ReaderCon 2012 Filipino Friday #2: School of Reading

School of Reading. We all started reading somewhere, and more often than not, we were influenced by someone. Who got you into reading? Your parents? A friend? A librarian? One teacher who always lends out his/her books? How helpful was your school in helping your reading habit / fueling your book addiction?

I have my late mother to thank for my love of reading. If I didn’t grow up seeing her reading books, I’m not sure if I would’ve gotten into it at an early age.

Our school library was also a haven for me. I went to a private school during my elementary and high school years, so I was lucky enough to be able to borrow lots of fun and interesting books.

Here’s more about my reading history from my FF post last year:

I used to accompany my Mom to bookstores, where I wandered off to the more age-appropriate sections while she browsed for her Sidney Sheldons and Danielle Steels and Jackie Collinses and Robert Ludlums.

My elementary and high school library cards were well-used. On average, I went through 3 Borrower’s Cards per year (I needed to allot time to studying too! ).

In elementary, my reading list included Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, The Three Investigators, Beverly Cleary books, and Choose Your Own Adventure books. Oh, and Paddington Bear; let’s not forget him because he’s ridiculously adorable.

In high school, I went through the Sweet Valley and Sweet Dreams phase like most teenage girls, but I also started to pick up occasional YA fantasy fare, like E. Nesbit, Zilpha Keatley Snyder, Diane Duane, and Madeleine L’Engle. It was also in high school that I was introduced to the Dragonlance saga, which would ignite my interest in epic fantasies.

In college, I started reading my Mom’s books, and that piqued my interest in general fiction. I also continued to hunt down Dragonlance and Michael Crichton titles. And I read Isaac Asimov short stories in the library in between classes.

Hrmmm…on hindsight, after re-reading the above, I can now see why my current reading list consists mostly of YA and fantasy. 😛

What about you? How did you get into reading? 🙂 Feel free to comment below.

See you all at the ReaderCon!

United We Read — The 2nd Filipino ReaderCon will be held on August 18th from 8:00am-6:00pm at the Filipinas Heritage Library, Ayala Triangle, Makati City. For more information, visit the official website at filipinoreadercon.wordpress.com.

Don’t forget to cast your vote for the 1st Filipino Readers Choice Awards. Click here for more details.

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Previously, on Filipino Friday 2012:
FF 1: Introductions