As a kid, I used to spend most of my time reading. During high school and college, I definitely lost that need to have my nose in a book (except that I do recall reading all the Twilight books).
Around the time I had my first daughter, I ordered a bunch of books to help me with those sleepless nights. Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng was the book that got me right back into reading and turned me back into a “reader.”
One user in the /books subreddit asked other Reddit users what book turned them onto reading, and this list is definitely worth taking note of for our kids and ourselves!
The OP wrote, “For me I feel like I’ve been a reader, well, since I could read. There were certain kids books I would read over and over again, and I would usually read at least a few books a year just for fun, In addition to school books (I’ve never been a fast reader, so a handful of books a year is pretty good for me). Probably one of the first books I really loved and read multiple times (even into adulthood) was *Caddie Woodlawn*. I’ve heard of other people who become readers later in life, after they are done with school and feel like they have more time to actually read for fun. What was it like for you?”
Several people in the Reddit thread admitted that they started their love of reading so early on in their lives that they don’t really recall a time when they weren’t into reading.
“I have no memory of not reading. I got that and talking very early, apparently,” one user wrote.
Another said, “I’m right there with you. If I were to be asked what’s the first book I remember it’d likely be Goodnight Moon or Very Hungry Caterpillar, but as for a book that “started” it…..I just grew up in it. Every wall of almost every room of my childhood houses were covered in bookshelves, with mountains of boxes more in garage/attic. Weekly trips to library & used book stores…”
“Basically since I could read at about 4. I come from a family of readers. The first book I could read on my own was ‘I am a Bunny,’” echoed another.
Some noted that they were kids when their love of reading stuck.
“I was eight or so. Picked up a Red Wall book and that’s all it took. Reader since then,” one person wrote.
“I used to steal my sister’s Babysitters’ Club books when I was 8 because I didn’t have any books of my own,” another said.
“I was 8. The book was Ramona Quimby Age 8,” one user noted.
For others, they became “readers” much later in life.
“I’m 33. It was like a month ago. Lost Mans Lane was fucking phenomenal,” one user said.
Another wrote, “23. I used to hate reading and refused it. Now I love it. The first two books that I read in adulthood (to give it a second chance outside of the childhood learning environment) were And Then There Were None, Agatha Christie and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Ken Kesey.”
Other books listed in the read are as follows:
The Famous Five series by Enid Blyton
Babysitter’s Club Little Sister series by Ann M. Martin
James & The Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
Sheila the Great by Judy Blume
Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins
Sideways Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sachar
Animorphs series by Katherine Applegate
Read the entire Reddit thread here.
