I have been reading for as long as I can remember. These days, I read endlessly. Every single day without fail. I know this because I read before bed. There are some days I read while I’m having lunch or even take an afternoon off if I’m engrossed in something. Otherwise, I turn on my Kindle every night and read until I fall asleep. You know that saying “Just one more chapter”? That’s my motto.
And there really is no method to my madness as to what I read. Sometimes I’ll pick something that might help me with a book I’m writing. Similar genre or whatnot. But most of the time I just read whatever sounds good. I have my go-to authors who I stalk to see if they’ve got something new. I’ll preorder whenever possible and it’s like a surprise when I find it on my Kindle without realizing release day is upon me.
One of the very first books I remember reading is Are you there god? It’s me, Margaret. by Judy Blume. I think it’s a good memory because I couldn’t seem to stop reading the book once I started. Of course, I also remember reading The Babysitters Club. I devoured those books and remember wishing there were more. I would check them out at the school library, eager for the next in the series.
Personally, I like series because the story continues. I like to read about the characters I’ve come to love in future books. I think that’s the reason I’m prone to writing series versus stand-alones. I enjoy the world-building aspect of it.
One of my favorite apps is Goodreads because I can track all the books I read. My Kindle is linked directly so when I start or finish a book, it updates it. As you can see, I’m working on my reading challenge for this year. Because I spend so much time writing, I am a much slower reader. An hour a night mostly, sometimes a little more.
If you haven’t yet, find me on Goodreads.
What about you? Do you remember the first books you read? What age did you start? How much do you read these days? I’d love to know.