My father taught me to read long before I went to
school. There were few children’s books
in our house, so he opted for the encyclopedia set displayed in the living
room.
Volume 1: Aa-Az.
He loved nonfiction and probably wanted a return on his
investment since the set was so expensive.
He thought it was a good place to start.
I know everything there is to know about
aardvarks.
I have been in love with reading and writing all my life. I
remember playing in my mother’s flowerbeds and scratching letters into the dirt
with a stick when I was barely out of diapers. I spent seven years in a
Catholic elementary school with a library so small that all the books were my
friends. By the time I graduated, I had read every book twice, sometimes three
times.
At home, my mother bought provocative, pulp, best sellers,
and my father collected graphic, historical, nonfiction, but both were strictly
off limits to us kids. Since they both worked full time jobs, I snuck and read my
parents’ books whenever they would not be home for long stretches of time. My grandmother took care of us, but she was
too busy reading her own “Mexican novellas” written in Spanish to notice what I was doing, reading from the “adult” section of our book collection.
I have read thousands of books in my lifetime. Many are memorable and many weren’t, so not
one stands out as my favorite.
Sure, I could name the Bible or some classic. Maybe a book on social change or an
eye-opening best seller. How about a
sleeper that no one else has stumbled across?
I could impress you with my superior knowledge, pretend to be cool and cosmopolitan,
but the truth is – I am a book nerd and nothing else. I am in love with books, hundreds
of them, and it all started when I mastered the encyclopedia entry on aardvarks.
Thanks,
Dad. Your investment paid off.
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