I learned that I thought I hated to read the day my freshman English teacher handed out Lord of the Flies by William Golding. This book grossed me out to the extent that I, for the first time did not enjoy reading. Throughout the weeks we we’re reading it in class I expressed my queasiness towards the literature and my teacher kept saying, “Just kept reading you might surprise yourself”. I read or really skimmed the novel and avoided participating in discussions about it and just kept saying that I hated it. In the past I have been the kind of reader to just read a book and enjoy it, I would read at least twenty or so books every summer because I loved to read. However, this summer I realized that I truly was not reading the book, I was not analyzing and truly understanding what I was reading. The question that then came to my head was, how could I hate a book if I did not understand it and really analyze? My uncle absolutely loves Ralph Ellison’s bildungsroman Invisible man so when he heard I was reading it this past summer he insisted on weekly book meetings to discuss what I had read so far. Every week he would make me tell him what I understood and then ask him questions about what I did not. At first I did not look forward to these meetings because I was having trouble understanding some of the main concepts of the novel. As the weeks went on as I was reading and meeting with my uncle I caught myself becoming a different reader, asking myself questions and taking notes as I read something? Granted I had to write a paper on this book so I had to have all the main points down to a “T”. After I had finished the book and essay my weekly meeting stopped and left me with a different perspective of what one means when they say they read a piece of literature. A few weeks ago I picked up Lord of the Flies by William Golding again to see if my opinion on the work had changed. Concluding this novel for the second time made me understand that I did not really read the book but had judged it and moved on, not giving it a second thought. Therefore, I have learned that I have truly grown as a reader because of the steps I have taken to ensure my understanding of a piece of literature. For everyone who believes that they hate a book or poem or even a piece of art I challenge you to go back and revisit it with a different perspective and see if your view has changed. Never judge a book by its cover. In this blog I hope to share my journey in reading books in my AP Literature class as well as for pleasure and ultimately give my perspective on different novels and tactics.