Diving into Another World

Hello my Lovelies 🙂

we left January behind us and we welcome February. This winter is more windy than cold or even freezing. It is a perfect time to do something creative or read a good book. Well, last week I wrote about watercolouring, so I think today we could talk about reading and how I found my way to this hobby. 🙂

My First Years Of Reading

I learnt reading quite early; I remember how my mother sat next to me and explained my name in letters and in what other words these letters could be found. Reading was a huge part in my family’s life. The only person who started reading quite late was my father because he didn’t find the right author. 😀 My mother had a separate room with a huge collection of books. She is still reading every night before she goes to bed. Her father – my grandfather – had a lovely collection as well. He read different books than my mother and even his wife, my grandmother, loved reading. As a little girl I was fascinated by my family members and their books. That’s why I loved taking a book out of the shelf and just browse through it – I couldn’t read at that point.
My mother used to read some fairy tales while my father didn’t read; he created his own version of those fairy tales for me.

After my mother had shown me the alphabet and the equivalent sounds, I tried to read my first words.
Then I went to elementary school and I loved to learn how to read. I started with books like Pipi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren or Emil and the Detectives by Erich Kästner. I loved the opportunity to dive into another world. I went on adventures while I sat on a windowsill. That was great for days when I couldn’t go out because of bad weather or when my friends weren’t at home.

Reading During High School

Next to my high school was the city library which was great because it was a walk of just one minute. 😀 They had a great collection of fictional and non-fictional books. The section for youth literature was huge. Those books were quite popular with a lot of girls. I tried reading them but they didn’t please me. A book had maybe 100 – 120 pages and I was, at that point, a fast reader and I didn’t enjoy books about school. I wanted to read different stuff.

The librarian was a strict lady in her mid-50’s. She knew her bookworms very well and she had an eye on us youngsters. One day I had some free time because one class had been cancelled, so I decided to go to the library and read something different. I sneaked into the area which was „forbidden“ because I wasn’t old enough for those books. And I found a book written by Stephen King „Pet Sematary“. In German the book is named „Friedhof der Kuscheltiere“, if I had to translate it, you could call it „cemetery of cuddly toys“. Well, how bad could the content be?! The librarian found me and that day I couldn’t read it. I tried it a few times and one day the Queen of the Library told me:“ Well, young lady, this book isn’t a book for someone of your age. I can’t allow you to take this book home with you. I would get into trouble with your parents. But – and this is really an exception – you can read it here and we will talk about it. If it is too scary you will tell me and I will show you the page where you can start reading again. OK?“

So I started reading my first Stephen King and it began a lovely relationship with the librarian. We talked about the book and she allowed me to have a look at books of all genres. I read a lot at that time.
I read Stephen King, Arthur Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie, Friedrich Dürrenmatt, Shakespeare, Goethe, Tolkien, and lots more. I read some books of family members like my grandfather or my auntie who was a huge fan of DinoPark by Michael Crichton or Harry Potter by JK Rowling.

At University And Working

My reading changed a lot after my graduation from Highschool. I studied Sociology and I had to read a lot for it so during this time I read many non-fictional books. When I read a fictional book it was more a cozy mystery one like „Aunt Dimity“ by Nancy Atherton. It was cute, refreshing, and light. A good book to read in a short time but still very enjoyable.

I don’t read as often as I would like to. Sometimes I would like to have a whole weekend just for me, so I could have silence. Maybe I would hear just sounds like rain or thunder. I’m aware that I need to find more time to read because it helps me to relax.

Ten Books/Book Series (No Ranking)

It’s no real „Top Ten list“ but ten books/series I really like.

• Pet Sematary (Stephen King)
• Body in the Library (Agatha Christie)
• Harry Potter (my personal favourite is number 3)
• The Physicists: A Comedy in Two Acts (Friedrich Dürrenmatt, it’s a play)
• Metro 2033 (Dmitry Glukhovsky)
• I Remember You (Yrsa Sigurdardóttir)
• Aunt Dimity (Nancy Atherton)
• The Fifth Elephant (Terry Pratchett)
• Conveniece Store Woman (Sayaka Murata)
• Battle Royale (Konshun Takami)

Some of those books I read 15 to 25 years ago and I’m still in love with them. So I started reading „Body in the Library“ again this year. Fun Fact: I took this book out of the shelf and I started smiling. I know the story, I know the characters, and every time I read it, I discover a little thing which makes the story more lovable.
Some of those books I read more than twice or I read them in German and English. I have a version of „Pet Sematary“ which is quite old and has loose pages. It is in really bad condition but I can’t separate from it. 🙂

Some books can broaden your mind while you are getting older. I think a really good book, which you enjoy and can read over and over again, is like meeting a good friend. You love to have them around and when you re-read it, it is like coming home. It gives you a positive feeling.

Wisdom of the day: Diving into different worlds helps you to broaden your mind, enjoy adventures, and escape your normal world.

Love to you all,
Your Evil Journalista Chrissi