Thursday, February 19, 2015

A Cocktail and Conversation: Influences In Your Reading Life


Every other Thursday here at the Broke & The Bookish is  A Cocktail Conversation time. One of the TB&TB members will pose a question to 2-3 of the other members of TB&TB crew about books, life, music, etc and then they'll answer and we can converse about it. So grab a cocktail & cozy up for some conversation. It's 5 o'clock somewhere, friends.

 The question:



"Is there anyone who helped make you the reader you are or helped cultivate your love for reading?"





Bridget says:  Definitely my parents, which I'm sure is a pretty common answer—they're the ones who would read to me all the time, and later financially supported my book-buying habits (along with my grandparents). Later in life, I can claim influence from tons of people who have recommended books, helping me shape my preferences into what they are today—especially my lovely cobloggers and commenters both here and on my own blog! <3






Julia says: There are few people that cultivated my love of reading early, primarily my parents. They read to me as a baby, which helped get things going. Also in grade school, my dad would take my sister and I to the library every Wednesday. So we had that base love of reading. The third person who really helped turned me into the romance lover I am today is my cousin, Erin. She came over one summer day around the age of 12 and introduced me to romance novels. She let me borrow her favorite (So Worthy, My Love by Kathleen E. Woodiwiss) and I was hooked. So I can thank her for introducing me to my favorite genre of books.
 

 

 

Jamie says: I remember being read to always by my parents/them letting me buy books but one of the biggest things that I think made me into the reader I am today is my stepmom. We split time between my dad's house and my mom's but we were always there every day in the summer. My stepmom would take us once a week to the library and just let us roam for 30 minutes in the kid section while she went and looked for her own books. It was this tradition I just LOVED. She let me take out ridiculous stacks and I think that being able to wander and discover made me find so many different things. I would read SO many different things because I had time to wander. Nobody was rushing me out of there. That HABIT of going every week helped me to be a consistent reader. Plus I REALLY looked forward to it!




What about you all? Who helped cultivate your love for reading/make you the reader you are today?

12 comments:

  1. My mom! She gave me books for every present while I was growing up. She read to me every single night before bed all the way through 5th grade.
    I was just asking about my mom where she got the recommendations (before the internet) and apparently she used to get a catalog out together by a lady in the mid-west. She did a great job because I turned into a rabid reader and English major!

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  2. My mom! She gave me books for every present while I was growing up. She read to me every single night before bed all the way through 5th grade.
    I was just asking about my mom where she got the recommendations (before the internet) and apparently she used to get a catalog out together by a lady in the mid-west. She did a great job because I turned into a rabid reader and English major!

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  3. My parents both weren't big readers; my best friend Kim is the one responsible (and to an extent Harper Lee for TKAM) for turning me into the reader I am. She made (yes, made is the appropriate word) me read Twilight (because it was the Hype Book then), and while it didn't hook me up right away, I think that was almost the gateway. The pre-gateway? Ultimately, To Kill a Mockingbird made me think, "okay, from this day forth, I will be defined as a reader."

    To Jamie, that story is just amazing. <3

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  4. When I was a kid, it would be my mom. She loved reading too. But my interest for reading (novels, at least) did not start until I was in my sophomore year. I went over to my aunt's house and my cousin has this collection of books. I've picked out The Chronicles of Narnia and fell in love with reading. Before this, I do read but my reading is limited to short stories only.

    Danna @ A Reading Habit

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  5. My parents and my grandma were my influences when I was a child; my dad read for us the classics (Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Snow White...) from my grandma's library; she has books from science to fantasy, and we borrowed from there everytime we went to her house. When I was in high school my mom introduced me to the romance novels. Though, was my best friend Maria Laura who hooked me into reading when she introduced me to the fantasy novels when she let me borrow her Harry Potter copy!

    Giova @ Corazones Literarios

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  6. Great post! I blame my mom for my reading addiction. Although now that Im older are tastes in books are so different! <3 Bee @ Bee Reads Books

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  7. My mother read to us all the time and took us to the library and all the children's activities that were available there. As I got older she or my dad got me to the library whenever I wanted, even if it was several times a week. She never monitored my reading, so I was reading alt of things that were probably too mature, but they took me all over the world into the lives of varied people that I'd never meet in my WASPy little town. Also, I grew up in the age of 3 TV channels and no organized sports until HS, so there wasn't a lot else to do. Thus I am also a lover of board games, cards, and jigsaw puzzles!

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  8. My dad is a reader and I used to carry around books just because I saw him do it.Once I learned to read, I always had a book with me everywhere I went! I used to would spend a week every summer with my grandmother and some cousins and we always went to the library a few times - it was a great tradition!

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  9. My mom is an avid reader like myself and my co-blogger over at The Review Court. She and my aunt (her sister) are the ones responsible for getting me into reading. I remember being in primary school and hating to read because you read only boring school books. My mom let me join the library and I read all the Baby Sitter's Club and Nancy Drew. Then my aunt introduced me to V. C. Andrews. Now I really hate romance books lol. But these types of books made me develop my love for crime and mysteries. My dad was into Sci-fi movies but until my little sister was born, when I was 16 I didn't really get to watch TV and so I'm not much of a TV person. I translated the Sci-fi movies to books. In fact I only recently watched the Star Wars movies.

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  10. I'm definitely going to have to go with my mother as well. She's an elementary school teacher. Since she had summer vacation when we (my sister, brother and I) did, we always participated in the summer reading program at our library. I remember reading Johnny's in the Basement by Louis Sachar more than one summer in a row. After high school I didn't read so much for pleasure -- the drawback of being an English major. When I started dating my (now ex) girlfriend the amount I read increased; we'd read together. I remember epic Harry Potter reads... Now I'm a reading teacher and get to pass this love of books on to other teenagers (and bonus, I'm married to an avid reader, who still helps me cultivate my love for reading, and lets me borrow her library card...).

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  11. Sometimes I wish someone had. I had love books since I remember this huge book my kinder garden teacher read to us. Ever since I would steal my sister's school books so I could read something. I was always top of my reading class, having to be put aside with an advance grade book because else I would fall behind with the other kids. But in my culture, reading was never really promoted. I discovered there was an infinite world of books out there through a magazine and later through the internet when we first got it. I began ordering books like mad and that is how I began to read more. Sadly, I was always alone in that world. Back then there were not that many book bloggers nor social media existed. I guess it has always been inside me, this love for books. I was not really inspired to read by others. My mother can barely read without stammering because she can't read that well. And my dad only read the newspaper. :) With the book blogging community now I am more inspired to read than before. Reading a few books a month while before it was just one every few months, as I tried to 'fit in' by following other hobbies.

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  12. My parents were definitely contributers to my reading, simply because they kicked off my reading at a young age and I have always loved it since then. And until I was old enough to get a job and buy my own books, they always provided for them. Also, my primary school librarian who I have kept in contact with is another such person. Her suggestions were always perfect for me and she told stories in such a way that I was hooked. She will forever be my favourite librarian <3

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