Not quite six years ago, when we were in the middle of the COVID lockdown, I spent my time chronicling my lifelong love of reading. Just for fun, I decided to edit and post it again for those who might have missed it the first time around. So please excuse my self-indulgence in repeating myself (something that is becoming an all-too-often occurrence in my elder age. 😉 )

So here is the first installment; stay tuned for the next two, and then I hope to finish the series so you know what happened after I discovered smut.

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When we first started the virus lockdown, I was having a tough time focusing on reading, so I turned to my BoBs (Books of Books I began 53 years ago, pictured in my new blog photo) to take a journey into what I’ve read over the years. It was interesting to see not only which books I read but also how my tastes (and handwriting!) have changed over the years. I started reminiscing about how I developed as a reader waaaaay back before my saddle shoes graced the steps of Harrison Elementary School, which led me to decide to chronicle my reading from age 3 to the present day. 

My Very First Book

My mother said that as soon as I could grab, the first things I would latch onto were books. Now she may have been humoring me, but it wouldn’t surprise me. I don’t remember having many children’s books in our little trailer house, but if we did, they were most likely the Little Golden Books from the local five-and-dime store, Knickerbocker.

What I do remember is discovering our 1950 edition of Betty Crocker’s Picture Cookbook and deciding to use the pages to practice writing my name. Then someone told me (probably a neighbor friend) that continually writing my name made me seem self-centered, so I stopped. Below is the actual book, which I still own. I’m unsure who was the recipient of “I Love You” and have no idea what “EUESS” meant.

My First Booktalk

One thing I was looking forward to when I started first grade was reading the Dick and Jane series, but Mrs. Browning sent me past “Go,” putting me in the “advanced” group, where we read a different set, most likely the Ginn readers. I remember looking forward to each day’s reading assignment.

But what I’ve never forgotten are my trips to the Cottage Grove Library and how much of a treat it was to haul home a huge stack of picture books. I was so impressed by D’Aulaires’ Don’t Count Your Chicks that I took it to first-grade Show and Tell and gave my first book talk, imploring everyone to read it. The only problem is I made the grave error of giving away the ending! I never did that again.

And from there, it was a slippery slope to more advanced reading in the form of chapter books and two of the most magical reading experiences of my life, which will be the topics of my next post.