The First Novel I Ever Read
When I was in elementary school, I didn’t do a ton of reading for pleasure. Most of the reading I recall doing was either comic books (X-men, Hagar, Disney, etc) or short kid stories. I read books as part of school with the class, but I didn’t read much on my own.
In sixth grade, I had a reading class where we had to choose a novel to read on our own. I remember thinking, “I have to read this entire book by myself! And in such a short time?” (I don’t recall the timeframe we were given).
My teacher set out a bunch of books on a table that we got to sift through and choose from.
I saw a book that had on the cover a chubby-looking dude with a little sword. Behind him was some weird goblin-mummy-looking thing.
The book was called The Hobbit. I had no idea what a Hobbit was but the cover looked the most interesting out of all the other books on the table. So I picked it.
And I loved it.
Reading the Hobbit was the first time I read a book and was transported to a new world — in this case, Middle Earth.
My mom bought me the LOTR box set at the next book fair (this was before book fairs started selling crap books with toys).
I wish I could say that I became a voracious reader ever since. But I’ve had a hard time finding books that have captivated me the way my first reading of The Hobbit and The Lord of Rings did.
I like to keep an eye out, though.
The Rating for Leisure Reading
Using my Hobby Rater System, I came up with these results:
Creative Expression — Score: 8
How satisfying is this activity as a creative outlet?
Even though I’m not the one doing the writing, books make your imagination go to work. A good book also makes you think.
Cost of Participation — Score: 10
How satisfied are you with the costs of the hobby?
I get almost all of my books from my local library. This includes audiobooks. I use the Libby app.
The only downside to the library is that there may be a wait time to get the books you want. But I still prefer that over buying books or an Audible subscription.
Intellectually Interesting — Score 9
Learning new things or stretching the mind.
The only reason I’m not giving this a 10 is because much of the reading I end up doing is fiction and mostly for entertainment. Hunger Games is a fun, interesting book that raises a lot of interesting points to think about and discuss, but it’s not particularly educational.
Challenging/Learning Curve — Score: 2
Are you satisfied with the level of challenge this hobby brings?
The reading is not challenging itself. It’s finding something to read that is the real challenge.
It’s hard enough to find a movie to watch on Netflix. Now stick me in a library and tell me to find something to read? That’s even harder. There are just so many books to choose from that it’s paralyzing.
I’m also impatient when I start reading a book. If it’s not immediately intriguing, I will almost instantly fall asleep. I might not even get through five pages before I conk out.
For example, in 2023 I read Jurassic Park for the first time. I read it in about two nights because it completely drew me in. I then thought I would also like The Lost World. After about three weeks of reading it, I had only made it to about chapter five. Then I stopped trying.
The same goes for audiobooks. I feel like the narrator has to immediately capture my attention or my brain will go to la la land. The book could be playing for 15 minutes and I will have no idea what’s going on. In some ways, audiobooks are even harder to match up with because I have to like both the book and the narrator.
I’m just extremely picky and have such a short attention span when it comes to finding something to read.
So finding something to read is a serious challenge and impediment to leisure reading for me.
Stress Level — Score: 8
Is this hobby adding or taking away stress?
Once you find a good book, reading is a great stress reliever. Finding a book or continually rejecting books you start can be a little frustrating. But, overall, reading is great for mitigating stress.
Time Commitment — Score: 3
Are you satisfied with the time required for this hobby?
Again, I’m scoring this low because, for me, it takes a lot of effort and time to find a book I like.
Reading is also a time consumer endeavor in and of itself. While I can watch an intriguing, thought-provoking movie (such as Interstellar) in about 2 hours, finishing a book requires much more time.
If it’s a good book, it’s more than worth the time. But if you spend time on a book that you end up abandoning, it’s just not that satisfying.
And, unfortunately, I seem to spend more time trying to find an amazing book to read than actually reading an amazing book.
Fun — Score 9
Are you having fun doing this hobby?
Reading a great book is a lot of fun. The only reason I’m not giving this a 10 is because of the challenge and frustration of actually finding a book.
Escapism/Recharge — Score: 9
Does this hobby help you recharge or escape so you feel more ready to take on life’s challenges?
Yes, no question. A lot of life’s great lessons can be discovered through reading. To this day, I quote parts of LOTR to my kids. The more you read, the more you will be able to take on life’s challenges because you will find characters who teach you life lessons.
The only reason I’m not giving this a 10 is because of how hard it is for me to find a book that will provide these lessons.
Sociality — Score: 5
Are you happy with the amount of socialization that comes with the hobby?
I’ve never been a part of a book club or a group that talks about books we are reading. It can also be hard to find people who have read the same books as you. For example, last year I read A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World by C.A. Fletcher. I thought it was a great book but no one has read it in my social circles.
It can also be hard to discuss a book. “And then this happened. And then this happened. Oh, but before that happened, this happened. And then he said something so funny…oh what was it?” And so on and so forth. Listening to someone talk about a book is like listening to a fever dream.
So the social interaction can be a mixed bag.
Payoff — Score: 10
When you are done with the hobby, do you step away admiring your accomplishment?
Finding a great book can be life-changing. That’s what reading LOTR was for me. So even if finding a good book can be challenging, it is worth the search. Now I just wish there was an easy way to find books I would like to read. I’d read a lot more if it wasn’t so time consuming and frustrating finding something to read.
Overall Score for Leisure Reading: 7.3
Here is how a 7.3 fits on the Hobby Rater scale:
1 – Terrible fit
2 – Not a good fit
3 – Probably not good for you
4 – It’s alright, I guess
5 – Very mixed feelings
6 – It’s pretty okay
7 – You like it!
8 – You really like it!
9 – You love this hobby!
10 – Bruh, you know this is the best hobby ever!
Based on this scale, leisure reading scored between “You like it!” and “You really like it!” And that feels about right.
Finding a good book is one of life’s great pleasures. But I’ve found it very hard to find books that really connect with me and that hunting process can be a little frustrating. So 7.3 is a fair score for me.
