Dewey's 24 Hour Read-a-Thon discussion

Welcome to hour #7!
Stand up, stretch, re-plump your cushions, take a few hearty gulps of water, and settle back in.

Here's a question for you:
What made you fall in love with reading and when did you first consider yourself a 'reader'?
Was there a person and/or book that made you feel that way? Or perhaps there was a specific reason that you took up reading?

By answering this hour's question here on GoodReads, you'll be entered into the draw for a giveaway of assorted BookCrossing release supplies from the BookCrossing Supply Store!

#deweyapril2023setbooksfreechallenge
#deweyreadathon #deweys24hourreadathon #readathon #24hourreadathon #readathoners #deweyapril2023

I have been a reader since I was about 6, around the time I realized it was easy for me and that I could get prizes for reading. By 3rd grade when I got to public school where they did the Read-It program with Pizza Hut, I was hooked. I earned soooo many pizzas through that program. :)
[btw, as an admin I am really not ethically eligible to be in the running for drawings. Good luck, folks!]

My mom taught me to read when I was three, so I don't really remember ever NOT being a reader. I probably fell in love with it because it was a fun thing to do with her. I do remember when I was in kindergarten (I think), I had read all the books in the picture book section, so the librarian gave me special permission to select books from other sections of the library! It has taken me a long time to regain my appreciation for picture books, since at the beginning, they were just a hurdle to overcome.

Doni wrote: "My mom taught me to read when I was three, so I don't really remember ever NOT being a reader. I probably fell in love with it because it was a fun thing to do with her. I do remember when I was in..."

I developed a fondness for picture books through my mercenary side. If adults would not believe I could read and enjoy Tolkien at 'such a young age' I could read far more picture books than adult novels anyway in a month. Some are still favorites- The Day Jimmy's Boa Ate the Wash, any books by Paul Goble (Native American stories with beautiful illustrations, and the Raggedy Ann and Andy chapter books (which were very tattered and old at our library when I was a kid).

I became a reader at a very early age with great encouragement and support of my parents. I've love reading for as l can remember. I don't know how old I was when I started reading, but our Boston Public Library branch was one of the first places that I was allowed to walk to by myself, so I did all the time. The building was very old, and the children's section had been a pool at one point. It had a cast iron spiral staircase that led down to it (way before IDEA was largely recognized) and was always very cool. It was a great escape in hot un-airconditioned summers. I fell in love with reading, libraries, and books as a very young child and it never ended.

I became a reader at a very young age when my mother made reading books fun as a child. She soon got me hooked on phonics to learn to read. My parents are not readers, but she supported and encouraged it when she saw I was interested in it. She always bought me books and took me book shopping when I had babysitting money, and built me these great bookshelves for my bedroom.

I can't ever remember not being a reader. Even before I could actually read I can remember "reading" aloud to my younger brother from a book I had memorized. We always had books around and I can remember carrying one with me everywhere by early elementary school.

I have always been a reader. Some of my earliest memories were going to the library with my mom and getting a stack of books every week. I remember when I was old enough to read the Flowers in the Attic series and then my mom and I would share books and Jackie Collins was a treat!

I really can remember getting scholastic books mailed to my house in the first grade. I was the school librarian's pet then too, this is cause I lived in our library. I may not have alway read as much as I do know but I am thankful reading and books have always been a part of my life.

I really started reading novels around 1977.

I started leisure reading in 1994 . I got addicted to books while I was a university student .

I've been a reader for as long as I can remember. There are pictures of me learning to read with my aunt as a 4 or 5 year old. The first book I remember being obsessed with was Ella Enchanted, which is still one of my favorite books to this day, and I reread it every year.

Mum taught me to love reading. I remember Mum taking us on trips to the library as kids, and being allowed to borrow whatever I wanted -- I loved it and I still love libraries and bookshops and still very often bring home way more than I get around to reading!

It took me a long time to realize that reading was something that I loved. It was something I just did. I was encouraged to read in school and at home. I thought I was following more pleasant directions--more pleasant that washing dishes or making my bed--I did not realize I was a reader. I did not notice until I started carrying books out of the house in my becoming-a-lady handbag. What else was I to put in my handbag beside my school ID and some tissues?

I am moderating, so I will happy for whoever wins giveaway :-)

I think I became a reader before I even learned the alphabet. My dad ALWAYS read to me as a child. It is one of the earliest memories I have of him reading to me. Dr. Seuss books were some of our favorites back then. And I taught my younger sister to read with The Cat in the Hat. As I grew I read the Little House on the Prairie series and then the American Girl Series. Then I found mysteries in middle school and classics in college. In my 20's I fell in love with the Harry Potter Series. I've always been a reader.

Jojo wrote: "I really can remember getting scholastic books mailed to my house in the first grade. I was the school librarian's pet then too, this is cause I lived in our library. I may not have alway read as m..."
@Jojo (onequietreader) you are the lucky winner of our Giveaway!
Please send us your mailing address so we can get your BookCrossing release supplies from the BookCrossing Supply Store mailed to you!

Congratulations, and thank you for everyone who shared the story of how they fall in love with reading and when you first considered yourself a 'reader'.