Memories of reading

I've always loved reading. I don't really remember how I got into it - my parents never really encouraged me to do it as I was living apart from them at the time and living with my grandparents and books were not really very accessible at that point in time in my life. I was probably in 4-5th grade when I got into reading in earnest.

The earliest memories I have of reading was reading some comics (Amar Chitra Katha, Archies, etc) in my school during one period which was designated for reading. Some books would be brought to the classroom and we could pick a book to read.

My other memory of reading is of getting ready to board a flight to go visit my parents with my sister and I was reading a comic while waiting to leave for the airport.

After that, the memories are stronger - when I moved to the Middle East to live with my parents, my school had a library. A small library to be sure, but a library which I didn't have access to before. Before the year was out, I had finished reading most of the books in the library. I would rent out a book a day and finish reading that book the very same day.

My mother was a teacher in another school which had a bigger library. I would go to that library with her and get books and read them too. I remember reading a huge book which was a compilation of all of Jane Austen's books.

I wish I had the time to read books like that now.