Gotta read

I've been tagged. Thanks, Cha, for the inspiration. Here's my take on 15 Things About Books, a completely open-ended list about books and book preferences.

1. Growing up I remember very distinctly several of the first books I owned in my library, which I read over and over. A few include: A is for Anabelle, Walt Disney's Storyland, No Roses for Harry, Lyle Lyle the Crocodile (thanks to Cha for finding the last 2 for our girls), A Fly Went By, The New Kid on the Block, Charlotte's Web, the Ramona Quimby books, A Wrinkle in Time, Hardy Boys series, Nancy Drew series, Anne of Green Gables.
2. I took a long hiatus from reading after my children were born. It's due to my personality. You see, when I'm reading (or doing anything for that matter) I need to know that I can focus for a while on just reading without interruptions. Mothers don't really have that luxury. For me, the thought of having to put a book down in the middle of a good part was just too unbearable. That's when TV stepped in - it requires less commitment and less concentration. I have since picked up reading again, but the only time I have to indulge in it is when the kids are down at night.
3. I'm convinced the reason I don't have 20/20 vision anymore is because of reading. Up until the point when I was an engineering major, I wasn't required to read too much. As soon as I transferred from Engineering to Humanities I delved into reading and not just because I had to. I think I had a combined average of 50-100 pages per night assigned on everything from Supreme Court decisions, foreign policy, North/South Korean relations, urban policy, to philosophy. It was that first semester after transferring that I noticed a dramatic drop in my perfect vision. But aside from that, I had a really good education. I wish I had taken better advantage of it at the time.
4. I am extremely anal about the care of my books. Before college I used to buy clear contact paper (the kind you line your kitchen drawers with) and cover all of my softback books. I can't stand the sight of creases on the bindings of my books. That's why all my books look unread. I had to abandon that habit when I went to college, for fear of being labeled a freak.
5. This is how much of an engineering nerd I am - freshman year of college, I was really into the book A Brief History of Time, by Stephen Hawking.
6. My favorite sources for books are Amazon.com and Costco (of course). Why pay msrp?
7. The one book I can recite in its entirety by memory is Goodnight Moon. Wherever I am, even if I don't have the book on me, I can recite the story for my girls and it calms them down at night.
8. For me, the hardest part about reading is choosing the right book. Two of my biggest pet peeves are investing time and money at a subpar restaurant and investing time and precious bookshelf space on a mediocre book. It often takes me weeks or more to decide on a book - I will check reviews and ask people I know before I even consider buying/checking out a book. Anyone got any good book review sources or better yet, any good books?
9. When I was in the 4th grade I used to dream about becoming a children's book writer and illustrator, even though I was a child myself. I actually wrote, illustrated and bound (well, stapled) a few of my own stories. At that time, I was really into unicorns, so I wrote lots of mythical stories and was constantly practicing my unicorn drawings. I guess this is why I can relate to Napoleon Dynamite and his fascination with ligers.
10. Whenever my mom comes to visit our kids (or we go to visit them) she comes with half a suitcase full of books. She picks them up wherever she goes. I love it, but I seriously need to consider getting a wall unit built for all of them. Cha, is also guilty of contributing to our enormous library. I think we may have about half as many children's books as the dinky local library in our area (sad).
11. I once took a class to learn how to speed read. It was pretty interesting and for reading under pressure (such as a standardized exam) it's pretty handy, but it's not enjoyable. You have to position your whole body and hold your book a certain way that doesn't look or feel normal. Imagine a whole room full of people doing this and waving their hands across book pages at a rapid speed - it looks crazy. You can't really read like that outside the privacy of your own home. Also, after doing it for a half an hour or so, your head really hurts.
12. Ever since college and studying poli sci, I have really been into reading non-fiction documentary-style books - really depressing stuff about people in other parts of the world or other cultures that makes me appreciate my life even more and gets me riled up about all the injustice in the world. For example, Amazing Grace by Kozol and The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Fadiman are both very compelling reads. But lately, since a friend of mine leant me her copy of Memoirs of a Geisha, I have been really itching for some good fiction. Maybe it's just a result of me wanting to escape from the crazy state of the world lately - I need more uplifting, happy endings.
13. I am currently reading: Three Junes by Julia Glass, The World According to Garp by John Irving, and Young at Art: Teaching Toddlers Self-Expression, Problem-Solving Skills, and an Appreciation of Art by Susan Striker.
14. I found this list of 100 best English language novels since 1923 and it's pathetic how few of them I have read. Maybe 15% at best.
15. The one good habit I hope my kids develop and keep with them forever is the need to read. Can you imagine how brilliant you would be if you read everything available to you?