Were you a prolific reader as a youngster?

I was a voracious reader.

My kid, who is nine now, is a fantastic reader, but he doesn’t read for pleasure like I did. Maybe if I didn’t encourage it so much… or even made it against the rules… haha

^^Against the rules..why?

Forbidden fruits and all. He has no problem sneaking video games in the middle of the night – so if reading were verboten, maybe he’d sneak some of that in after dark.

I’m being facetious, of course. I’m not terribly worried – he spends a great deal of time studying (he’s homeschooled), and when he does read he makes great choices. I just kinda wish he enjoyed it more for fun than he does.

I got interested in reading when I was about 12. I dozed off listening to the radio and when I woke up, they were doing a radio theater production of Dracula. It made me want to read the book, which I did and I really liked it. That started me looking for other stories, authors, genres, etc. Pretty soon I was reading all sorts of things for pleasure. These days I don’t read as much, but still listen to audiobooks quite a bit in the car and I do have a Nook with a respectable library on it.

I loved reading!. I would read the World Book Encyclopedia. I’d grab a random book and start flipping pages. Loved it!

In fifth grade, I read 20 books during summer vacation. But there were two of my classmates that read over 25 books.

When I was in elementary school, the town library’s bookmobile visited the school one day a week. We were given time to visit during school hours. I remember checking out a lot of books from the Landmark series, which covers history and biographies. Although I enjoyed the books at the time, I can only recall a few of the books I read.

Sadly, no, despite the fact that both my parents were. Perhaps my memory is faulty, but I don’t recall reading much more than what I had to for school. But once I left home at 19 and started my career, I became an active reader.

I hated reading as a kid. I still don’t like it for the most part. I almost never read a book, and barely have in my lifetime. I don’t mind reading when it’s like fluther, like a conversation. I also am ok reading if it’s a topic I’m trying to research, although even with that I don’t last long reading one topic. Not at once anyway.

My father probably reads 10 books a week. He loves reading, his business now is buying and selling books, and it drives him crazy that I dread reading. Most of the time reading feels like homework to me.

Well at a time when the internet wasn’t a thing, video games were expensive and kids had too much time in their hand, what do you expect?

I continued to read until I went to high school. That was when I had less time. Nowadays I could devour a book in one day if I had time.

Oh my goodness yes. Yes. If I wasn’t playing baseball and tag in the neighborhood, wading in the creek, generally trying to kill myself out side, I was reading.

@Mimishu1995 My kids didn’t have video games or internet when they were growing up in the 80’s and 90’s. My girls read like crazy, my son not so much. I think the only book he read for fun, on his own, was Harry Potter. I was so thrilled with that! Some kids just don’t like it. Seems like it’s mostly boys.

I was but only on my own terms. I read what I wanted and not so much things that were assigned. If it was not science or science fiction I largely did not bother.

I have this childhood memory of crying in bed one night because I was pretty sure I had already read all the good books and there was nothing left for me to read. So, yes, haha.

I started doing a lot less when I got my first laptop, around age 13. I’d be on the internet until bedtime instead of reading before bed.

That’s still true to an extent. I read more now than I did in high school and college when I had no time, but I still don’t read as much as I did when I was a kid.

I loved reading as a kid. We could go to the bookmobile once a week and I was always in line waiting for it every week. I would read cereal boxes, milk cartons, anything I could get my hands on. I still love to read.

I loved the SRS reading (or whatever it was) in elementary school, where you kept advancing to the next level / color. I blasted through them all in a about a month.
I don’t read like I used to, either, because I’m here, on the internet. I love disconnecting and going to the lake or camping because then I read, but it almost has to be forced.

@ARE_you_kidding_me You didn’t read assigned books? My son at least read his assigned books, and so he now knows the magic, and heart break of Bridge to Teribethia. However, he says he didn’t read the books, just the jacket, and wrote book reports that got him A’s. He said he thumb through to find specific answers he needed. SMH. He missed out on so much. Anyone who won’t do assigned reading misses out. In HS I would have NEVER read Romeo and Juliet on my own. But after I was forced to get into it, OMG. Amazing. Amazing.
Same with the Odyssey.

Only the ones I wanted to read. Yes my grades suffered because of it but looking back It was only because my parents recognized that it was because I was so focused on other positive learning experiences that they did not allow the school system to bully them into putting me on ritalin. Yes, they did try. I had straight A’s in science all the way into college. For whatever reason not much other stuff mattered to me outside of what I was focused on. That focus did shift to athletics then art and then music. As an adult this is a very different story, I enjoy everything but just don’t have time for it. I did read Shakespeare on my own. My wife acuses me of having aspergers or being on the autism spectrum Lol. I’m just hard headed.

Oh yes. And once again I really lucked out. I can remember as a 3–4 year old, there was this set of low bookcases with glass shelves that extended the length of the living room wall. The spines of the books were at eye level for me, and I distinctly remember the spine of the dust jacket on “They were Expendable”. Down the spine was an artist’s rendition of a sinking PT boat, it’s prow still above water pointed toward the sky with smoke billowing to the top of the jacket. More unbelievable luck. When I turned 5, my mom took a part time job marketing children’s books. As a result we had both the “My Bookhouse” and “Childcraft” 12 volume sets. And topping it all off was the appearance in the same year of the massive (for me) “Life’s Picture History of World War II. I literally wore that book out.

Yes, I was. I loved collecting Nancy Drew Mysteries. A friend and I sort of competed on who had the most ND books. I also liked the World Book, “How to Win Friends and Influence People” and my mother’s UFO books. I ended up being the fastest reader in second grade. The teacher would always tell me to slow down. I now have hundreds of books but haven’t read a good portion of them. Too hooked on the internet. But I have good intentions.

Yes and I still am. I love to read books, music magazines and whatever I find interesting online.

Yes, to the point where I got in trouble at school. But my mom (who was a librarian) asked the teacher to come up with something better than reading, and until she did, I was to be allowed to read as much as possible.

My whole family devoured books. One time in third grade, schools were closed fro a snow day as a blizzard hit NY state. My mother told us to walk to the library to return our books and check out new ones.

@stanleybmanly Same kind of magic for me. Mom had book everywhere. Kids books and books for grown ups. Look Out for Pirates!!! Rudyard Kipling. Poo. Rosalie. Dr. Seuss.

When I was four I was in time out for something. I was “reading” Prince Bertrand the Bad in time out. Mom walked by and heard me, then sat down and said, “What are you doing?”
I said, “I’m reading Prince Bertrand the Bad backward.” And I was. I’m not even sure I actually knew how to read, but I had it memorized so well I started at the last page, and “read” backward from the last word on back.
She said, “That’s interesting.” Then got up and went back to work doing whatever.

No. I only read what I was forced to at school.

Since I didn’t produce anything as a reader, I wouldn’t say prolific. But I always read a lot, and before I could read, my parents read to me. I still love to be read to.

I also still read a lot, at least an hour a day and usually much more. And my career was based on language. Reading and books are a major part of my life.

One of my kids turned out to be a great reader too—he did the entire Oz and Narnia series on his own by the age of seven—and the other has never much cared for reading. They both were read to every night and grew up surrounded by books, but one took to them and one didn’t.

@Mariah – your childhood memory is kinda cute..) Good to see there are many people on this site who love to read including myself..) And @Jeruba – yes it should have been voracious or similar. My bad. Wanted to correct myself but realized it little late after editing window was over. @Mimishu1995 – it’s personal choice after all what you like to do irrespective of options available at your disposal as evident from responses from some members.

@Jeruba Prolific readers ARE producing something. So what if isn’t something physical. They produce a plethora of experiences and knowledge in their own head.

I was hospitalized a lot as a child, and reading was my escape. Once I recovered from the problem, reading actually caused me some problems- I would rather read than pay attention in class, and in literature courses I would read the textbook all the way through in the first week, so I was bored out of my skull when the class was reading those stories.
Eventually I was placed in honors classes, and everything levelled out- but luckily a teacher recognized my problem as boredom and not lack of ability, or I might have been placed in remedial classes.
My kids are all grown now, but I am happy to say they all love to read and handled it better than I did, initially!

I still read, and although I love the feel of a “real” book, I do love e-books…in my phone or my tablet I have an almost unlimited supply of material, and that is a comforting thought.

All the time. I used to climb to aperch in the V of an old oak tree with a book and read for hours. And at other times too. My kids were both readers but right now have little time for it.

^^Reading on a tree..That’s interesting..) I hope you never doze off while reading over there!

I read on a horse. I read on a roof. When I was a kid Mom would stick me in a bath and tell me to wash up. I’d get out and Mom couldn’t figure out why I still stunk. Well, I was reading a book the whole time. I’d get a flashlight and read under the covers instead of going to sleep.

@AGRSAV8R WTF? I did that too. So, yeah, I’d be bored when the class slowly worked through the book but I had a leg up in discussion. Or I put glue on my hand, blew on it till it dried, and then peeled it of in sheets.

I don’t remember reading many books as a child. I was never taken to a library or introduced to many books other than Alice in Wonderland. When I became a teenager I discovered that there was a copy of the short stories of H G Wells in the house and I enjoyed those very much. This started me off on reading science fiction and later I branched out into novels, biographies, history and anything that took my fancy. This was before the days of the internet and now I don’t read so much.

My daughter was a very keen reader and I brought back books for her from the library. My son was not such a great reader.

I just remembered. I spent most of my school days reading w a book hidden under the edge of the desk top while the teacher taught.

I can remember reading a book by torchlight under the blankets whenI was supposed to have gone to sleep.

I didn’t read much until I was 15. I had to beg my father to let me have a library card. After that I skipped school to read on the train and libraries to read Forgotten Realms and Dragon lance novels.

Yes. I’ve always read. I can’t remember a time when I didn’t read. I love reading.

I think it’s genetic. Apparently, my mother loved to read. My aunt has told me they would often find her hiding under the bed reading a book when she didn’t want to do whatever she was supposed to be doing.

My husband was caught reading a novel in class at school. Because the teacher determined the book he was reading was a quality book, he was told it was fine for him to continue. I have no idea what the class was. Perhaps it was English. He still reads. He tends to go through phases though. He’ll read a few books, and then won’t have a book on the go for a while, then he’ll get back into reading again.

All my children were strong readers. However, while my son could read at an early age, he has never been the sort of person who does read. He would flip through certain books – books of amazing facts, the Guinness Book of Records and the like. He read all the Harry Potter books. He isn’t a ‘reader’ though. He’d rather be off doing other more active things. My daughters don’t read books often either. I bought them both Kindles and they did use them, but I don’t think they always have a book on the go.

Have you ever run into anything while you were reading?LOL!

I’m pretty sure I left forehead-shaped dents on every pole in my junior high school.

LOL! One time I walked into a pole and split my eyebrow open. I wasn’t reading, just wasn’t watching where I was going. I was about 14. That damn pole came out of nowhere and whacked the shit out of my eye socket. I still have a scar. Damn pole.