Who I Am as a Reader

 "Write 100 things about yourself as a reader."  This is what Franki Sibberson told her library students.  She wrote a short essay in Open a World of Possible with her own reflective list (although she hadn't reached 100 yet). "This is a really fun thing to do. It is just an entertaining and informative way to think about my reading life--what works for me as a reader and what doesn't." I've added to my own list over time, and I'll keep adding until I hit 100!

1. I was obsessed with reading as a kid and had a record-breaking summer of reading with the library.
2. My love for reading was influenced by my parents -- my dad a high school English teacher and my mom an elementary teacher.
3. When I was four years old, I asked my mom, "How do people read?" That was when she explained how every letter made a sound, and I was very motivated to learn!
4. I remember my mom reading American Girl books to/with me.
5. I remember my dad reading Shel Silverstein books to me as well as a book of fairytales. I'd lie down next to him and rest my head on the crook of his arm.
6. I didn't like Frog and Toad books as a kid (mostly because of the brown and green illustrations) but absolutely love them as an adult, and I credit them for teaching my oldest son how to read.
7. I loved the Baby-sitter Little Sister series after a read aloud from the 1st grade teacher.
8. My only memory from my 2nd grade year was the teacher assistant reading Sideways Stories from Wayside School. I sat on the floor directly in front of her, and my neck would hurt from tilting it back so far.
9. I loved the Boxcar Children and Nancy Drew series as a kid.
10. (As an adult, the Boxcar Children books seem sooooo boring).
11. In 5th and 6th grades, I was in a class that incorporated class novels for reading instruction instead of a dry reading textbook.
12. My favorite novel as a kid was The Giver.
13. My favorite picture book as a kid was The Sneetches and Other Stories.
14. I “published” several books in elementary school, including “The Magical World of Disney,” “Help! I’m a Prisoner in my School”, and “Could it Really. E?”
15. One of my favorite books at my grandma’s house was “Never Talk to Strangers,” but I talk to strangers all the time.
16. In high school, I was obsessed with the Dilley sextuplets (at the time, the only sextuplets in America) and begged my mom to drive me an hour to Indianapolis to meet the parents and have them autograph their book at the Borders bookstore.
17. I memorized the book Caps for Sale for a high school speech class and have retold and acted out the story dozens of times.
18. I enjoyed reading books by Max Lucado in high school so much that I named my guitar Max after him.
19. Middle school and high school "required reading" and "reading on your level" and "classics" killed my love of reading, and I didn't read much for pleasure until my 30's.
20. All I remember of Gulliver’s Travels from my Western Classics class in college was that a character had a forked beard, so I dressed up with a glittery “beard” and a plastic fork attached to it.
21. I have lots of "actual" bookmarks and made-by-my-boys bookmarks, but my most common bookmark is a square of toilet paper (and followed closely by a tall blade of grass)
22. I enjoy reading in the bathroom (if you couldn't guess from the number above).  In my parents' home, it was Reader's Digest, Guideposts, and Uncle John's Bathroom Readers (a hodge-podge of articles and trivia)
23. I LOVE library sales! 
24. It's very difficult for me to pass a Little Free Library without stopping.
25. One of my favorite gifts I've ever received was a Little Free Library from Lucas to host in our front yard.
26. My favorite genres, as an adult, are biography/memoir, Christian living, and middle grade literature (all kinds!). 
27. I started tracking my books regularly on Goodreads the fall of 2017, and now I track each chapter book I finish.
28. I started yearly reading challenges in 2017, when I read 108 (goal 100).
29. 2018 - Goal 120; Actual 198
30. 2019 - Goal 119; Actual 171
31. 2020 - Goal 150; Actual 157
32. 2021 - Goal 150; Actual 261
33. 2022 - Goal 365; Actual 365 (barely!)
34. What kick-started my interest in reading as an adult was when I became a 4th grade teacher, and I knew I wanted to develop a reading community in my classroom and had to first model that as a teacher.  
35. The book that most influenced me as a teacher was Donalyn Miller's The Book Whisperer.
36. When I taught upper elementary students, we participated in #classroombookaday where we read and rated a picture book every day.
37. My 4th grade students and I participated in Global Read Aloud where we read the same book as classes around the world and then exchanged postcards and Skyped with them.
38. One unique field trip I planned as a teacher was “Library Day” where we toured 4 of the 6 library branches in town.
39. On several occasions as a classroom teacher, I extended our silent reading time because I didn’t want to stop.
40. I had an awesome classroom library the unfortunately is now mostly boxed up or given away.
41. I organized, shelved, and labeled hundreds of books to create a small library at the Christian school where I taught. I considered it a “legacy” project but since found out that the barcode software was no longer supported, so all those beautiful barcodes are good for nothing now.
42. I have library cards for my city as well as two of the surrounding counties.
43. Curbside pick-up of hold items is absolutely wonderful!
44. And I love that I can request books from any of the 6 library branches in town, and they’ll bring them to my home branch.
45. I love that libraries now often services beyond books like computers/printing and game checkout.
46. I like to have lots of books going at once (audio, paper, Kindle and from all genres).
47. I typically don’t like to reread books unless I’m reading them to a different group.
48. Some middle grade series that I’ve read all of: A - Z Mysteries, Whatever After, I Survived, Hazardous Tales, Baby-sitters Club graphic novels, the Chronicles of Narnia.
49. I can easily zone out both when reading print and when listening to audiobooks.
50. I’ve read through the Bible eight different times, starting when I was in college. I usually try to do a different translation or reading plan to mix it up.
51. I could spend hours browsing bookstores—especially sales and used bookstores.
52. 200 pages is my sweet spot. 300, I have to be really motivated. 400 and up (except for the Bible) is probably a no.
53. I do get excited when I see a thick book and open it up to find that it is either filled with pictures (graphic novel) or white space (novels-in-verse).
54. I’m happy that graphic novels and novels-in-verse have exploded in popularity compared to when I was a kid.
55. I like my books like I like my movies—G and PG.
56. I usually underline and star sections when reading books I own (usually only for nonfiction books unless it's Anne of Green Gables or a George Macdonald novel).
57. I love audiobooks! I enjoyed books on CD, but having a smart phone is a game changer! (No more keeping track of your place!)
58. I plan on reading aloud to my kids as long as they’re in my home.
59. I don’t have enough bookshelves, so I often shelve books two deep.
60. I regularly use (and max out) two library cards, and I use my son’s as a backup if I reach my limit.
61. I still read picture books to all my boys together (ages11 to 3 months).
62. Reading one-handed with a Kindle is super helpful while holding a sleeping baby!
63. We could a bare-bones paper white Kindle with Target gift cards from our wedding 11 years ago, and it’s still kicking.
64. Although reading can make me drowsy, I’ll stay up late for a good book, especially one with cliffhanger chapters.
65. I get carsick when I try to read in the car.
66. I don't particularly care for wordless books.
67. One of my favorite Christian authors is Gary Thomas, and I try to read one of his books every year.
68. I never used book lists until the past couple years and now when a favorite blogger e-mails out a new book list, I almost always add many of them to my holds list at the library.
69. My library no longer has fines and has unlimited renewals (as long as no one puts a hold on it), which is a very dangerous thing. (I just checked and have a book that has been renewed 14 times!)
70. I don't do well with required reading (harkening back to high school days), which means I don't really care for book clubs unless it's a book I really want to read.
71. In 2023, I'm planning on hosting a Literary Society, where ladies meet once a month to discuss books we're reading and loving. We'll have a variety of genre preferences and paces, but I'm looking forward to building this community of readers!
72. My favorite book read in 2021 was All Thirteen about the Thai cave rescue.
73. My favorite book of 2022 was My Jesus by Anne Wilson. It was a compelling memoir that I couldn’t set down (so I walked around the house reading it).
74. Some of my favorite audiobooks are memoirs/autobiographies read by the author such as The God I Love by Joni Eareckson Tada, Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson, and Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus by Nabeel Qureshi.