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Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you see?
1st American book I remember. I was very confused as to why the horse was blue, and the cat was purple. But that alone, helped me always remember those two colors. -
Where the Wild Things Are
Max was the first fictional character I strongly disliked. I always remember being very engaged with books. -
The Giving Tree
This was the 1st book I learned how to read in English. This is the 1st book I read over & over again. I became obsessed with trees because of this book. -
The Indian in the Cupboard
I remember thinking how it was impossible for this to ever happen in real life. I did not like this book because I felt it was too far fetched, and I felt bad because Omri always kept Little Bear away from his home. I always became too emotionally involved with the story lines. -
The Babysitters Club
Though I was still enjoying a full imagination, and still did not fully relate the stories to any real-life experience. I learned many lessons with these books. My Favorite character was Maryann. This was the 1st box series my parents ever bought me. I wanted to start my own babysitters club and be just like them. -
The Boxcar Children
I learned to appreciate my family more. I began to relate on a deeper level with books while comparing it to my personal life.
I couldn't believe that these kids were homeless. I felt very bad that they had lost both of their parents and were alone. I kept asking my self what I would do if my younger brother and I were to lose our parents. -
A Wrinkle in Time
My imagination began to expand to new ideas and possibilities I had never been introduced to. I was excited to discover these new worlds. This was the 1st book I ever cried to. -
The Giver
This is when I realized my love for books. Funny enough, like Jonas I had mastered visualization. By this point reading was as if I was watching a movie in my mind. I read this book back to back. -
Romeo & Juliet
Though I love theater. I learned that I do not like Shakespeare. I find it boring, and confusing. I realize that it must be due to the lack of understanding. Though I do consider myself bilingual in English and Spanish, Shakespearean is a whole new level. -
1984
I learned to "read between the lines". My mind began to expand beyond the words that were written and I began to analyze beyond into the meanings behind them. Specially during this particular year. -
Perks of Being a Wallflower
I learned to relate more to the main character. I was constantly trying to understand why Charlie was the way he was, and trying to compare myself to him in order to better understand him. I could say I "felt" the book. -
A Child Called "IT"
Simply a heart wrenching read. I read it in two days. I read this book with all my senses. This is the only way I could describe this experience. I have not been able to read it again. -
The Children of Now
My purpose has shifted to an educational one. I am now a mother and I am researching information, and guidance on how to raise my son. -
Parenting Magazine
Informative information, articles I could relate to my sons age and things I could incorporate in real-life. I still read articles in these magazines. -
Choke
The vocabulary was very different than what I was used to. Outside of my comfort zone but it pushed me to analyze new perspectives. New subject for me. Extremely Raw, adult content. -
A Million Little Pieces
I was able to relate previous life experience to this content, as I had lived a similar situation myself. At this point in my life, books helped me to not feel so alone in a lot of my personal battles. -
Twilight Series
Craving to revisit the world of fantasy I once glanced at. I began to read just for fun, as a type of meditation. -
Hunger Games Series
I enjoyed this style of writing much more. I was able to immerse into the story by visualizing characters, setting, even emotions due to the extremely descriptive vocabulary. -
Mortal Instruments Series
Worlds of fantasy became my second home. Cassandra Clare's writing is full of her humor, mixed in with adventurous plot twists that keep you hooked. After reading this series, I battled between really wishing for them to be made into movies but at the same time, I was afraid they wouldn't do Clare's work justice. Regrettably, the later happened. -
Harry Potter Series
I was very reluctant to read this series. I had already watched some of the movies and enjoyed them. I was afraid of the book ruining the movies for me. I was wrong! the books enhanced my experience on so many levels. The movie had done the visualization step for me, leaving me an open range to discover a more in depth story-line. As a result, my curiosity sparked and I wanted to know more. I read the entire series to my son, and on my own my in a month, while having a full time job. -
Shiver
My grammar improved. And the way I expressed my self verbally was also different. With this book I realized how much faster I was reading. I read this in two days. -
The Maze Runner series
I Introduce my 12 year old son to the world of book series. We would take turns reading chapters, and after each chapter we would talk about our thoughts on what was happening in the book. -
The Power of Now
My focus has shifted more towards personal growth, and self discovery. Books are filled with priceless knowledge, tips, exercises, and perspectives that anyone can learn and grow from. -
How to Make Friends and Influence People
Extremely powerful content. I have successfully applied this information to different areas in my life. This book was recommended to me by a fellow colleague when I became a manager at my current job. -
Articles, Google / Google Scholar
Since starting college, my reading focus is on the subject of the classes I am taking. From a young age I learned to always look for different perspectives, learn from them and then create my own opinions based on the knowledge I have gained.
