Who I Am As A Reader

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I love to read. A lot of kids my age don’t like to read or would rather do a lot of other things. But not me! I actually, genuinely, like reading. I read because books are interesting, or at least the well-written ones are. Good books make you think about the ideas and characters while you’re reading. Great books make you think about the ideas and characters all through the day until you can get home and read and read and read. Another reason I read is for that sense of accomplishment when you finish a book. I feel that I have achieved something great every time I get to the last page of an amazing book. 

I always have multiple books “on hold” in my mind, waiting until I finish my current book, and have the time to pick up another. I am part of three monthly book clubs, Durham Book Club, a mother-daughter book club, and the book club at my school, which are places to get my next book to read. Sometimes, my mom will go to the library and get me bunches of books that I probably wouldn’t have picked myself. But when we have the books in the house, I feel more compelled to read books from different genres and of a higher reading level. Some of which I read or are reading right now are, The Curious Incident of the Dog in The Night-time, Flowers for Algernon, To Kill A Mockingbird, and Outliers.  

My favorite genres are realistic fiction, fantasy, and some historical fiction books. One of my absolute favorite historical fiction books is The Great Trouble: A Mystery of London, The Blue Death, and a Boy Called Eel. This book is a mystery about science, but also a historical fiction. Another great historical fiction book is The War That Saved My Life. This book is set in the time of World War II.  I used to not read a lot of non-fiction books, but I have been reading some more lately. I find reading non-fiction books feels a lot more like work and not as much of an enjoyable thing I would choose to do. However, one great non-fiction book I read is, Terrible Typhoid Mary, because it doesn’t feel like a fact-packed non-fiction book, more like a crime busting story, which made it more fun to read.

It’s really hard for me to read books on electronic devices. The way the words seem to pop on the screen and the glow of the device make it not feel like a real book. My eyes and brain aren’t able to focus on the “pages” like they do on a paper book. I also have a hard time listening to audio books. My brain starts to wander and I zone out. By the time my thoughts return to the book I’m listening to, I’ve missed half the story! The only way I can listen to people reading me books is when I can see the pages of the book and follow along as they read. 

My goal is to read one hundred books this year. That means I have to finish a book every three to four days. I keep an ongoing digital list of the books I have read which helps me track my progress with my goal. On my list, I will add one to three hearts, depending on how much I liked the book. 

Do you have any book recommendations for me? Comment! I would love to hear them!