I was never a huge book fan and to a large extent I still am not. The reason being is that I'm a modern man and reading is so archaic. While yes it can be wildly entertaining, it can also be quite boring. From what I've found, its usually more boring. I don't say that as someone who judges books by their cover either. I have read and read and read. While some books may cause some dropping in your eyes, some are quite terrific. Like my favorite book, The Lightning Thief, is a truly fantastic book and is the book that set my on a course to find good books like itself. The book was given to me by my aunt and uncle for my tenth or eleventh birthday. I initially was reluctant to even hold the book, let alone read it. Nonetheless, my mother made me read it because I received it as a present and she didn't want me to seem rude to my family, so I began reading. I began the book and within the first 20 pages I was hooked. I ended up pulling my first "all-nighter" and before morning I had completed the book and started my exploration of the printed world.
Staying up all that night really made a difference in my life, both in short and long term. In short term, I fell asleep in class the next day and woke up with kitty whiskers and "meow" sharpied into my face. Long term, I am now an avid reader of anything that will entertain me. I'll read anything from Lord of the Rings to The New York Times to comic books. My search for good literature has taught me a lot too. It has taught me that a book's cover makes an important first impression. It has taught me intricate diction and rhetoric that I use on a constant basis to progress the growth of my ego. It has taught me how to fall asleep fast with a boring book and how to stay awake longer with an invigorating one. Most importantly however, throughout my entire learning career I've learned that reading is still extremely paramount to today's world. I learned all this because of Rick Riordan.
The Lightening Thief is the story of Percy Jackson, a fatherless pre-teen who has troubles. He gets kicked out of school constantly and has had some weird experiences throughout his life. Over the course of a week, Percy discovers he is the son of Poseidon and must go on a perilous quest to recover Zeus's stolen lightening bolt. While this book was written for younger readers, I still find it extremely entertaining. The book is simplistic in its writing and easy to understand. Combining elements of humor, mystery, and danger, Riordan paints quite the picture. I would read anything he writes in that series, despite it being written for younger readers. Going into the book, I thought that it would be just another assigned book, similar to those books that school makes you read just to make sure their test scores keep rising. By the end, I wanted more. At that point I went to the nearest Borders and tore up the fantasy aisle. This book brought me to the conclusion that while entertaining, Spongebob is not the only source of entertainment in the world.
From this book I've entered a crap shoot. I'll go to my local Barnes & Noble and I'll end up leaving with 3 books. More times than not, 2 of those 3 I'll never want to read again. Then there's the one that I could read until the pages frayed into oblivion. Because of The Lightening Thief, I will now strive to read a book before going to see the movie (unless its Shakespeare and then I just quit). I've learned to love reading through this book, despite the high chance of boredom and monotony. Riordan and his works have truly given me so much.
