Boring. That's what I am now. Plain boring. Am i talking
about my personality? Nope. I'm talking about my status as a reader. With a
vast array of books out there, I seem to have limited myself within the
confines of mediocrity. Rather than reading because I want to, I read because I
have to. I recall the simple days of first grade, when my teacher would read a
new book in the Junie B. Jones series written by Barbara Parks. I would sit
anxiously awaiting the next mischievous act that Junie B. Jones would get
herself into. As a kid who barely spoke,
I was awakening an adventurous and playful side of me through the use of a fictional
character. I eventually joined a book club in elementary school as part of an
after school program. It wasn’t “cool” to some of the other kids, but I didn’t
care. I remember engulfing myself within the book Holes, written by Andrew
Davis. Seeing this film on Disney Channel only served to strengthen my interest in this novel.
So what exactly happened you may ask? The answer, ironically
so, is school. The more I was “forced” to read, the more I was driven away from
doing so. Suddenly I was suffocated by a new level of expectation: the ability to analyze a variety of complex texts.
Looking back at everything, I’ve realized now that I’ve missed out on a
lot. I’m not necessarily saying that you have to like every single book, but
reading with a "stank" attitude already ruins the fun before it even begins. At
the end of the day, the true blame falls on myself. I’ve suddenly realized the
need to grasp a hold of my reading. No longer do I want to be an impatient, boring
reader. No, no, no. Instead, I want to be a passionate reader; someone who can devour each word
in a book, place themselves in the mindset of characters, and enable their thought process to flourish. In a way, I want my readers to follow this same course of action when viewing my blog. A mere glance is not enough. I want people to bask in my journey as both a reader and blogger. I'm ready to do so! The real question is: are you?
Let me just say, I completely agree with everything you mentioned in your blog post. Whenever I read, I always have to read because a teacher told me to, not because I actually want to! I also agree with he fact that you use the characters to awaken something within yourself. I would always do the same thing! Whenever I would read, I would always imagine myself in the place of the characters, going through their adventures in my imagination. Hopefully, throughout the school year, you and I both can successfully get back into pleasure reading and go on adventures with the characters!
ReplyDeleteI love doing that. The only reason why I like reading is because I am literally putting together a movie in my head. Once I got to high school my independent reading skills dwindled down. I love this reading assignment because it forces me to get back into the habit of reading. Honestly my imagination is so D1!!! I think that’s the reason why I love reading plays. Not Shakespeare!! I don’t like Shakespeare. But other plays that just make me want to shout. I liked reading Antigone. Play that have a story I can understand are just amazing. Not only that but then I have to think of it as a movie in my head because it’s real dialogue. Awesome!!
ReplyDeleteI love the way your blog looks-everything is so pink and adorable. It honestly feels like the inside of a cloud because of how fluffy and cute the color scheme is. I got so happy when I saw you mention Holes. When I was younger I loved that book and movie so much. Every time it was on TV I would drop what I was doing to watch it and honestly I still do stop to watch it when I see that it’s on. Anyways, I also agree with all of what you said. A lot of the reading we’ve had to do in school has really drained the joy and excitement I was felt for reader and like you, I have become a “boring” reader. Good luck becoming more involved with your reading!
ReplyDelete