Obviously I love to read. It would be odd if I wrote reviews for books and hated to read, right? I get asked all the time why I love to read, or how I find the time to read.

I always read. You know how sharks have to keep swimming or they die? I’m like that. If I stop reading, I die. – Patrick Rothfuss

I’m incredibly lucky in that my awesome mother instilled in me a love of reading. I remember being very young and her reading to me, and when I got older I would read out loud to her. My grandfather built me an awesome toy chest and it was always full, but not with toys. I had that thing packed to the brim with books. It actually still is full of my childhood books in my parents attic (which I so need to move to my house lol).

I’m lucky because I was surrounded with people who loved books growing up. At my grandparents’ house there was an entire wall of built in bookshelves, which were of course packed with books. My grandpa always had a book by his chair. In our family we would go to my grandparents’ house every Saturday morning for donuts and hanging around with my cousins, aunts and uncles. I have vivid memories of reading in the corner of the living room. They had a great library of classics for children – Shakespeare, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, pretty much everything, and it was pared down to almost a graphic novel/book. Recently, when my grandpa died my cousin made sure to save some of these for me. I started crying immediately when I saw them because they’re so wrapped up in my memories of him.

I’m lucky because growing up my Mom took me to the library all the time. I loved story time. I could never carry all the books I wanted. This continued and I remember stopping at the library after school all the way until I graduated High School. I also remember the fines I racked up…good thing I worked as a teen and could pay some of them!

I’m lucky because now that I’m an adult I can appreciate all of those things and how they shaped me into who I am today. When my guidance counselor asked what I wanted to do as a profession I told her that I wanted to read books all day. The reading comprehension and understanding I gathered helped me excel in all my classes in college- obviously in my Literature classes but just as much in Business classes or Sociology classes. It definitely helped me be able to write papers for all my classes and in particular my 25 page thesis (you do not want to know the subject lol!).

Now I can’t go to sleep without reading. I consciously make an effort to go to bed much earlier than necessary so I can read for a few hours before bed. I’m lucky that I have a husband who understands my need to read. I can’t imagine my life without reading. It would be so much more boring and gray. I’m always astonished at statistics that show people who don’t read. My entire life would be different without the thousands of books I’ve read and in a bad way, of that I’m sure.

A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. The man who never reads lives only one. – George R.R. Martin

~ Clio