My passion for books and reading began at a very young age when I would take my father's books to play with. Those pages full of letters seemed to hide magical and wonderful stories.

I wanted to know what those books said and why my father would concentrate so hard when he sat with one of them in his hands. I would watch him, sometimes he would frown, sometimes he would laugh out loud and sometimes he would just be very distant as if he were somewhere else.

Little by little my interest grew and before starting elementary school, I already knew how to read, the first grade books were not to my liking; those short sentences with repetitions of syllables did not make sense to me, they did not tell any exciting story.

The teacher realized what was happening to me and gave me a book full of fantasy stories. That was my favorite book, I finished it in a very short time and that's when they started giving me books as gifts.

As an adult I could sit and talk with my dad from reader to reader, we could give our opinions about certain authors and exchange books. Our tastes were always different, but there was always one or two books that we could enjoy equally. The last time we shared as readers was in a hospital room, I was reading a book to him because I could no longer do it, as I could see his tears rolling down his cheeks, then he laughingly told me, "You read very well, but I don't like that book." I think he didn't like someone else reading for him because he felt helpless that he couldn't do it for himself.

As a reader I'm a bit selective, and if a book doesn't grab me in the first twenty pages I don't read it anymore. But if, on the other hand, it captivates me, I read it very quickly. My tastes in literature are very varied and have changed over the years.

When I was young I read a lot about personal growth, self-help and poetry.
As a mother my literature was child psychology books, children's stories and fairy tales. I used to read to my two children, doing all the voices of the characters.

Now I have taken to reading period novels, romance novels, also religious literature. I confess that I don't read as often as I would like to. Due to time constraints and eye problems I have opted for audiobooks. Usually when I am knitting or doing crafts, I listen to one of my favorite novels.

My favorite place to read is in my room, I like to read in a comfortable and quiet place where I can concentrate and get lost in the story. What I enjoy most about reading is the description of the environment, the characters and their emotions. It is like drawing in our mind everything that the author describes, it is evoking emotions that we have already felt at some point to put ourselves in the place of the characters and to understand the thread of the story.

Bookstores are a must stop every time I go with my kids to a mall. It's amazing how we enjoy looking at the stacked books and searching until we find that hidden treasure that has been waiting to go home with us. My children have also become avid readers and although our preferences are very different, our love for reading is something we can share and enjoy as a family.

It was a pleasure for me to write this post to participate in the Hive Book Club community contest. I take this opportunity to invite my friends @carolinacardoza, @linita and @creacioneslelys to tell us about their experiences as readers. Thanks for reading, greetings and blessings.

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• Imagen de portada y los separadores de texto son diseñados por mí en con Canva.com
• Uso traductor Deepl