This is a slightly different type of post. Today I’m participating in a Book Tag. Book tags are fun ways to learn more about the blogger and to tag other bloggers. They each come with questions to answer and then you get to tag other bloggers and get them to answer the questions. Honestly, they’re sort of like chain mail, but they’re fun and I enjoy learning about other bloggers and the person behind the blogs I’m reading, so many bloggers participate in them. 🙂

This Book Tag is called Why Am I A Reader? I’ve seen this book tag done on a couple of blogs (including this-is-my-truth-now). The farthest back I’ve been able to trace the tag is to Thrice Read.

1) Choose one word that would describe you as a reader.

Hmm… tough one. I’m going to go with eccentric. I’m not a conventional reader. You don’t find me reading a lot of the literary bestsellers. I read what I want, when I want to. I don’t care too much about whether it’s “high-brow” literature or not. If it holds my attention and is written decently, I’m good.  Also, while I read a lot of different genres, I am somewhat picky in what I read. There are certain topics that I generally won’t read about (graphic descriptions of abusive relationships, zombies, vampires, etc.). I’m typically very loyal to authors that I enjoy, while finding it harder to pick up new authors (sometimes – sometimes I’m excited about picking up new authors. I’m an enigma).

2) What is the first book that made you fall in love with reading?

I think it was more a series than one book. Little House on the Prairie series. I learned to read at an early age (3 1/2) and I don’t necessarily remember the very first books I read, but I remember being excited when my reading skills were finally good enough that I could borrow the Little House books from my grandma. 🙂 I was so excited to be reading them! I think that was in first grade.

3) Hardcover or Paperback?

It depends on the book for me. There are some books where I own hardcover copies that I want to keep looking nice while I have paperback copies that are cheaper/easier to replace for my actual reading copies. Yet, there are some books I buy the hardcover right off the bat as my reading copy because I don’t want to wait for the paperback version to come out.  I’ve also grown to enjoy eBooks more. While nothing will ever beat holding that paperback (or hardcover) in my hand, the convenience of having my eBooks available on my phone does come in handy. Plus, most of the books that I read through NetGalley come as eBooks, so I’ve had to get used to them.

4) How has reading shaped your identity?

Reading has been mostly how I’ve learned things in my life. As a child, I was a voracious reader (I am to an extent today as well, but let’s face it, children don’t have to worry about work and bills and housework too much). I know a lot of random facts because I’ve read them somewhere. It’s my way of staying connected to a world without having to be “in” it and social all the time.

5) What book do you read when you want to be comforted?

It depends on why I need the comfort. If I’m anxious, re-reading favorite books is the way to go (depending on my mood it could be re-reading romance, a cozy mystery, fantasy, whatever sounds good). If I’m sad, I tend to choose picture books that will make me laugh, like “Press Here” by Herve Tullet (it’s one that you must read out loud and follow the directions, otherwise it loses its “magic”). 🙂

6) Who influenced you to be a reader?

My entire family. My parents, my grandparents, my aunts & uncles, cousins, etc. My mom has always been a reader along with my maternal grandma and grandpa and my paternal grandma. My dad has become more of a reader as I’ve gotten older. They all encouraged me to read. I didn’t really need much encouragement tho’!

7) Describe your dream reading lounge.

A room with floor to ceiling bookshelves (with ladders) arranged in an organized fashion (one of the few areas that I’m picky about things being in order). A comfy bay window seat for days I wish to read in the sun. Comfortable sofas and footstools or recliners. A small refrigerator for holding flavored waters (still) and iced tea. Blankets for cuddling up with when it’s cold. Basically think of the library in Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” and then add some really comfortable sofas/chairs to sit in and carpeting to help soften noise.

8) What book changed the way you saw the world?

I think I have to say Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. It’s one thing to read about discrimination and Jim Crow laws in a history book. It’s another thing entirely to read about it as it’s happening to specific characters. That brings it home more than a history book ever could.

9) What defines your life as a reader?

Two words. Freedom and feast. I have the freedom to read what I want, when I want for the most part. Then there’s the fact that there is a feast of literature out there just waiting to be fed upon. No matter what genre(s) one prefers, there’s a host of new choices being produced each year and I’m thankful that I have the freedom to pick which ones I want to devour out of that feast.

10) What are your favorite quotes?

I have many, many quotes that have meant different things to me at different times. I’m including five (5) here that I prize above the rest.

“We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.” – Maya Angelou

“If you want to know what a man’s like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.” – J.K. Rowling,  Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

“If you don’t go after what you want, you’ll never have it. If you don’t ask, the answer is always no. If you don’t step forward, you’re always in the same place.” – Nora Roberts, Tears of the Moon

She looked at him gravely. “You cannot call back the river that has already flowed past you, Ruith. All you can do is be grateful for where you are in it.” – Lynn Kurland, Spellweaver

“We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of dreams.”
― Arthur O’Shaughnessy, Poems of Arthur O’Shaughnessy (also used in the movie “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory”)