I hated reading when I was a kid. Actually, I’m putting that very mildly. I really detested it; loathed it even. I up turned my nose at Summer reading programs. I howled in agony (like a vampire getting shoved into a church) whenever I got super close to a public library. I would give my teachers skull splitting migraines with my whining and carrying on whenever they assigned me something to read. Hell, my distaste for reading as a kid was so intense that I would have tossed it in a bonfire if I thought about it. That would eventually change.
Part of the reason why I was like that was because I hated school, and I’ll go out on a limb here and say that a lot of people (if not most) hated school at that age. I mean, children want to play and have fun while stuffing their faces with cookies and ice cream. However, most of us grow out of that hatred for one reason or another, but I was very much stubborn – I wasn’t about to let go of my loathing. The reason for that was because I had this insane notion that the place I grew up at didn’t like me. That’s a long story for another time, but I thought that since it didn’t like me then I wasn’t going to like it. I resisted a lot of things my hometown had to offer – including reading.
But as the wise man once said – time heals all wounds. That’s not entirely true, but for me it was. I would eventually get into reading, and I would have a “Mikey Likes It!” moment. I had told this to a librarian once, and she beamed and asked me what book won me over. Without missing a beat, I told her that it was Detective Comics. She had wrinkled her nose at the mention of comic books, but had said that I was at least reading. I became a voracious reader, a habit that’s stuck with me ever since. I’m very passionate about it. Some authors who I have fallen in love with include Stephen King, John Jakes, and Jack Kerouac. And I thank people like my mom who were patient with me and never gave up on getting me to read. But I also thank something else – comic books. Growing up, I would find great escape in the adventures of Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman. Reading comic books would eventually inspire me to read actual books.
So, that’s how I went from loathing books to loving them—a journey I’m grateful for every day.
Updated 12/2/2024
