If you walk into the house I grew up in, you will be faced
with numerous bookshelves. Living in such an environment makes it surprising
that I refused to read until I was eight, and even then I much preferred being
read to. Reading was something I did before going to bed; the rest of the day
was taken up with playing, and as I got older the dramas of teenage life. But occasionally
a book would come along that stole my attention from the world. One such book
was Peaches by Jodi Lynn Anderson; I lost count of the number of times I got it
out of the library, or how many times I asked for my own copy.
I had been creating stories for years, wanting to escape
reality, but one day I decided to start writing, wanting to follow in my great
grandmothers footsteps. My dad told me that if I wanted to be a good writer I would
need to read more that romantic teen-fiction. So my adventure with books truly
begun; from Little Women by Louisa May Alcott to Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck,
the list is still growing. But with every new book I learn something; by
knowing what is already out there I can create something new.
Then hopefully one day I will be able to join my great
grandmother, Elizabeth Taylor with my own name on a cover; well that is the
dream anyway.
I can relate so much to how you grew up. I loved being read to and constantly insisted that my mum read 'The Faraway Tree" to me even if she'd read it many times. I love the fact that your great-grandmother is a writer! Wow! That must be so amazing to know! (makes me wish mine was instead of a teacher haha)
ReplyDeleteI can relate to what you say, that you learn from every book you read and I beleive that's true. As writers, we broaden our understanding of the literary world through what we read. If we only read one genre, how would we be able to enjoy the endless tales in other genres?! It's madness to think some people only read one genre.
Wow, I'm really surprised by how you grew up. Normally, kids love reading and they can't get enough, from being read to and then graduating into being able to read themselves. Then as television becomes more exciting and you go to school and make friends, reading takes a backseat because suddenly there's no time. That's how it was for me anyway. It's kind of sad that now with technology continuing to evolve and this tablet fad, children aren't keen to read anymore. So I hope they realise and perhaps follow your route of suddenly reading loads! :)
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