Reading can open so many doors for people and this is apparent through these accounts.
"I opened my first
Goosebumps book in about 3rd-4th grade and became totally immersed in the simplicity of the horror stories. Something about how the stories were easy to read and comprehend kept me going back to the library again and again to check out these books"
"
Magic Tree House books opened a world of discovery for me. I learned so much through those pages. Imagination with a dash of factual information."
"When I started reading
Harry Potter in the 5th grade I never knew I could actually care about a fictional character as much as I did with the characters in that series. To do this day I get excited when I hear a Harry Potter reference."
"
Animorphs were filled with detail. I remember vividly the transformation passages where a human would transform into animal and back to human. That imagery captivated me."
"I read just about every Gary Paulsen book I could get my hands on in middle school, but
The Transall Saga was my absolute favorite. I have read it about 6 times since then and am always captivated by the mixture of survival story meets science fiction."
"
An Ocean in Iowa was one of those books that really made me realize that writing is really an art form. Took me back to my roots living in Iowa, but amazing story telling in the perspective of a young child left me speechless."
"I read
The Things they Carried in high school just for the hell of it. One of the most captivating reads ever. You want emotion, read this book. You want action, read this book. You want enlightenment, read this book."
"
Tuesday's With Morrie changes my perspective on life. I became a much more positive person through reading this book."
"Never have I felt so attached to a character as I did with Holden Caulfield in
The Catcher in the Rye. I felt, as I read this book, that I finally had someone who understood me. I had someone to relate to. My all time favorite book, hands down, no competition."
"Honestly, this is tough to admit, but I loved the first three
Twilight books. I couldn't make it through the 4th one, but man what an entrancing love story. It may seem embarrassing but wow, 800 pages never went so fast. Simplicity combined with captivation."
"I don't cry (very often) but when I read
The Fault in Our Stars I think I shed a few tears. Cliche as it may be, this book led me to an understanding of what life should be lived like."
"I have never been more motivated to complete something as I did when I read
Born to Run. In fact after I read the book I signed up for my first marathon, and then my first ultra marathon. I have run 2 full marathons since, and three ultra marathons in the span of a year."
The cool part about all of these accounts is they come from me, personally. I believe these books are have made me who I am today, in a positive way. I truly believe reading is such an important skill to have and too often we miss the ball in education. Only two of the above books were recommended or required by teachers. I read the other books because I wanted to. So out of all of the books I was forced to read through middle school and high school, only 2 made the list of important to my life. Doesn't that say something about what we require kids to read? I am thankful for the opportunities to engage in those readings, but what if we gave complete choice?
These accounts could have easily been by anybody else, or by totally separate people. The only books people need to read are the ones they want to read. That's my opinion and I stand by it. There is not one single book I believe every person has to read. No, English teachers, Shakespeare might not be the most necessary and neither is that one book about a mockingbird. I believe each of the above books had a profound impact on me, whether it was something deep and classic like
Catcher in the Rye or some fluff reading like
Twilight. The bottom line is, I was reading and I enjoyed it. I did not enjoy (and maybe just didn't read) most of the books my teachers "required" out of me (I actually read
Catcher in the Rye for the first time after I graduated and picked it up myself). Thanks to Sparknotes I was able to pass every test I was given on any piece of "literature" I was forced upon. Isn't that a problem? We want kids to read, so we force them to do it (based on teacher choice), then force them to test over it? Interesting approach. Oh by the way, I was an ELA teacher for 3 years.
