“And Then I Never Stopped”—21 Wonderful Books That Made You Readers

“What was the book that turned you into a reader?”

Last Friday, we asked you that question on our Facebook page. We loved your answers so much that we wanted to share some of our favorites with everyone. If you didn’t get a chance to weigh in, add the book that turned you into a reader in the comments. Thanks for making us smile, and keep the reading going!

“Not one book in particular, but when I was growing up we went to a small locally owned general store every Saturday. Once a week I was allowed to get a Little Golden Book. I wish that I had kept them all for my daughter.” —Nicole S.

“The Secret Garden—I even named my son after one of the characters:-)” —Erin E.

“Charlotte’s Web. Changed my life!” —Thou Y.

“The Dick and Jane books. Run Jane Run. Run Dick Run. They did a lot of running but I was learning to read.” —Melissa H.

“The Giving Tree was book I worked on for years to learn to read the right way, and with four different types of dyslexia and dygraphia, that’s not easy. I first was able to read it all the way through my freshman year of high school.” —Margaret C.

“The Cat in the Hat! And I just read it to my grandchildren this past weekend, 54 years later.” —Don P.

“My love of reading is from no particular book, but from a teacher I had in the fourth grade, Mrs. Darren. I struggled with reading, then this teacher took the time to teach me how to read and my love for reading grew and grew. I started to read everything I could read and to this day I still do.” —Diane C.

“When we were little, my mom bought these books from a salesman, I think there were ten of them. One had poems, one had history, another one had short stories. I loved them!” —Patricia M.

“I kind of feel stupid, ’cause I’m 46 years old, but it was Twilight’s New Moon. Never really liked reading til then.” — Christine V.

“I taught myself how to read (and write) with the Curious George books.” —Kate C.

“Grimm’s. My mom got me a copy at a yard sale and I carried it with me everywhere. best 25 cents every spent!” —Dana P.

“Follow the River when I was 11. I wasn’t allowed to watch anything rated over PG so when I found that I could be “bad” without my parents knowing, I got really into reading.” —Stevi W.

“The back of a cereal box. Took off from there.” —Marisela F.

“I can’t remember, it was so many years ago, but thank God I can read and see, one of the many blessings in my life. I get to experience so many worlds, cultures and events through books, I love to get lost in books.” —Kathleen M.

“Stephen King’s On Writing. He said if you want to be a great writer, you have to read a lot. He still reads a lot. I would love to write, so I must read…read…read.” —Teyana B.

“The Monster At the End of This Book. My poor mother probably still has it memorized.” —Christy R.

“Listening to my Daddy read a large assortment of Little Golden Books! I was two and possessed with the idea of reading to myself. Thanks, Daddy!” —RuthAnn S.

“My mother read books like Goodnight Moon to me when I was still a baby, and I remember sitting on her lap for hours as a child, listening to the sound of wonderful stories about enchanting places. I couldn’t wait to learn to read, and I started reading when I was four, and I had a library card when I was five.” —DeAnn R.

“When I was a kid, we had a fabulous librarian who took time to help children. I’ve been a life long reader due to her. Thank YOU, librarians everywhere!” —Maryann N.

“A Tale of Two Cities—had to read it in high school—kept saying I hated it till I got past the first chapter and then I couldn’t put it down. I have an e-reader at work, a tablet at home, and hundreds of real live lick-your-finger-to-turn-the-page books.” —Sharon C.

“Put Me in the Zoo was the very first book I read myself, and from that point on I was unstoppable.” —Anne P.

  What’s your favorite response on this list?