Back to School book blogging challenge – own story of reading

Parajunkee is having a “Back to School Book Blogger Challenge” for people to join in!

Challenge #5:

Share your own story as to what or who fostered your love of reading

I cant remember learning to read, but know I “had my letters” by the time I went to school (my mother is still not impressed at my first school report saying I “was coming on leaps and bounds with her reading”, since she had already taught me.

I have a sister who is 3 years older than me and she is the one who slipped me books (possibly slightly age inappropriate) for me to read. I know I had read plenty of Brian Aldiss and Piers Anthony books before I was in my teens!

The one type of books I got *her* to read is comic/graphic novels – not that she reads them that often! I started reading these in earnest when in college, had a collection into my 20s, which she started reading when I lived abroad (one of her friends also read them, so she wanted to find out what it was all about). She had previously been a bit snobby about them, but when she started reading them and realised what grown up comics actually looked like – and they are harder to read than she gave them credit for – she stopped dismissing them so much.