I began reading books at the age of four. Schooled by a perfectionist mother and a very supportive elder sister, I fell in love and was lost in the written word.
My earliest memory of reading is Dr. Seuss's The Cat in the Hat. I couldn't pronounce all the words correctly yet and I remember freezing when my mom would sit in front of me to listen. It was better when it was my elder sister as she would patiently guide me and enunciate the words.
I found the book to be crazy and whimsical because who would put a hat in a cat! Yet I loved the concept and silliness. It fired the imagination and removed the limits of what is possible.
I remember seeing a strange man by the door one day. He was wearing a tie and crisp white shirt. No matter how hard I try to remember I can't picture his face anymore just what he wore that day. Apparently, he was selling encyclopedias and thus began my first reading project.
When it was delivered I remembered being open- mouthed amazed at so many hardbound books. It was placed on its own bookshelf newly purchased and you can smell how newly printed the books were.
I tentatively reached out to the first one with an embossed letter A on its side. It felt heavy in my hands. I turned the page and thus I learned everything starting with A back then.
I was drawn to people, history, and stories. I kinda skipped over the math and poetry stuff. I loved reading about ancient kings and queens, of wars fought, won and lost, of military tactics and technology, and the rise and falls of empires.
I enjoyed reading about religion and philosophy and at an early age saw the divide they had yet there were similarities in thought. They just arrived at their truth differently.
I enjoyed the fables and anecdotes from Africa to Latin America. It showed how diverse our cultures are and the beliefs each nation had.
I love the facts about the continents, nations, people, culture, and customs it showed. I love the animals from the smallest plankton to the extinct dinosaurs.
It took me some time to finish it and I would say one of the reasons for my near-sighted eyesight because I read in the dark using a flashlight but when I was done it was such an accomplishment.
You know that smart-aleck kid you hated in grade school because he knew all the trivia. I was that kid.
Since I was done with the encyclopedias it was time for new books! I remember going to my 2nd sister's room and rummaging through her stuff like any other pesky, little brother does. I found her stash of Sweet Valley High books and read them all.
My elder sister had other taste as she collected Archie comics and The Adventures of TinTin. I still laugh when I see images of Captain Haddock swearing at Snowy. Technically it's not a book but it was still in written form.
To my mother's dismay, I found her Sidney Sheldon books and read those too. I could not think what the big deal was because I read all of those stuff in encyclopedias.
When I entered school it brought with the perks of a larger library. I became best friends with librarians and I thought it was the coolest job ever to be surrounded by books. They would give me recommendations on what to read.
I mostly stayed in fiction as now I devoured the classics like Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. I immersed myself in Greek, Roman and Norse Mythology and laughed at Aesop's fables.
High school came and with it was a lot of book reports. My classmates hated book reports and they would go buy that Clifford notes and cheat their way into a book report. I on the other hand absolutely loved doing book reports as it opened a way for me to talk about how I understood and felt about the book.
This was special to me because of its message. At this time I was having a lot of family problems and as short and often dismissed as for kids this helped me put away some of my darkness away. In a way books were balms to my troubled soul.
I also started with more Fantasy novels at this post as I borrowed the complete works of J. R. R. Tolkien, Ursula K. Le Guin and R. A. Salvatore.
One of the reasons why I took up Philosophy was it was a good pre-Law course for me. Although I would say that a bigger reason was that it only had two math subjects in the entire curriculum so off to enrollment I go!
The first week of classes and several books were listed that needed to be finished and discussed during the course of the semester. I was in heaven.
We read and discussed the Ancient Greek Philosophies, the classics like Plato, Arisotle and Socrates. The Dark ages and how religion almost destroyed civilization, to the Renaissance and the minds of Descartes, Spinoza, Kant, and Kierkegaard. Even Nietzche was discussed or more apt was debated. To balance that out the works of the Doctors of the Church like St. Augustine and St. Francis were taught.
Speed reading and comprehension were skills that were needed because a chapter would be assigned today and next day you are expected to be able to defend or refute it.
For fun I would be reading books by Stephen King, Tom Clancy, and John Grisham.
This was also the time I discovered The Wheel of Time series which would consume me for the next decade as I eagerly read each new book that was released. It pained me when Robert Jordan died and the book series was not yet done but grew hopeful when announced that Brandon Sanderson was given the monumental task to finish it.
I then discovered his work and his Stormlight Archives became an instant favorite of mine.
I still read a lot of books and even with being busy with a career, life and Steemit I am able to finish a book a week. I just don't get enough sleep!
I now read books about leadership like Simon Sinek and John Maxwell. I even read a lot of Gary Vaynerchuck. I bought and read all the Game of Thrones books and waiting for the next one!
So I have never stopped reading and my love for books continue on.
This quote shows the importance of reading books.
So how did you start your love for books?