The Joy of Reading

            It’s hard to believe. When I was young I never liked to read.

I would be given homework assignments in public school to read a book for English or history. Nothing was interesting. So many times I started reading the book. Often I put it down quickly.

Once I went shopping with my mother in Korvette’s in 1970. We were in the book section. I was in the fiction section and came across a book called “Whom the Gods Would Destroy” by Richard Powell. I read the inside flap – historical fiction about the Trojan War. For some reason, this sounded interesting.

At the time I was going to Kingsborough Community College at the Masonic Temple in downtown Brooklyn. I took three buses there and back. I took this book with me. For some reason, I just could not put it down. I was enthralled with the way the Trojan War was brought to life by the author.

I actually realized that reading was fun.

Since then, I have always found something to read on various subjects. Through my mother, I found one author she enjoyed, Jean Plaidy, who wrote numerous books about English royalty. She wrote various series from the Normans to Victoria. I got them all - over 90 books. Still not all read. I found several other authors I enjoyed, including Ian Fleming, Clive Cussler, Steve Berry, Steven Saylor, W. Michael & Kathleen Gear. I’m always reading in the train. I get two plus hours of reading done every day.

The trick for me was that I was able to read what I wanted, not what I was told. When I realized that, the floodgates opened.

Remember, you may not like what you are instructed to read, but you will find something on your own that you like for fun or information.