Image of Janelle smiling in a green checkered sweater while holding a large latte
[Intro with classical, romantic music, setting the scene as if we were in a Jane Austen novel]
If you were to ask my friends to tell you something that reminded them of me, you’d probably get one of the following answers:
Romcoms
[TV noise of romcom, When Harry Met Sally, plays]
the rain
[sound of rain fades in and out]
autumn
[sound effect of leaves rustling in the trees]
Scotland
Tea
[sound of hot tea being poured fades in and out]
Koalas
maritime disasters (it’s a long story don’t ask),
[sound of waves crashing on rocks fades in and out]
or Taylor Swift.
[“Dear John” by Taylor Swift plays]
But most of all, over and over and over again, the number one thing they would tell you would be this: books.
Ever since I was young, I have read pretty much anything I could get my hands on. I raced through the Magic Tree House, Rainbow Fairy, and Nancy Drew books, then devoured Harry Potter and Percy Jackson, and eventually grew to love Little Women, my all-time favorite book, or anything by Jane Austen.
However, nothing would have shocked my mother more about 15-16 years ago than hearing that I loved to read. Why?
Well, I stubbornly made the decision that I did not want to learn how to read. My mom tried everything, but I threw temper tantrums, refused to do my reading exercises, and insisted that her or my older sister, Josie, could read to me for the rest of my life.
Come to think of it, I never asked Josie what she thought of this arrangement.
After months of struggling to get me to even try, I’m sure my mom had resigned herself to a life with an illiterate daughter. She did her best after all. But, in typical Janelle fashion, in the same way I did many things when I was growing up (I mean my parents assigned the song “Miss Independent” by Kelly Clarkson to me, you know the one),
[“Miss Independent” by Kelly Clarkson plays]
one day I decided I was tired of not knowing how to read. I was curious to know if I could, so I went downstairs, grabbed one of Josie’s chapter books (Stories from Grandma’s Attic to be specific), and read the whole thing cover to cover.
There was no stopping me after that. I completely skipped the picture book phase and thought my schoolbooks were too easy, so my mom had to have me also read Josie’s.
It was normal for my mom to have to take me to the library every week, and I would walk out with ten or more books.
If I got told to go to my room when I was in trouble, I was perfectly happy because that’s where all my books were.
My mom often threatened me when I was in trouble that she was going to make me put down my books and go play video games for a while. This usually straightened me out.
And, I haven’t really slowed down since, like I read over 60 books during the first month of Covid quarantine.
My disdain for reading turned into a passion for it, leading me to major in Publishing and Editing and to dream of running a bookstore or being an editor. Reading is a constant in my ever-changing life, and it has become a form of escapism and comfort. The characters I’ve read about have become a part of who I am.
My stubborn nature never changed though, and my fights with my mom over reading turned into fights over, well, everything else. And these days, we joke that Josie is the one who can’t read.
Like I said, I haven’t slowed down since I first read Stories from Grandma’s Attic, and I don’t plan to. So, if you need me, I’ll probably be reading a romcom by Emily Henry…or maybe a book about maritime disasters (I said not to ask). But please, don’t interrupt.
[romantic classical musical fades out]
Credits:
Hosted, produced, and edited by Janelle Cass.
All sound effects and background music from the Youtube audio library.
Excerpts from When Harry Met Sally, Miss Independent by Kelly Clarkson, and Dear John by Taylor Swift.
If you want to hear more, go to our website, me-us-u.org.