It's all about Ashley!

My name is Ashley. Within the last year I made the great decision to move to eastern Oregon from Wisconsin with my three year old daughter. My favorite thing in life (currently) is playing Candyland and reading stories with her. It's a lot of fun to watch her grow, especially now that she is making obvious progress. It has been really important to me that I read to hear every day and make it as fun as possible because I want her to not think of it as I do!

Picking up a book for me and reading more than 10 pages has always been very difficult. I'm not sure I actually ever read a book for school growing up. Instead, I figured out how to listen during class discussions, and general chit-chat, to get all of the information I needed for tests. I didn't do that great, but I managed to get by with decent enough grades to keep my overall grade up. I have a very difficult time concentrating, so to read is pure torture. I end up trying too hard to pay attention, which ends up causing me to be more distracted and then frustrated. I don't remember whether or not I was encouraged to read at home, but I know my mom has always read a lot, as do my grandma and sister. Being outdoors and/or physically active has always been more intriguing. Today I have enough patience to sit down with (I actually typically pace) a book that relates to me-stories that I can relate to, but for some reason I still rarely finish them. Children's books, however, are read by the dozen (although even they are still difficult for me some days!)

I have asked three people what they read and why, and all of their answers included things they enjoy. My dad occasionally reads books, but regularly reads magazine articles and the newspaper. He likes to fish, and that is the subject of his magazine subscriptions. My sister reads mystery/action/murder type novels. She has always been fascinated by mysteries, always looking outside the box to find another answer. My mom... she will read anything that everyone else says is good. She said she likes to learn. I asked those three in particular because they are the ones I know who read. I asked some others the same questions (mostly students or around my age) and most of them said the only things they read are required texts for classes, and only when necessary.

I can actually relate to all of the answers, and it seems to be a blanket answer, with a few holes, of course. I read what's interesting to me, what I can relate to-see myself in. When I do read, I read it because I can picture myself there, or can imagine my life differently by doing that. Sitting here looking at my bookshelf, the books/magazines I have are all related to what I consider to be most important in my life. Yet, for the most part, they sit on my shelf because I don't have the energy to pick them up!