Mrs. Dunn, who teaches World History along with AP World History, told me about her love for reading. We had a very nice conversation about it and gave me her fun perspective on reading. I asked Mrs. Dunn some specific questions about her hobby and here’s what she said.
What got you into reading?
“When I learned how to read in elementary school, I struggled. I remember fighting with my mom about reading at night. I vividly remember this book about a rabbit my mom tried to teach me how to read. I got so angry at the book that I threw it. Once I learned how to read, I couldn’t stop. According to my brother, I always had a book with me.”
“College kind of took away my time to read, so reading was something I kind of had to fall back in love with.”
How many books do you think you’ve read in your life?
“Oh gosh, that’s.. thousands. In 2022 I read 55 books and in 2021 I also read 55 books.
What kind of books do you like?
“I like fantasy books. I also will not read a book if it doesn’t have a love story in it, it’s so boring without it.”
Who’s your favorite author?
“Oh gosh, that’s so hard. I love Sarah J Maas. She’s one of my favorite authors and Emily Henry.”
What’s your favorite book?
“Probably Beach Read by Emily Henry, and does a really great job of setting a scene and making you feel the emotions of the characters. She talks about dealing with grief. The main character’s father passed away and she’s cleaning up his house to sell and she finds out about a mistress. The other part of the storyline is a competition against one of her college rivals and they’re both trying to write novels over the course of the summer and they end up falling in love.
What makes a book bad?
“When the conflict could easily be resolved if the main characters would communicate. My least favorite thing in a book is the miscommunication trope.”
What’s a book you read all the way through that you didn’t like?
“I haven’t finished reading a series because I was mad at the way the second book ended. So I’m scared to see what the 3rd book would be about.”
Is there anything difficult about reading?
“In fantasy books specifically, the world-building is challenging because you have to understand different magic systems and the people, all that kind of stuff.”
Do you prefer reading on your Kindle or actual books?
“My favorite is paperback. I love a good paperback. I also like my Kindle because I can read it with no lights in the dark.”
What’s a book you hated?
“One book I actually have read that I did not like was Catcher in the Rye. I had to read it in my Junior year of high school for English. I thought the main character was insufferable. They’re one of the most annoying characters I’ve ever encountered. He just complained all the time and thought people should make his life better without actually trying to make his life better.”
The extra thing she said:
“One thing that bugs me is movie adaptations of books are never close enough to the actual book. There’s always a big thing missing or wrong with the movie. Like the Percy Jackson movies, terrible, just awful! Or the Twilight movie! At the end of the 5th movie, they added a 20-minute clip that wasn’t even in the book!”
