My Reading Life by Carolyn
Our writing group decided we would all post something about what we have been reading for this round of posts. This is a little problematic for me, because my reading life has been quite different these past few years than it has been before – the result of working on a degree with a large amount of required reading. I assure you, the majority of what I have been reading recently would not be of interest to the general public! I decided to take a little journey through my reading life . . .
I have been a reader as long as I can remember. My sister, Candace, is about two-and-a-half years older than I am. Many evenings and weekends she taught me what she had learned in school. Because of her, I learned to read at a very young age. Throughout my childhood I read voraciously, using
books to broaden my world, travel to faraway worlds, and live events with the characters that I would
never get to experience myself. The books I remember most from my younger years are the Little House on the Prairie books by Laura Ingalls Wilder. One of my most prized possessions was a set of those books that I read and reread and reread until they were stained and dog-eared. I also enjoyed historical fiction, such as Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brinks or Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt. What I read in those types of books had a big impact on the pretend play I did, envisioning myself as someone else in another place and time.
l almost always had a book with me during those years, and cracked it open at every opportunity – when I had finished my work at school, riding in the backseat of the car, lying in bed at night before drifting off to sleep, and definitely whenever we traveled. Having something to read is a habit I have continued all of my life, although these days I am more likely to pack my Kindle than a suitcase full of books. They can get pretty heavy!
In my teen years, I got hooked on Harlequin romances. I think I read every single one they published for quite a few years. I have vivid memories of going to the used book store (no such thing as Half-Price Books then) and scouring the shelves for titles I had not read yet. These days, Harlequin publishes about twenty different series of romances, with every slant you can imagine: paranormal, historical, billionaires, cowboys, etc., with various degrees of titillation. Back then, there was only one kind of story, which was very clean, not even a hint of anything beyond a kiss. I miss those less-
complicated days. At some point, I discovered an author named Emilie Loring, who had written dozens of romances spanning the 40s through the 70s. I acquired all of her books through the years and still have that collection, which I have read more times than I can count.
During my teen years I got interested in reading about true crimes. I vividly remember shivering and shrinking in terror as I read about Charles Manson and his followers. My mother fussed at me, “Why do you do that to yourself?” That interest morphed into an enjoyment of less-terrifying fictional mysteries, contemporary or historical, American or British. This line of reading has kept me intrigued for many years. I can’t even begin to count how many mysteries I have read! My only stipulation for the ones I read is that they not be too scary or too gory – I don’t want to lay awake with fear, jumping at every little noise in the house!
In addition to these trends in my reading life, I am a very eclectic reader. I have always read a large variety of things, really anything I could get my hands on. I’ve probably read much more fiction than non-fiction, but I do read non-fiction too. I am intrigued by interesting historical tidbits, etymology, human interest, exotic places, pretty much anything. There are far too many books, series of books, genres, and sub-genres I have enjoyed to name them all. I decided to look through the piles of books in my study to snap some photos that will represent my reading habits:
As you can see, a wide variety!
As I have been writing this, I have come to envision my reading life as a river: it flows constantly onward, with some very deep, long-lasting channels in it. The main flow is occasionally joined by other streams, which come and go according to my interests and stages of life. I hope the river will continue to flow throughout my life.
Our writing group decided we would all post something about what we have been reading for this round of posts. This is a little problematic for me, because my reading life has been quite different these past few years than it has been before – the result of working on a degree with a large amount of required reading. I assure you, the majority of what I have been reading recently would not be of interest to the general public! I decided to take a little journey through my reading life . . .
I have been a reader as long as I can remember. My sister, Candace, is about two-and-a-half years older than I am. Many evenings and weekends she taught me what she had learned in school. Because of her, I learned to read at a very young age. Throughout my childhood I read voraciously, using
books to broaden my world, travel to faraway worlds, and live events with the characters that I would
l almost always had a book with me during those years, and cracked it open at every opportunity – when I had finished my work at school, riding in the backseat of the car, lying in bed at night before drifting off to sleep, and definitely whenever we traveled. Having something to read is a habit I have continued all of my life, although these days I am more likely to pack my Kindle than a suitcase full of books. They can get pretty heavy!
In my teen years, I got hooked on Harlequin romances. I think I read every single one they published for quite a few years. I have vivid memories of going to the used book store (no such thing as Half-Price Books then) and scouring the shelves for titles I had not read yet. These days, Harlequin publishes about twenty different series of romances, with every slant you can imagine: paranormal, historical, billionaires, cowboys, etc., with various degrees of titillation. Back then, there was only one kind of story, which was very clean, not even a hint of anything beyond a kiss. I miss those less-
complicated days. At some point, I discovered an author named Emilie Loring, who had written dozens of romances spanning the 40s through the 70s. I acquired all of her books through the years and still have that collection, which I have read more times than I can count.During my teen years I got interested in reading about true crimes. I vividly remember shivering and shrinking in terror as I read about Charles Manson and his followers. My mother fussed at me, “Why do you do that to yourself?” That interest morphed into an enjoyment of less-terrifying fictional mysteries, contemporary or historical, American or British. This line of reading has kept me intrigued for many years. I can’t even begin to count how many mysteries I have read! My only stipulation for the ones I read is that they not be too scary or too gory – I don’t want to lay awake with fear, jumping at every little noise in the house!
In addition to these trends in my reading life, I am a very eclectic reader. I have always read a large variety of things, really anything I could get my hands on. I’ve probably read much more fiction than non-fiction, but I do read non-fiction too. I am intrigued by interesting historical tidbits, etymology, human interest, exotic places, pretty much anything. There are far too many books, series of books, genres, and sub-genres I have enjoyed to name them all. I decided to look through the piles of books in my study to snap some photos that will represent my reading habits:
As you can see, a wide variety!
As I have been writing this, I have come to envision my reading life as a river: it flows constantly onward, with some very deep, long-lasting channels in it. The main flow is occasionally joined by other streams, which come and go according to my interests and stages of life. I hope the river will continue to flow throughout my life.
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