Everyone who's a reader has that one book that set them on the path. That one book that was the reason you started reading. Fantasy, Science Fiction, Mystery... there's always one book that stated your love it all. One book that changed your life forever. Mine was Jennifer Murdley's Toad by Bruce Corville. After I read it when I was 7, there was no going back. I started consuming books at a rapid rate, and just never stopped. I simply fell in love with magic, of all the opportunities and lives I could live in a different world-- how I could be someone else entirely. How no matter what I was feeling, the characters were waiting for me, to distract me and to take me on their quests to save the world. Before that book, I had never been transported to another world to such an extent- I had not known such a thing was possible. It opened my eyes. Because of that book, I've ridden dragons, solved murders, toppled kings, witnessed awful cruelties and awesome kindnesses. I've fought for my freedom, killed evil witches, and been to outer space. I've committed genocide, and saved entire planets. I've been to deserts, and mountains, and frozen wastelands. I've lived thousands of lives, all from the comfort of my couch.

If that seems a little extreme to you, then you should try and find a book that you can get entirely into. When you finally find yourself in another world, there's no going back. It's an incredibly powerful experience.

Anyway, what was the book that started your love of reading (if you have such a love)? If not just one book, what made you love reading? And if you don't love reading books, or even like reading them, why not?

Also, side note- Do you see the pictures in your head, or are you actually reading the words? Honestly, when I read a book, I never remember reading the actual words -- I only remember the pictures the words create in my head.

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I started to read a lot in first grade, the book that made me love reading was the magic tree house series.

I've been reading books since I was able to read. Every time I would read something a little more complex until there were no pictures, just words on the pages. There was no book that set me off, it was something that I loved doing since I was taught. I had a lot to read though. I have older siblings, so I inherited all their old books as I was growing up XD

I know I haven't been reading as much as I used to over these past couple of years. Work loads have gotten bigger and I've got a lot less time to myself. I do love a good book though. Like you said, it's fantastic to get lost in another world, especially when I need to escape reality.

I see pictures when I read too. I hardly ever remember the words either.

I think it would be "The Brothers Lionheart" by Astrid Lindgren. My mom was reading it to me when I was little (four, maybe?) and later I was reading it myself. I know it by heart now, but I still love reading it. It's a great, fascinating, very well-written book for children.

And I think I see both pictures and words. I mean, I imagine the scenes in a detailed way when I read, but I also pay attention to the words, I notice the style, and when I really like some book I subconsciously memorize fragments of it, even if I read it just once. But it also depends on what kind of book it is - if there are many descriptions I tend to remember the pictures more than the words (like in "Lord of the Rings"), and when it's more about what's happening in the character's head, for example, I remember the words more, simply because there's less to imagine.

The novel that made me realize that books were worth while was The Giver in seventh grade. Before that, books were not really important. They were objects of little value. The Giver allowed me to question authoritarian figures around me, which I had been unable to do beforehand. So, it literally change my world.

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"Officially, this machine doesn't exist, you didn't get it from me,
and I don't know you. Make sure it doesn't leave the building."

I really started reading when i was in elementary school. My older brother and sister where reading The Lord of the Rings and discussing it with each other and i felt excluded so they gave me the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe to keep me occupied. I never stopped reading fantasy afterwards.

But what i really wanted to share is the fact that while I, like you, get very involved in what I read and feel strongly for the characters, I almost never "see picture", instead I remember the words themselves, how they flow on the pages, how the names of people, places, and everything sounds in my mind. You could say that instead of painting a picture of the protagonist of a book I could write is "character sheet".
I guess that's just how my mind works, I have little interested in figurative arts(even if read manga) and I love math and science. I think my "experience" with books is just as deep as yours, butwe prefer differnt "channel of communication".

When i was a kid (probably around 8) i read a trilogy of adventure books which name i can't even remember, even tough i can't remember the name of the book i still remember the history well and think about it from time to time, right now i look back to it and think it was a bit childish, even so the first of the three book was my first "long" book (It had around 300 pages, and that seemed like a lot to me back then), the fact that i could get so into the story that i often forgot i was even reading made me a book lover...

Also, every single Edgar Alan Poe book i read back then was amazing and made me love reading even more.

howl's moving castle the movie was good but the book is truly something else anything by diana wynne jones is almost guaranteed awsome

I wonder about this all the time. I'm sure I owe an enormous amount to reading both Narnia and The Little Prince at 7-8, but I suspect that books like those really lay more groundwork for transformational experiences than actually produce them.

In my case, there were definitely a few moments that transformed my perspective. The first time I read Hardboiled Wonderland and the End of the World, for instance, was the first time a book made me both inspired and jealous. I probably owe more of my taste in literature to Murakami than any other individual. From another angle, The Brothers Karamazov was probably the first time a book really bowled me over in that indescribable way that only true masterworks really can. And the list goes on and on and on, like so much water sucked into a nameless stretch of sand.

On memories and visualizations- I remember the words and extrapolate them into images again when I remember a book particularly vividly, but given my vocation, that's hardly surprising.

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I'd have to say the book that really got me into reading was Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Looking back, I'm surprised I read the entire Harry Potter series after reading something on a completely different level.

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i started reading in 5th grade....at first i only read simple books, because at the time my english wasn't good enough. i loved roald dahl a lot, i also read books like freaky friday, the diary of adrian mole aged 13 3/4 etc. ahh those were nice memories xD
then in seventh grade we took the count of monte cristo at school, by then i already realised that i love reading but the count of monte cristo was what got me into reading long and complex novels
then i started reading classics...in ninth grade i read gone with the wind, the catcher in the rye, wuthering heights and many many more
in eleventh grade, after reading almost everything by daphne du maurier, i realised that i really love stories with dark themes....it was at that time too, that i started reading manga

so yeah, i think the count of monte cristo is the book that really got me into reading
thats how it all began...i think

EDIT:

whenever i start reading a book, i have a habit of trying to form a mental image of the characters. sometimes i even try drawing them, but i only visualise the appearance of the characters. if i really loved the book i would be able to remember the words...so i think when i read a book i do a little visualization but i mostly memorise words or quotes

Last edited by sarah-eats-cupcakes at 1:50 am, May 7 2012

I started with Disney reading books. I remember my parents gave us "reading time" almost everyday. My first vocabulary words and knowledge on science actually came from those types of books. There was Donald Duck, taking his nephews on a tour INSIDE A VOLCANO, Pluto actually going to space, and Mickey and Minnie Mouse going to the Sahara Desert. From then on, my love for reading flourished.

However, the very first books that I (consciously) collected are the Sweet Valley series (Kids, Twins, and High). I was so addicted to them, it already became a sin if I failed to buy the latest book or even borrow some from the school library.

There were 2 series that caused me to focus my reading on fantasy. The first is R.A. Salvatore's legend of drizzt series. The second was the wings of Merlin.... unfortunately I have forgotten the author. I've read many before those, including well known titles like the hobbit, but those 2 were what really sparked my interest in reading.

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Few favs
Comedy:
Kyou kara ore wa!!, Mx0, Angel Densetsu, Skip Beat, Ai Kora, The Devil King is Bored

Romance:
Hana to Akuma, No bra, Shinigami Trilogy, kindan no koi de ikou, Usagi Drop, Threads of Time, Girl Friends

Most under rated:
Kindan no koi de ikou, kyou kara ore wa!.
m0r l83r... maybe >_>

I can't even remember name of that book which made me love reading. I think it was fantasy story about girl who got lost to a somehow twisted fantasy world. And no, it wasn't Alice in Wonderland There was also this book where group of weird magic creatures come from fantasy kingdom to find there lost prince or something like that. But these both attracted me with their imagination and creativity (and they were also really weird ).

I first started to enjoy reading when I read the Deltora Quest series in third grade