Reading Influences...

We all have somebody or something that influenced our reading. Maybe it was a teacher. An author. A friend. A brother. A sister. Cousin. A movie. Or even a pretty book cover. Something or someone made us LOVE reading. For me it was my mother.

I am the youngest of nine.. yes I said 9 children. I was fortunate. By the time I was born, the 8th child was three years old and my mom had time for us as the older children were in school (there is 15 years between my oldest sibling and myself). However, when my sister (the next one older then me, started school, I was my mom's baby. I went with her EVERYWHERE! The place we went to the most? The small public library. My mother gobbled books like you wouldn't believe, so as you can imagine we were always at the library. I remember sitting in on story time while my mom was searching out books. I will say, my mom loved Mystery/Thriller and Romance novels (especially Kathleen Woodewiss and anything with Fabio on the cover, lol).

Thanks to mom, I am a true blue book lover. I loved then and still do hunting down books and buying them like crazy at yard sales, thrift stores and library book sales. I began reading long before kindergarten and have tested and continue to test extremely high in English, composition, grammar, reading comprehension and such (except when I am typing really fast...lol) She was an amazing woman and I wish she was here today to read my blog and be a guest poster. She would have loved having her own blog. She passed away on February 3, 2006 in her home and in her own bed due to metastatic lung cancer (spread throughout her entire body). In her memory may I present, the one, the only....

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Yep, you guessed it... FABIO

Rest in Peace Mom! Thank you for turning me in to a true blue bookworm.
June 6, 1943 to February 3, 2006
Alyce or preferred to be called "Jonnie"

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So with that.... let's discuss your reading influences. Tag!! You're IT!






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8 comments

  1. Hmm... My reading influences would have to be my third grade teacher Mrs. Fearies. I remember her reading to us every single day and making us write every single day. She really helped me grow my imagination and made me fall in love with books. Also I've always had serious family problems and I guess I really liked reading for the escape. I'm truly sorry about your mother passing away. She sounded like a wonderful woman.

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  2. What a sweet post! It was someone I met, not a friend. Her hubby worked with mine. He was in the military and on field maneuvers. I was bored out of my mind. She suggested Kathleen E. Woodiwiss. I told her I wasn't much of a reader. In fact, I had to tell her two or three times no. She kept on and I didn't want to make her mad. I took the "damn book" as I told my husband. Not sure why I read it...guess I was that bored and fell in love. Got into Stephen King, Philippa Carr, John Saul, and so on.

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  3. What a beautiful post.
    Thanks for sharing that with us.

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  4. That's a really sweet post about your mom's influence on you being a reader.

    For me, reading has to be the most innate trait I possess. I'm almost an anomaly because no one, I mean absolutely no one, influenced my reading habits. Books have fascinated me since birth. I couldn't wait to read and by 4 years old, I was all over it. No one in my family is a reader. My dad is a newspaper reader which isn't really my thing. I was the influence, truth be told. I'd beg to go the library every Saturday and my mom would happily oblige b/c she knew the value of reading and it made her find some books and my brother as well. When my mom needed to go to the mall, she could always feel safe leaving me in a bookstore. Even after two hours, she'd return and I'd not be ready to go.

    I'm amazed, even still, that I love books and have such a passion for literacy despite not being surrounded by readers.

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  5. That's such a nice tribute to your mother! I'm sure she would have loved your blog! My main influence was my dad, mostly because he was always reading, so I picked it up. Sometimes I think it must be genetic! *L*

    Thanks for sharing!

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  6. I am so sorry about your mum, but I think she is very proud of you.

    No one influenced me, I got school/classmates problems & my escape was to go to the library. Also I am a curious person, so I began to read when I was 4/5 years because I wanted to know everything (a friend used to call me Hermione).

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  7. Thanks everybody for sharing what brought you to be the bookworm you are today! I enjoyed reading what you have to say!

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  8. That's such a lovely post. I'd definitely like to do one similar. I think my parents had a lot to do with my love of reading. I learned to read when I was 2-3 and always grew up seeing my parents with a book in their hand and shelves and shelves of books all around the house. Apparently when I was in nursery school, I'd come home, have lunch, and drag this *huge* box of children's books I had to the nearest parent and demand that they read every single book to me.

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