Thereafter he read widely and deeply for the rest of his life.

Mel and Han Ming, nice to see that people can come to reading late and still end up just as passionate as the early starters!

I notice my grandson loved being read too until he hit 5. Then he seemed more interested in playing out in the street with his friends than being read to. And he is not interested in learning how to read himself, although he seems to understand such a lot of words anyway. I think he is learning by osmosis.

Once I could read, I attacked the family library which was full of works such as Spanish and Latin American fiction, biographies, and historical non-fiction.

As a 7-8 year old, I had to have some dental treatment and each time we'd go to the city for it, my mother would reward me with a visit to the largest book-store there was in CR then, where I could choose a book.

While on primary school, I'd exchange books with one of my best friends who was also a keen reader, so we both enjoyed Treasure Island, Travels of Marco Polo, many of Jules Verne novels, and we even got some Enid Blyton.

All of this was in Spanish (my mother tongue).

As a teenager, I got hooked on the Latin American writers: Rómulo Gallegos, Gabriel García Márques, Vargas Llosa, Carpentier, but I also took up the challenge of reading a book in English; I finally managed to do it with Morris West's "The Shoes of the Fisherman", although it took quite a few trips to the dictionary!

My family keeps their passion for reading and we usually take advantage of our large network to share books with siblings and cousins. Being away from Costa Rica has not stopped this traffic, but makes it a little more complicated.

When reading, I usually become disconnected (escape, Glenda?). During our sailing years, I'd have to set a timer during my watches to remind me of looking around while I was engrossed in my book.

Books are a treasure!

But, I started really reading when I got laid off from my full time (way full time) job. I was use to always doing work and bringing work home that I needed something to do, hence the reading to occupy my time. This was… 3 1/2 years ago. I have not been able to stop since.

I am not the one of the family that stuck out. Actually, my brother was. But when I started reading more, he was the one I turned to. Now he is to busy to get much reading in and I have taken over the pages. 🙂 But in talking with my brother at our parents house, my mom is also a book lover. Things you learn when you start talking. I never really noticed it before, as she was always trying to be a working single mom.

But, I also read to my son when he was younger – every night. I am hoping he will pick up on the reading thing too. Not as much now, but he does have his own book shelves to add to. 🙂

But, I have not missed any buses to school because of reading. 🙂 I loved that. I don't know if my mom would have been happy or upset with me. 🙂

The thing that surprises me most is that there is only one person who started reading relatively late. With the rest of us, it seems it was a race between which was going to happen first – school, or us learning how to read as a pleasurable activity.

Interesting too how often the word "escape" comes up! I like Hisham's comment that reading puts you in another person's shoes. Absolutely!

I also loved boys' books. I think that was largely because girls' books were so blah. And so remote from my experience or interests. I didn't mind girls' books that were historical – like Little Women, which I read when I was eight, but I loathed a lot of the more modern girlie stuff that didn't have enough action.

I went though all the Biggles books (I had an older brother!) but I now suspect they were horribly racist, sexist things. So of course were the Blyton books. The funny thing is that I don't think that side of those 40s and 50s books had much impact on me, at least not when it came to racism. I was more inclined to follow my family's attitudes and logic than racist idiocy.

The sexism though, left its impact, I feel sure, in lots of subtle ways. As I grew up, I was exasperated at being a girl rather than thinking 'I can do anything!' In other words I accepted the status quo with bad grace, rather than deciding to fight it.

It helps that my family is a family of readers. My brother reads sci-fi, thrillers, and the occasional fantasy novel. My dad reads historical accounts, biographies, and other forms of nonfiction works. My mom reads works of fiction from authors such as Amy Tan and Khaled Hosseini. I read fantasy novels and the occasional nonfiction work, particularly stuff about religion, human rights, and such.

My dad always said to me that when it comes to books, money is not an issue. I'm fortunate to be able to afford to buy one up to a few books a week. It's a privilege that I've never wasted.

When I started school in the USA a few years ago, I decided that I wouldn't hoard my books. I would keep a few favorites, but the rest would go to friends or were donated. I told my friends that once they're done with the books, they should think about passing the books on or donating them. I've been doing it every several months since then.

I'm so glad that I picked up reading. I don't really do it only to pass time or to take me away to fantasy world. Instead, I just really love reading the stories and worlds that people come up with, learning about the characters who inhabit these constructions, and finding out What Happens Next.

The best thing I think I got from all the reading, and that I am still getting each day: I've learned how to put myself in other people's shoes.

A few years ago, I had major issues with reading – my husband is a non-reader and didn't really like me reading at night and so I lost the taste for it. Last year I decided to get it back and it's taken about 18 months, but I'm consuming books again and I'll never allow it to go away again.