As writers, we are also often avid readers too.
And we each have a reader story.
I'm keen to know what yours is.
Here is mine in summary (as it's a lot more complicated than I remember, probably). It's always evolving.
When I was a kid, I developed a deep love for books and used to walk to the library every week to get a whole lot to read. My dad kindly fuelled the passion by subscribing me to the Puffin book club where I received a couple of classics every month. I loved getting new books every month. Oh, the smell of a new book. I devoured most of them.
As a teenager, my taste for reading was deeply affected by my religion. I became very religious as a teenager and I felt I should only read Christian books. There were some great ones at the time - stories of young girls from difficult backgrounds who came to Christ. And I read sagas like "This Present Darkness" by Frank Peretti, which were gripping and rather scary! They did upset me at times, especially since we were told to be afraid of the devil. I read a lot of Christian teaching books too.
Towards the end of my high school years, I didn't read much at all - I actually became too religious for my own good. Then I went to Bible college and after that, worked. A little later, I fell in love, got married, and moved to Zambia where we soon had our babies. I began to read again while breastfeeding my babies. I found the hours spent breastfeeding them a great time to read. I only read Christian books though, most of them sweet, inspirational romances. This grew when we moved back to South Africa and I joined the wonderful Newcastle library.
After I wrote my first romance, I met other writers, and learned about other romance genres. I read their books and began to open my mind to reading non-inspirational books. I devoured the romance genre, even dipping into the erotic romance genre.
Then I deconstructed from my strict religion. The divorce happened. Suddenly, I couldn't read romance anymore. And that was the only fiction I really enjoyed. I became stuck. But then I began to devour self-help and general spiritual books. So, that is my current reader status - I'm really into spiritual books at the moment. They are my usual fare. I do read a novel from time to time, but I've become a lot fussier about what I read. I'm just tired of the same old thing. Also, I read romance almost every day for my day job. As an editor, I've become extra critical about the genre too and have to read high quality for me to finish a book.
I also really struggle to read a novel on the kindle. For some reason, it loses its magic. But if I find a good physical book, I can get really into it.
What about you?
