Reading and writing books has been a passion for years. It’s become such a big part of my life I couldn’t imagine my days without them, which is ironic. Mainly because I used to hate reading books and couldn’t believe I could ever write one.
You wouldn’t believe me if you know me since after my adolescent years, but I used to dislike books. Hated them even. I had a hard time reading. I was slow and it took me incredible amounts of effort and energy.
My dad frequently took me to the library, because he thought reading was important, but I could never find any fiction I liked, which made me think books were boring. The only books I liked were the informative books about animals. Until I found my first fantasy book. It was a MG book about a super bad boy vampire who snuck out every night from his castle-school, then one evening met a girl. The girl taught him that biting was bad and taught him how to kiss instead. It was adorable! It immediately became my favorite book too.
But it was the only book I could find that I liked. Where I live, fantasy wasn’t really popular and no one helped me actually find out what genres would fit me.
My introduction to English Fantasy
I was 14 the next time I picked up a book I enjoyed reading. I’m talking about the book Eragon by Christopher Paolini. It was such an amazing book I even finished it within 3 days (it took me weeks, almost months to finish one) and I just couldn’t put it down.
My friend’s dad had finished reading a book he borrowed from the library and recommended it to me. He said despite my dislike of books, I might like it because it was fantasy. It was filled with dragons and magic! Only thing was, it was English. Me being raised sort of bilingual made it less of a problem than he thought (heard and read English every day, but I never spoke in English and no one spoke in English to me), so I took the book.
It was so amazing! The feeling I got in finally being hooked for the first time. The not being able to put it down at night! The constant thinking about the story line and imagining myself in it. Oh if only I’d known fanfiction was a thing! After finishing the book I hunted down the library for its sequel Eldest. Much to my disappointment they only had it in Dutch, but I decided I had to try.
Months later and I had still not finished the book. It didn’t grab me the way Eragon had and I knew the story was still good, there was something else going on. So for my birthday, I ordered the box set, and although it took me a long time to get back to the books, when I did, that feeling of wonder returned to me and I knew I could love books. They just needed to be in English.
The book which rekindled my passion for books
Several years later I’m walking into a book store to by school supplies and I found myself staring at this intriguing book cover. It had a pretty girl in a fancy dress, looking depressed and all… But most of all, it was in English. I decided to pick up this book (Fallen by Lauren Kate) and try it out.
Like before, I loved the book right away, and it got me thinking. There was something in these books I missed in the books which were popular amongst others I knew. These books complimented the fantastical inside my mind. It was like finding my favorite RPGs in book form. Magic, dragons, romance, suspense, action, it was all there and I was suddenly hungry for more.
And from that day on, I knew I loved books, as long as they’re fantasy and written in English.