Reading != Pizza

Remember, Book It!?
In theory, pizza is a great incentive. But reading just wasn't fun as a kid. I think I had an elaborate imagination and vivid dreams (as I do now), but I just didn't get the point of reading. Maybe that was the point. Why read something to paint a picture in my mind, when I could just make it up myself? --which is why, pizza is a great incentive.

The only time I read in elementary school was to get something out of it. I read easy books just to get my parents to drive me to Pizza Hut and claim my pepperoni personal pan pizza. Then, I found out you can read books, write reports, and win stuff! My sister suggested I start reading more elaborate books, such as The Secret Garden and The Hobbit, to compete at a higher caliber and win better prizes. Turns out it was great advice, I won a free backpack, school supplies, more books, etc! Not to mention, during the interview process for secondary school admissions, the interviewer asked if I read and what types of books interested me. Thank goodness I had just finished the stack of "advanced books" my sister helped me select from Waldenbooks (pre-Borders, located on the ground level of Ala Moana, currently occupied by ABC Store).

Now that I'm much older, reading books doesn't equate to a free pizza. Although, I think I should start that up for myself. Read a book, get a large pan pizza. Way better than a personal pan. Bigger books == bigger rewards! Kidding. It's actually corny, but I find reading rewarding in itself. Since I got sucked into the Harry Potter series and the Twilight saga, I realized I enjoy being submerged in a book and escaping into my imagination. I think with all the stresses I've had in the past few years, I was able to handle it because I could get lost in another world, another time, long enough to catch my breath.

Ryan gifted me an Amazon Kindle. But really I think it was to prevent the stacks of unsightly hardcovers that were beginning to clutter our shelves. It's old-fashioned, but I love hardcovers. There's something soothing and romantic about a thick book and the smell of cardboard. Since receiving the Kindle, I've read a lot of random junk. Coming of age books, organizational self-help titles, parenting handbooks, and trashy adult novels. It's fun to read the promotional books. You just have to be careful about the books that belong to a series. That's how they get you. Reel you in with a free book, only to have you rack up the credit card bill on the other 5 to finish the series. I got hooked on the Fever series. It was good. No, it was GREAT. I read through the first four, only to find the fifth, and final book, was a work in progress. I waited over a year! It was finally available this past January and I couldn't wait to read it. I finished it in 3 days (if not for work, cooking, and caring for Ella, I would have read it all in one day, and not even have stopped to eat, it was that great). Most of my questions were answered, plots resolved, happily ever after, the end. After it was through, I felt so lost. I went through the entire series again from start to finish. THAT great.

What should I read next? I was thinking Stephen King's Hearts in Atlantis. That's been on my reading list for a few months now. HA! I just read that last sentence again. I have a "reading list". Bwahahahaha! I don't even consider myself a reader, you know how I want to be a blogger, crafter, or guitarist? Maybe that list will have to wait a little longer. It's about time I get started on the next ambition. Crafter.