Hello. My name is Allison. And I am a Readaholic.
“The more you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.” ~Dr. Seuss
I was going to post a review on a book I just finished but the more I thought about it, I first wanted to share about my love of reading. It seems natural to me, that understanding my love of reading should come before my attempt at explaining a book I have read. To begin, I have enjoyed reading for quite a long time. I remember in my early elementary days being really jealous of the kids who knew how to read before me but it didn’t take me long to catch up. I remember adoring that special time of the year known as the “Book Fair” and being thrilled when the teacher sent home those thin paper book “catalogues.” My mother, bless her heart, would usually end up buying me a book or two. My most exciting elementary book memory was when she got me the subscription to The Baby-Sitters Club club. Every month three books would come to me in the mail with little notebooks, pencils, and assorted prizes. I believe this might have been when my obsession with books began.
As I got older, into my late high school and college years, I didn’t read for fun as much. I was supposed to be studying and just didn’t make time for reading. But I eventually found my way back to my old love. Now this is the part where I must beg you not to judge. What really reignited my passion for reading was…Twilight. Yes, I know, I‘ve heard all the arguments against the series. (I realize it is not the most brilliant piece of written word and that Bella is not the best female role model.) But, alas, I can’t help it. I loved it and still do! Once I read the Twilight saga, I started searching out similar stories: other vampire books, other young adult fiction, other supernatural creatures, other love stories, so forth and so on. Now I am reading a fairly diverse set of fiction but I have found that I truly love the genre referred to as Young Adult Literature (YA). (Besides Twilight, think Harry Potter, Hunger Games, and many others you might not be familiar with…yet, but don‘t worry if you keep reading my blog you‘ll soon find some other good reads.) I think what I enjoy most about YA is the books are [usually] well written. (Think about it, kids wouldn’t waste their free time reading a book that wasn’t any good.) And also, I am enamored by angst filled love stories.
When I read a good book, I’m the kind of person who starts to think of the characters as my friends. I experience a sense of loss when the book is over. (This is why I tend to gravitate towards book series, my friends don‘t leave me yet! YaY!) I’ve been known to both laugh and cry while reading. Words can be incredibly powerful and beautiful. I think that I generally just love words. I love quotes, song lyrics, listening to public speakers, and good conversations. I love a good turn of phrase. And I just really adore books.
These days I try to read as much as possible and I stalk, I mean passionately follow, authors whenever possible. (My hubs just called me an “author groupie,” ha ha.) But really authors are like rock stars in my eyes. There is nothing like having a book signed by the person that wrote it, especially after you have gotten to hear them explain some of their thoughts, process, and experiences. The books just seem to come more alive at that point.
Confession: I originally only gave my number to now husband because he had the book hook up at his job. Lucky for me he turned out to be almost as big a book nerd as me! In our house we have a whole room dedicated to our “library” with probably, no lie, over 600 books. Hubs estimates we have gone to 10-20 book signings in the past 2.5 years.
The point being, I am a passionate reader and it is a HUGE part of me. I’m looking forward to sharing my thoughts on books that I have enjoyed and hope that you will to. And I hope you will share with me any good books you come across, lest my “to be read” pile starts to dwindle.
Be looking out for my first review on “Whatcha Reading Wednesday!” I just finished Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare and I’m starting Three to Get Deadly by Janet Evanovich. I also try to keep an audio book going in the car, my current selection is An Abundance of Katherines by John Green. Happy reading y‘all!!!
