The story of a love

I love to read. Some things in life are as simple as that. I remember that my mom used to read me story books of wonderful fairytales and beautiful Bible stories when I was a toddler. But I discovered the true joy of reading, of opening a book, withouth knowing what to expect and the satisfied yet slightly sad feeling that surrounds you once you close them, when I was about 5 years old. I was just a little girl when I used to see my sister reading and since, let's be honest, I wanted to be just like her, I grew curious of those big books she was always hauling about. She was so quiet, barely spoke and she was always reading, no matter where we were. So, one day I ventured in the Library at school and a dear old lady by the name of Rose introduced me to a series of biographies for children. I read about Louis Braille, about the Romanoff Family, Hellen Keller, Harriet Tubman... Then I began reading actual story books and delighted in the fantastic worlds to which they took me.

One good day I picked up a book that my sister was reading. It was so thick that it barely fit my hand and I thought: well, this is just like reading several books, it can't be so hard, it will just take more time. So I strayed away from children's stories and began reading everything I could find. By the seventh grade I was reading Pride and Prejudice. I'm happy to say I haven't stopped reading ever since.

My favorite book, I must confess, was The Most Wonderful Doll in the World by Phyllis McGinley. Probably because it was one of the first books I read. In Christmas, we loved getting books. My house was probably the only one in the neighboorhood where the children got excited to be reciving books come Christmas Morning.

As I've grown up, though I've found that good books are really hard to come by. The truth is that most books are either too "light" or too "dark". I love romance and historical novels but I sometimes feel like I've read every book written. I loved Twilight but paranormal isn't really for me and it seems to be the most popular genre in the market right now, that and drugstore romances. You know? The ones that have a hercules of a man in the cover and a dainty woman lying in his arms. Not exactly the greatest literature.

In my country we don't have many bookstores that sell books in English, which is terribly sad. We don't even have libraries. I'm serious. I grew up renting books from the school library which was so small, it was equivalent to two small classrooms joined. By the time I graduated I had really read virtually every book I was interested in reading. And a couple that I wasn't but was so bored that I had no other choice. Needless to say, I loved visiting the States and buying hundreds of books. Well, not hundreds but at least 5 each (Sister and I). I also love ordering books online, although it takes a while for them to get here.

So, just thought I'd share the story of my love for Literature. Who knows? Maybe I'll be a writer some day or at the very least own a bookshop. Later on I will post the list of my favorite books of all time.

Take care, read a book.

Love out,

Isabel