Week Nine Essay: First Memories of Reading

My first memories of reading are probably pretty cliche. My mom used to read Harry Potter to me when I was younger, so I grew up loving the series. I fell in love with the storyline and the characters and as I got older, so did they. So naturally, I went to every book and movie premiere, appropriately dressed, and cried every time a character died (Dobby, why).

That wasn't the only series I grew up with though. I also read all of the Laura Ingalls Wilder books.. And there are a lot. I loved that series. I loved the idea of growing up in the midwest during that time period when there weren't that many people. I got lost in her adventures and sense of excitement whenever they moved. I wanted to live in a log cabin so badly and make my own maple syrup candy poured on snow (which I actually did at home). I wanted to grow up in the town by the Silver Shores and meet Almanzo... The list goes on and on.

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I think through my experiences of my mom reading to me and finally reading by myself, I found I have always loved reading. You can get lost in books and really live in different places, time periods and through the eyes of someone else. I have always read for pleasure, even through school, and enjoy doing that more than watching TV. I want to read all the classics, including all the books you're supposed to read in high school. I loved To Kill A Mockingbird and The Great Gatsby. In high school I read Love In The Time of Cholera and Crime and Punishment among others. I read many Jane Austen novels and am currently reading Anna Karenina.

I also enjoy some of the more recently published books. From the popular series The Hunger Games and Divergent to others like The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and Gone Girl. As for genres, I don't have a preference. I love historical fiction though, and have enjoyed reading books by Philipa Gregory, who writes about King Henry VIII and his seven wives. Through her books I have a window into history and how events played out there. I love reading about English court and Henry's long tyrannic reign. I also like the post apocalyptic style that many of the popular series feature, because I think they pose interesting questions about the human nature and that of society. I find it fascinating to read into the idea that if everything we knew fell, how would people in power design society next and why.