As writers, we have a lifelong affair with books. We read more than we write and secretly think anyone who doesn’t read voraciously isn’t worth spending time with.

I’ve read countless books. And along the way, I’ve amassed quite a few ‘reader secrets’. I’ve decided to spill the beans on my mostly normal, idiotic and mildly embarassing reader secrets.

The birth of a reader

1. I wasn’t interested in reading as a child and didn’t start reading my first book till I was 12.

2. It took me 2 years to complete that first book.

Growing pains

3. By the time I’d turned 15, I’d gone from reading Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, assorted kiddie romantic stuff like Sweet Dreams and Love Stories to Barbara Cartland, Jeffery Archer and Sidney Sheldon. 

4. The number of classics I’ve read can be counted on the fingers of one hand. It’s something I’ve never been able to rectify.

5.  Shakespearean English drives me insane. I avoided it in school and picked up my younger sister’s “Shakespeare for kids” to read it in plain, everyday English  just so I knew every play’s story.

6. The only reason I love Pride & Prejudice so much is because I read my sister’s copy which she was using for her English Literature class. All the difficult words had meanings written above them by her. I didn’t have to pick up the dictionary once. 

The blessings of reading

7. I never had to learn vocabulary because of my addiction to Harlequin historicals and Judith McNaught’s novels. The vocabulary used in romance novels is at the SAT and GMAT level. Even if I didn’t know the exact meaning, I knew the context they were to be used it. Piece of cake in a multiple choice question exam.

8. Enid Blyton’s ’St. Claire’s’ and ‘Mallory Towers’ series was the reason I loved school. Moreover, it was the reason I loved my all girl school.

9. I never studied for any of my English Literature exams and always scored high. My secret? The characters in the novel were my best friends. 

The curse of a voracious reader

10. I’ve read pretty much everywhere. Bathrooms, planes, trains, cars, cafes, weddings (mobile books rock!), in class, seminars – you name it.

11. Two months after reading a book, I forget it. It’s a blessing. I can read my favourite books again and again.

12. When Lord of the Rings came out, I read the entire unabridged novel and loved it.  I haven’t been able to bring myself to read it again. 

13. I couldn’t stop reading even during exams. It was standard practice for me to have a fiction book hidden inside my larger course book to fool my mum into thinking I was studying. Mum was of course, rarely fooled. 

The oddities

14. I love Harry Potter and hate the Twilight series.

15. I read romance novels. Trashy romance novels. It’s my choice of bed time reading.

16. I will probably never read Stephen King’s fiction books again.

17. My favourite thing to do at the dentist is to sit beside someone who’s reading and read from their book/magazine. I’ve mastered the art of reading off of other people’s books discretely while listening to music. 

Do you have any reader secrets? Care to share? Or am I the only freak in town?

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