From "The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop" by Louis Buzbee

I just started this book, and on page 37, I found something interesting that I had to answer.

He states:

There's nothing exceptional in my reading history, and that's why I've chosen to detail it. For those who are afflicted with book lust, those for whom reading is more than information or escape, the road to our passion is quite simple, paved merely by the presence of printed matter.

It's a common story; fill in your own blanks: I was ____ years old when I happened on a novel called ____, and within six months I had read every other book by the writer known as _____.

I was fifteen. The Grapes of Wrath. John Steinbeck.

I read that and thought, this is a question I must answer.

I was 13. A Wrinkle in Time. Madeleine L'Engle.

I have to explain a bit more, because it was quite an interesting story. I had some birthday money one time, and I bought A Wrinkle in Time, but didn't read it right away. Then, I had to do a book report for school, and my mother gave me a book that she had picked up for me. Guess what the book was? A Wrinkle in Time. So, I had two copies of the same book. Then, when I got the rest of the books in the quartet, I got them from a book order. First and only time I saw Madeleine L'Engle in a book order (I would know, I was always reading them). So, I got A Wrinkle in Time again! I also have two copies of A Swiftly Tilting Planet. So, I had the quartet, and An Acceptable Time, which is about one of the main characters from A Wrinkle in Time' daughter. I have to say, it was not 6 months before I had read her all, she was a difficult author to track down in Canada, actually. I got the rest of her young adult books when I went to Texas in the 8th grade, and then for the next year or so I ordered her adult books second hand off Amazon.com. Then, last year, I bought (just because I needed it again, right), a 4-in-1 copy of The Wrinkle in Time quartet. I have lost one of my copies over the years, but even with this very nice hardcover copy, I can't seem to get rid of any of the others. That means, I have three copies of both A Wrinkle in Time and A Swiftly Tilting Planet. There are still some of her older books that I don't own, but for being so young I did a very good job.

When someone says, what was the book that changed how you read, I say A Wrinkle in Time. I had always been a big reader, but reading that book changed my reading for the better.

I am going back to my reading, but if anyone else wishes to share, I think it's a fun question!