When I was in the first grade, my teacher pointed out to my parents that I was an incredibly bright reader for my age. I loved the attention from the teacher and my parents, as I recall, and I fell passionately in love with reading.
I loved escaping into other people's stories and felt that I belonged there more than in my own family a lot of the time. My parents were proud of my reading prowess, which felt good, and they bought me a lot of books, which felt even better.
I particularly loved books that were written in series, because I never wanted my connection to the characters in my books to end. By the time I was seven I had a full series of Bobbsey Twins books, and a few years later, most books in the Nancy Drew series.
Agatha Christie mysteries were a favorite when I was only about ten. As a teenager, I branched out and came to love poetry, self-help, and self-development books, but my greatest passion has always been reserved for fiction.
I still escape into other people's stories, but I love living in my own story best of all. Who says we can't find friends between the covers of a book?