What book got you reading?

[Quianna]

Usually the reply I get when I ask someone why they don't read is that every time they pick up a book it bores them to death, and they just can't get into it. My usual reply is that they just haven't found the right book.

When I was younger I was one of the kids trailing behind when it came to learning to read, but then once upon a time a book called Harry Potter was shoved into my hands and so began my reading career.

What was the first book that, for lack of a better phrase, got you reading?

[homestayUK]

My mom bought me Dr. Seus books when I was a child. I've loved reading ever since!

[Kate xxx]

When I was young my mum always read me to sleep every night. Then she started bringing me and my sister to the library every saturday. We could only only take out three books so I would take three short books with pictures. But I used to finish the three within 10 minutes when I got home, so the librarian recommended a book she thought was popular- Harry Potter and the Prisoner Of Askaban- and told me to read it. I was very reluctant because it was big to me and it did not hace any pictures. But my mum encouraged me so I read it. I was 7 at the time. I absolutely loved the book so I went back and read them in the right order. And so began ny passion for reading. I don't know how many times I have re-read the Harry Potter series in the last 9 years, but I never get tired of them. The sad thing is that no book as ever been as good as Harry Potter, and I am still searching for a worthy competitor to replace my favourite. The closest I have come has been the Twilight saga but they were still not as good.

[spccwby07]

probably the Animorph series. I have never finished it. i think i grew out of it after a couple years . . . but since then, ive always been interested in finding something to read that will pass the occasional down time i have.

[Eloquence]

When I was really young, I was always one of the kids in reception class who thought, sure, sandpits and paint were fun, but ooh, look! The book corner! I learned to read quite early and it's basically been downhill (or uphill, really) ever since.

The first books I really remember reading (well, failing to read, actually) were Ivanhoe and Treasure Island. I was about six. Surprisingly, I was never put off. I think all the children's classics (like The Silver Sword, Carrie's War, The Peppermint Pig, Tom's Midnight Garden) were the ones that cemented themselves permanantly in my brain and kept me going back to the library for more.

And Harry Potter, of course.

[BarrieReader]

I came to Canada as a young girl speaking very little English. My teacher introduced me to the Richard Scarry books in order to speed up my English language skills. Then she introduced me to Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys and that was the beginning of a life long love of mystery and detective novels.

[booklover222]

I'm starting Harry Potter. A bit late, but it's okay.

[Topik]

My book addiction started with "Black Boy" by Richard Wright. Never was much of a reader before that.....

[xmasinthe70s]

Not a book, but a teacher. My 5th grade teacher had a reading contest. I loved to compete. I started reading.

[sharon.gmc]

I was not into reading when I was in high school, I was more into theater. What got me to reading was my English teacher who asked as to turn a short story into a stage play. . .

[angeldemon]

The cuckoo's egg by cliff stoll

[willrd]

"On The Road" was the book that did it for me. The language was beautiful and the humanistic sentiment was real. I read a bunch of books back in high school (mostly for classes) but it wasn't until this book that I understood how a book can be a powerful art form and a liberation from life in general.

[dreamgirl]

Dr. Seuss Rocks!

[dreamgirl]

www.iwasborntoloveyou.com

[webmagnate]

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl did it for me.