Books and my newly awakend passion for reading.
Hallo, lovely people!
How do you feel about books? Do you like reading?
Until a few years ago reading was not an activity I’d voluntarily choose to do. All I used to read – and with great reluctance - was the books assigned from school and that was about it.
How do you feel about books? Do you like reading?
Until a few years ago reading was not an activity I’d voluntarily choose to do. All I used to read – and with great reluctance - was the books assigned from school and that was about it.
I’ll start form afar. We are talking about a 7-year-old me here – first grade in school, just beginning to learn how to read. I don’t know what had happened to me then but growing up I always thought I was a very slow reader and I was extremely frightened and embarrassed to read out loud in front of the class. When I did, I would get so nervous that I would stammer and stutter - it felt so humiliating. Although when I think about it now, it is pretty normal for a first grader to stutter a bit, so I had nothing to be afraid of.
Nevertheless, I believe that made me hate books and reading in general. Also, if you were wondering - that feeling didn’t just go away. It is present today but it’s far better now. Though I still get tense if I have to read something in front of people, be it just one person. Little by little I am overcoming my fears. Hooray for me!
Nevertheless, I believe that made me hate books and reading in general. Also, if you were wondering - that feeling didn’t just go away. It is present today but it’s far better now. Though I still get tense if I have to read something in front of people, be it just one person. Little by little I am overcoming my fears. Hooray for me!
Years past and I finally started enjoying books around 8th grate in high school. “The bridges of Madison Country” by Robert James Waller was one of the first books I read voluntarily and I absolutely loved it, although it was translated in Bulgarian. At that time I didn’t read books in English. The main male protagonist – Robert Kincaid - is a photographer which made me like the book even more. I am considering rereading it soon – this time in English. I feel that it is always better to read a book in its original language rather than any translation, no matter how good the translation is. Of course, that is if you are fluent in the given language.
In 9th grade I started practicing Da Dao – the Bulgarian martial art. I did this until 11th grade (2011). Our Sensei (in Da Dao he is called Rensei) is also an author so I had the opportunity to read a lot of his books. One of my favourites is „Ятаган и меч” (“Yataghan and sword”) by Токораз Исто (Tokoraz Isto) – that’s his pen name - An amazing Bulgarian historical novel in five parts. I do recommend it to every Bulgarian. These books contain great wisdom and also the story is fantastic.
There are other books I’ve read in the mean time – not so many, though. One of them is “Angel and Demons” by Dan Brown (also translated in Bulgarian) - great book, intriguing story. Another one is “Scooterboy” by Glyn Parry. I reckon this was the first book I read in English. I do not remember anything from the story anymore except that I liked it at the time. Note to self: Must reread it.
Last year I read “Gone with the Wind” by Margaret Mitchell (again a Bulgarian translation) – did not like it. Sorry, it’s just not my cup of tea. Scarlett 'O' Hara is the most irritating protagonist I have read about. She was getting on my nerves. The one thing I liked about her was her habit of saying “I can't think about that right now. If I do, I'll go crazy. I'll think about that tomorrow. ” and ceasing any destructive thoughts, at least for the day. Furthermore, for a main male protagonist, Rhett Butler was rarely appearing in the story. However, not all of it was bad. I learned about the cotton plantations and the slavery, which was enlightening.
Now we have come to my most recent endeavors. In March 2013 I was introduced to the magnificent author that is Cassandra Clare. The first book of hers that I read was “City of Bones” from “The Mortal Instruments” series – six books, five of them already available in the bookstores, the last one announced to be published in 2014.
I was extremely fascinated by the protagonists, the storyline and the writing style of Cassandra Clare. Moreover that was the first English book I had read in a long time so I was also learning new words – enriching my vocabulary and stuff ^^. I didn’t know there were so many synonyms to the verbs “scream” (squeak, squeal, squall, shriek, screech, squawk, yelp, yell, whine, roar, thunder) and “snarl” (grunt, snort, grumble, growl, and bellow). Impressed, are you? I know I was.
Never have I thought I could read so fast and with such an ease in English. I finished the whole series (except for the last, yet unpublished book, of course) in a month’s time. Then I read another magnificent series of Cassandra Clare’s – “The Infernal Devices” - a trilogy prequel to “The Mortal Instruments”.
Never have I thought I could read so fast and with such an ease in English. I finished the whole series (except for the last, yet unpublished book, of course) in a month’s time. Then I read another magnificent series of Cassandra Clare’s – “The Infernal Devices” - a trilogy prequel to “The Mortal Instruments”.
All of Cassandra’s books are a must read. I highly recommend them. The fact that I have never liked fiction or fantasy books in particular didn’t matter. I was so mesmerized by “Clockwork Princess”, for example, that right after finishing it I already wanted to reread it – the books are that good. If you haven’t guessed already, I am now a huge fan of Clare. “The Bane Chronicles” is next on my to-read list.
Currently I am reading “The Last Song” by Nicholas Sparks. I watched the movie beforehand so I know how the story will end but I believe the book is always better than the movie based on it, so I decided to read it anyway. Moreover, I have watched at least 5 movies based on Nicholas Sparks’s novels and loved all of them so I figured I will like the books too. So far – so good, although my progression is slow because of my busy schedule.
I think I’ll make a post about movies based on books I’ve read and my favourite movies in general, and yet another one about TV series. I’m looking forward to it.
This is it for today. I trust the length of my articles doesn’t bother you. Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed it!
Vera
This is it for today. I trust the length of my articles doesn’t bother you. Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed it!
Vera