As the pages turn

Sometimes it's nice to escape reality.

That's just one of the many reasons I love to read. When you get lost in a book, you get to enter into an entirely new world. All of a sudden, you're part of some imaginary (or, on occasion, real) place with fictitious people who start to seem like your best friends.

I developed a love for reading at a really young age. I loved following the adventures of Amelia Bedelia, Cam Jansen, the kids who lived in a boxcar and solved mysteries, Nancy Drew, and many other novels that kept me turning pages with eager anticipation.

In high school, I started reading what I affectionately referred to as "cheesy romances." They were always about teenage girls who did stupid things in front of their crushes but somehow always ended up with them in the end. Those were fun to read, probably because they gave me hope. Too bad my life never mirrored those fun tales.

It was also in high school that I started reading a series that had a huge impact on my life: The Christy Miller series. I didn't care that they were at a sixth-grade reading level or something like that. They were perfect. I truly became part of Christy's world—I cheered for her when she accepted Christ; I hoped for her that Todd would admit his love for her; I threw the book across the room when Todd moved to Hawaii; I let my heart leap when he came back to her; I fumed with her when we found out what a jerk Rick was; I jumped for joy the first time Todd told her he loved her; I almost cried when he proposed with the old candy hearts, and Christy had no idea what he was doing at first; and I felt like I was actually at the wedding when they finally said "I do." Best. Series. Ever.

"With a dreamy, far-off look and her nose stuck in a book..."

I love the smell of books. I love the way the pages feel in my hands. I love floating in the pool with a book in my hand and forgetting about the world around me until some little kid splashes me with his cannonball.

I love finding out about different athletes from David Halberstam. I love trying to figure out who the killer is and what the motive was in a Michael Connelly novel, particularly when Harry Bosch is the detective. I love reading quirky biographies from people like Mike Greenberg. I love learning history—yet feel deep compassion—when reading about happenings during the Holocaust. I love seeing how people are changed and transformed by the love of Jesus in Francine Rivers books. I love discovering truth in the Bible.

I think one of the things I love most about reading is the passion it gave me to write. I don't think I would have such an avid love of words if it weren't for all of the time I've spent with my nose stuck in books. I guess I owe a lot of credit to my mom, who used to tell us the story of Chester the horse by heart. And, of course, I always enjoyed when she read the great tale of Tikki Tikki Tembo. That young hero provided inspiration beyond belief.

It's important to remember, though, that some of the best tales have yet to be written. Rather, they are ongoing stories—they are the stories of our lives (not to be said like "These are the days of our lives," please. I don't know why I've alluded to two different soap operas in this one. Forgive me for that.). After we enter into our alternate worlds, we have to return to our own realities and create page-turners that the rest of the world can't wait to read.

Good thing we've got the Greatest Author behind those masterpieces.