy with autism. While some may find this book not meant to be funny, I had a few laughs while reading it. Christopher being the way he is made the book enjoyable to read. His lack of capability to understand emotion and take the world “literally” makes this book fascinating and touching all at the same time.
As you have probably already noticed, I am a very avid reader. It’s a big change from being the one who always skimmed through stories and not really reading at all. Now I can say that there’s really not much I haven’t read. I read regularly and I am very proud of that fact. Most people my age don’t read and it’s sad because READING REALLY IS FUNDAMENTAL. Not only does it stimulate your mind but it also gives you knowledge of what’s out there in the world. I read to stay informed and in order to do that I have to take the time to pick up a book. In doing so I discovered that the authors are an important element in understanding books but they aren’t the ones that keep me reading; it’s the characters that have me continuously turning pages with their never ending tales of romance, drama, mystery/suspense, and humor.
At first, I became interested in reading books that focused on African American Drama and Romance. The first book I ever finished reading was titled Imani All Mine by Connie Porter. It was about a 15 year old honor student who was raped by a boy she liked and became pregnant. Now I won’t summarize the whole book but it was an amazing story. The narration, setting, and issues made it easier for me to understand this teen and the obstacles she was facing in the story. I have read many of Connie Porter’s other novels that were similar to this one and that sparked my interest in reading books about teen issues. I have also gained interest in reading other African American fiction novels that focus on the issues teens are facing in urban communities. Another genre I took notice in at a young age was African American Romance. Brenda Jackson is the author responsible for piquing my interest in this genre. She is an excellent Romance Fiction writer and one of my favorites. Most of her books are written in series so I have already finished nearly all of them. Being introduced to these types of books eventually made it easier for me to read and accept all kinds of books.
Later on I started to read more about other topics. It was amazing how I went from not reading at all to practically reading every chance I got. The more I read, the more I became aware. Reading helped me to broaden my thinking skills, and to also become socially active. I started hanging around people with similar interests and this was really important to me because I was shy and almost never talked to anyone unless I had too. This is why I spent most of my time alone writing my own stories. I was given a book as a gift from a friend when I was in the eighth grade. I remember him asking me what kinds of things I liked to do and me replying that I liked to read. He had no idea what type of books I was interested in because I forgot to mention it and he just bought me anything. I have yet to remember the title of it but I remember everything that happened in this book. I took my time getting around to reading it because this type of story was not common to me. It was a mystery/suspense novel that was somewhat like a ghost story where you had to figure out what was happening and why. I didn’t want to be rude and turn the book down so I kept it. When I finally got around to reading this book I found that I couldn’t put it down. It turned out to be a very good book and helped me to open my eyes to what else was out there. Brenda Jackson also wrote a few mystery/suspense novels that I loved titled The Savvy Sistahs and Ties That Bind. I like to call these two books my “who-done-it” books because they kept me guessing until I reached the end.
The last of the genres I like to read is humor. In middle school I read a series about a mischievous pre-teen named Alice McKinley by author Phyllis Reynolds Naylor. These books were quite humorous and fun to read as I followed along with the many MIS-ADVENTURES of Alice. She was always into something that led to trouble but at the same time, she encountered many situations that were not so thrilling. After leaving middle school I no longer kept up with the series but I’m sure Phyllis Reynolds Naylor has developed Alice’s character from a young lady to a fully functional teenage girl with lots more issues than she can handle. I enjoy anything that makes me laugh and the most entertaining book I’ve read recently is titled The Incident of the Curious Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon. The book’s main character is a 15 year boy with autism. While some may find this book not meant to be funny, I had a few laughs while reading it. Christopher being the way he is made the book enjoyable to read. His lack of capability to understand emotion and take the world “literally” makes this book fascinating and touching all at the same time.
As you have probably already noticed, I am a very avid reader. It’s a big change from being the one who always skimmed through stories and not really reading at all. Now I can say that there’s really not much I haven’t read. I read regularly and I am very proud of that fact. Most people my age don’t read and it’s sad because READING REALLY IS FUNDAMENTAL. Not only does it stimulate your mind but it also gives you knowledge of what’s out there in the world. I read to stay informed and in order to do that I have to take the time to pick up a book. In doing so I discovered that the authors are an important element in understanding books but they aren’t the ones that keep me reading; it’s the characters that have me continuously turning pages with their never ending tales of romance, drama, mystery/suspense, and humor.
