A Walk Through My Literary Life

For those of you, like me, who read a lot - I mean A LOT - I have a question. Were you always like that? Did you always love to read, or is it a more recent development?

I have always loved reading. I remember getting so excited in elementary school on the days when our Scholastic book orders came in, and all those pretty books were lined up in the back of the room. Back then, my favorites were the Sweet Valley High books. Not those new ones - the old school ones where Jessica and Elizabeth Wakefield were wholesome and good.

When I was in middle school, I found a box of my mom's old Nancy Drew books in the attic. I tried one, loved it, and before too long, I had read all of them. This was the beginning of my mystery/horror phase. Although I didn't read as much in high school (you know - boys took up a lot of my time then), I did try out some Dean Koontz (and some Danielle Steele in some weaker moments). In the late '90s, I read my one and only Steven King book - The Stand.

I, honestly, didn't start reading as voraciously as I do now until I was well into my 20s. And, I blame it all on Diana Gabaldon. Her Outlander series was recommended to me by some good friends, and once I read the first one, I didn't slow down until I had read all of the books in the series that were out.

Then came a little phenomenon called Harry Potter. The first few movies were already out, and I was curious about the books. I wondered if they were as good as the movies were. So, on a whim, I went to a book store one day and bought the first two in the series. I stared at them on the shelf for a few months before I actually read the first one. Why had I waited so long?!

The rest is history. I joined Goodreads, met an amazing group of women with incredible taste in books, and I've found myself reading more now than I ever have before.

What's even more exciting is that I'm seeing my 6-year-old daughter following in my footsteps. She read One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish to me tonight, and she did a fantastic job. A chip off the old block. :)