Gateway Book

Now, a friend of mine once asked me, "Why do you read so much?" Because honestly, if you had known me when I was much younger, you would know that reading was never at the top of my list. In fact, reading was a chore for me. I hated it to do. During reading time in elementary school I would just sit and stare at the pages and let the words slide right along, not taking anything in. I never understood the importance of reading or why people bothered. I mean, adults weren't sitting down and reading all the time, so why should I?

Well, when I got to middle school the whole "pretending to read" did not get me very far. In fact, sixth grade was the year I had to start writing book reports and giving presentations and actually doing research. I was dragged to the library against my will and it annoyed me to no end. I was getting terrible grades and was actually forced to take a special class for those kids who had reading disabilities. They actually thought it wasn't that I didn't want to read, but that I couldn't read.

So, what happened between when I was eleven to now? I found Nancy Drew! My dad introduced me to the series by buying me the first four books, and one day I was insanely bored. As in there was nothing on TV, I had yet to discover Myspace, and all my friends were on vacation somewhere (it was summer time). I had no choice but to either die of boredom or pick up Nancy Drew. And imagine my surprise when later that night my dad tried to get me to eat dinner, and I took the book with me because I couldn't put it down. I ate up the other three books that very week and demanded more.

We went to Barnes and Noble, and I bought more and more Nancy Drew books.

In the eighth grade I had to move to a different school and I was at a weird time in my life, so I didn't want to talk to anyone. And the only way I could avoid being social was to make it look like I was too busy to talk to people. So I went and bought Twilight and New Moon, and I wanted more.

I discovered Gossip Girl, The It Girl, The Clique, The A-List (I was thirteen at the time, don't judge, besides they were actually really good).

And I think that I have Laurie Faria Stolarz to thank for my insane obsession to the supernatural and especially witches. I just loved the idea of magic and the paranormal world.

After I entered high school I had a new book with me each day, and even if my life got increasingly hectic and left me without sleep for like two or three days (and yes, that is possible) I would still find time to read. So, I was really happy. Honestly, I can't tell you how many books I've read. I know that in the eighth grade I read somewhere around 124, but just because we had to keep track of what books we read.

Eighth grade was also the year I discovered Jodi Picoult and her wonderful work.

So, what had been your gateway book?