16 year-old Aleksandra opens the debate on how one moves from reading to being a reader
For as long as I can remember, I have always been surrounded by books. When I was little and didn’t even understand much, my parents read books to me every night, without fail.
Then I grew up and learned to read on my own. I won’t lie, the process was really slow, and not really pleasant, but I finally reached the point where reading became natural to me. I even begged my parents to let me stay up just a little bit longer so I could finish “one more chapter, mom!”
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These were the The Whodunit Detective Agency (LasseMaja) series, then the Harry Potter series, and many other fantasy books. When I was eleven, I discovered romance novels. At thirteen, I felt the need to read something more meaningful – I dived into the classics.
Looking back, I have always considered myself a reader. But there’s a difference between reading and being a reader. Reading is an activity; being a reader is an approach to life.
Join the discussion:
Are we still able to read just for the fun or it?
I feel that I truly became a reader after finishing the first book that really made me think. It not only brought me entertainment, but also made me think about certain things: existence, bonds, the meaning of it all. For the first time, I truly took the time to reflect after reading a story.
For me, that book was Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes. I read it when I was thirteen, having bought it randomly after seeing the reaction of my favourite book influencer back then, who was amazed by it. I didn’t even read the description, I just knew it was a science-fiction book – it actually made me a little sceptical, as I had never read that genre before.
Flowers for Algernon tells the story of Charlie Gordon, a man with a significantly low IQ who undergoes an experimental surgery meant to increase his intelligence. The story is told in the form of Charlie’s diary, in which he documents his progress.
The result is breathtaking. The book is filled with existential reflections, written carefully and cleverly, with a fascinating and perfectly thought-out plot. It’s not boring at all, but truly deep and thought-provoking.
As Charlie becomes smarter, he begins to realise the meaning of various situations and sees many issues differently, questioning everything he has been aware of so far. Although he is already thirty-two years old, it is only now that he is able to discover his identity and feelings and really feel what it means to be human.
The way the book is written allows the reader to really sense Charlie’s thoughts and makes it seem as if we are going through the whole process with him – we are getting smarter as he is.
It is easy to relate to Charlie, even though I don’t think anyone reading this book has ever been in a similar situation. Following Charlie’s emotional development in this book made me take a deeper look at this process and understand it for myself.
Discovering this story at the age of thirteen truly helped shape my values, identity, and the way I perceive certain situations. Even though the plot is so universal that you can relate to it at any point in your life, I think it was the perfect book to read just before entering adolescence.
But to the point – this book made me realise that there are almost endless shelves of books, and each of them might turn my world upside down like Flowers for Algernon did some years ago.
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