Tagged

The marvelous Karin Tabke tagged me to write 10 reading secrets. I tag Liz Kreger, Amy Knupp, and Amy Padgett.

It’s not much of a secret, but I learned how to read when I was four. My older sister taught me and I taught my younger brother.

When I was a child, my mother read fairy tales to me and my four siblings every night. I can remember all five of us sitting around her–on the couch or at her feet–while she read. Maybe this is why I love stories with magic in them.

Allison Brennan said this on her blog, and it’s true for me too: I’ve read all the Nancy Drew books. Unlike Allison, I haven’t reread them since I became an adult.

Three romances that give me the warm fuzzies are PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, LITTLE WOMEN, and JANE EYRE.

For years I devoured mysteries. After awhile I could see through the set-up in the first chapter. That’s when I switched to reading–and writing–romance.

My reading time is precious. A book that’s “okay” isn’t enough. It has to be “good,” but “excellent” is better.

I’ve never thrown a book against the wall. I just stop reading.

My father-in-law reads romances, so I give him books I’ve read. When he’s done he sends them back. One book he returned wrapped in a paper bag. He said it was the dirtiest book he’d ever read. And, yes, he read the entire book.

When I was newly married I lived in an upper duplex that had two doors leading to the stairway. My husband worked second shift while I was going through an Agatha Christie phase. Every night as I reached a tense part in one of her books, I stopped to check the hall doors, making sure they were locked. Considering how relatively tame those books were, you can see why I don’t read horror books.

I feel sorry for people who don’t enjoy reading. I am rarely bored. I can either make up a story of my own or lose myself in someone else’s wonderful creation.

If you’re a reader, the world is yours…and so are alternate worlds. Anything is possible.

Ain’t it grand?