Do you remember the first time you fell in love with reading?

Was it when the pictures in a story book came alive to you, or when you would cuddle next to your parents during a bed time story?

For me, it wasn’t until grade five. Of course, I remember reading books as a child and learning to read the Jane books we all read in school, but my first memory of actively falling in love with reading was in my grade five class, sitting at my desk during our reading period and getting upset with the teacher for making us do something as horrible as math. For the first time, I’d discovered a book I didn’t want to stop reading.

After that, you couldn’t find me without a book in hand. My favorite place to be was the local library and I would take out as many books as they’d allow me to take home every time I visited. I became a voracious reader…I’d read beneath the blankets when I was supposed to be sleeping, in my closet reading books I didn’t want my mom to know I read, beneath a tree during the summer months or even in my favorite big comfy chair that I somehow managed to convince my parents to let me have in my already crowded bedroom.

I loved to read. I still do.Never give up on reading!

I was recently asked how I manage to find time to read while writing my stories. My answer is simple: I make time.

For me, reading is a way to calm my soul when I’m stressed. It fulfills my desire to know more, to be more, to do more. It feeds the creative energy within me and challenges me. So many times I will pick up a book and wish that I could ‘write like this author’. When I read, I want to get lost in that story. When my kids were younger, being able to pick up a book while they were napping was pure heaven for me.

I don’t know about you, but where I read is important. Sure, I can read in my vehicle while waiting for my daughter to finish her Aikido class or while my kids are at the dentist, and yes, I can read on the plane but I think we all have our favorite reading spots, don’t we?

For me, it’s sitting out on my deck in my lounger, or up in my bedroom in my big comfy chair (yes, I still have a reading chair after all these years in my bedroom), or in the bath or sitting in a beach chair, my feet covered with sand and listening to the waves. Last year I discovered the joy of reading in a hammock and it’s not my mission to have one in my backyard.

Reading is an experience and one I thoroughly enjoy. It doesn’t matter to me if I’m reading a paper book or on my kindle – as long as there is a story I can lose myself in, I am happy.

How about you? How do you make the time to read and where is your favorite reading place?