WHY I READ

I can sum up what I like to read in one word: Anything!

I enjoy reading cereal boxes, newspapers, junk mail, poetry, news magazines, comic books ... I'll read anything.

Reading is fun for me because it's like being caught in a sudden rain shower, or being the lucky person who finds the dollar in the dryer. Everything I read leaves me feeling smarter, even if all I'm reading is the warning label on a bottle of aspirin.

As far as reading preferences go, what I read depends on when I read. In the early morning, I like to read the newspaper, package labels and junk mail because the information is short, concise and interesting. During the workday, I want more informative materials, so I'll pick up a parenting magazine, a cookbook or something that is culturally significant.

My favorite time of day to read is late evening, just before I go to sleep. This is my down time, the portion of day when I want to get involved with characters and plot. That's when I indulge in my favorite type of book: historical romance novels.

This will probably shock a lot of people, but I've been reading historical novels since the sixth grade. I really like the way these books give details about the time period, including the clothing, historical characters and events.

The romance is nice, too.

I've never liked social studies or history classes, but I could draw a map of Ireland for you and go into great detail about the Civil War. My mom and dad might not want to admit it, but these books helped my knowledge of historical events during school and actually got me through a couple of questions on my college boards.

I was lucky that my parents didn't mind my reading these books. When I got to a subject or word I didn't understand, they'd direct me to the right source book, whether it was the dictionary or the encyclopedia, and I always felt proud that I found the answer myself.

I think that's the neat thing about reading -- you're learning as long as you're doing it. People might not agree with your choices, but as long as you're reading, it can't be all bad.

I chose romance novels, but I will and do read just about anything under the sun. My sister tried the novels but couldn't get into them. Just as my mom despaired of ever getting her to read, she discovered Stephen King.

Everybody's got to start somewhere.