@uzygirl
U r very ok. I know that feeling. I have nearly missed an exam cos of a novel. Obviously i did not read for that paper. Fortunately its a course i know very well so i did very well. Almost did not attend a good friend's wedding cos i was reading a sidney sheldon book.

- Trekked home from school and used my transport fare to get 4 of James Hadley Chase's novel from a rental bookshop. Used to do that every friday and would spend the whole weekend in doors being thrilled by JHC.



-Started dating a lady 6 yrs my senior. She introduced me to the world of Mario Puzo, Robert Ludlum, Forsythe and Grisham. Used to go to her apartment every weekend to grab something to read and she was ok with that until I wanted to borrow the Bourne series (Identity, Supremacy and Ultimatum). For some reason, she disagreed. I begged and begged that evening. I then resorted to taking the books anyway, and we kind of got into a pillow fight that gradually led to something else.

My mum encouraged me to read novels when I was under 10. She'd buy titles of the 'Pacesetters' series then. By age 14 I stepped up to more mature stuff and was completely addicted to James Harley Chase, Danielle Steele etc by the time I was 15. I'd read in the classroom, on the bus to and from anywhere, in the kitchen, at mealtime, practically anywhere I could get a seat. My mum feared I would not succeed in my SSCE exams and placed a ban. I changed my reading pattern and started reading at night when all was asleep. She caught me once. I started placing it under the pillow so that I'd quicky feign sleep if I heard any foot steps approaching the door to my room.
One thing I know those books did for me: Success in English Language

i started with Enid Blyton series at the age of 6, my mum used to encourage me. i became outstanding in English language and even won awards. everyone was happy till i started replacing meals, break- time and sleep with storybooks. the worst was when i started reading Chase books from the age of 12 ( the ones with the near-nude paperbacks). had to do a lot of tearing and cellotaping and apologizing to my novel-lending friends for the "accident".
tried M & B once or twice, but didnt like it, so i stopped.

started wearing glasses from the age of 14, thanx to sunset reading and with candles and weak flashlights.funny enough, i don't regret any of it.

i once bumped into a moving car, thanx to "one midsummer morning by James H Chase.
My mum thereafter banned novels and made my brother a spy. had to bribe him with food and good behaviour before he allowed me read them.

my dad wa my ally tho. he ordered me to finish the Chase novels, bought 5-in-1 novels for me and used to bring them to the hostel behind my mum's back, in sec schl.

i sure had different "bibles" with various covers in church every Sunday and always had my head stuck, reading the chapters of the "bible".
well, it did more good than harm to me.

now im a working class lady, i read e-novels and have received a number of voice memos for it, but hey, nothing can separate me from my Chase, Ludlum, King, Clancy, Puzo, Grisham, Steele, etc etc. is this polygamy or wot?

_{Abeg, i just had to resurrect this thread, it reads like the story of my life.}

I started out with a small novel my dad gave when I was like 7 or 8, The Boy Doctor - can't remember the author. Since then, there was no turning back. My toilet reading was legendary; I had kid brother then, a year plus, he would poop in his Winnie the Pooh plastic thingy, and the stuff would have to stay by the toilet door for HOURS because I still hadn't come out! Used to drive my mum bananas. I mean, Sheldon, Grisham, Puzo, King, Dickens, Austen, Asimov, Terry Brooks, Kipling, you name it, I read them all - I liked them all, never had a category, except for romance _{but I did read some really crazy porn magz} . Even went into poetry for a while - Tennyson and some of them greek oldies - Homer and Virgil. Forgotten most of 'em now though.

I don't like to admit it, but sometime in my teens I actually became adept at stealing novels, and not just from people. I stole from libraries, bookstores and novel vendors - right under the sellers' very nose - and I never got caught! Funny thing is later on, I'd developed a bad conscience and then I'd have to save up what I felt was the price of the book and give to a beggar, or as offering in church, though I always felt the prices were inflated so I never actually gave out much. I eventually stopped in my final year in school - stole a stupid book I really regretted reading; I had to smuggle it back into the library. Used to come to the exam hall with thick-spined novels back then; it sure used to infuriated my friends - poor fellas were still trying to jack their notes.

Oh yeah, and how about when there was no light? Nearly developed eye problems reading with my nokia 1100 torch-light. Man, those were the days. Don't read that much anymore, going to work and all. Dam n.

I feel you Kay9. 

I was banned from reading novels for a while because I failed to be among the top three students the first term in JSS 2.  My mother was so pissed because in JSS 1 I was actually the first in my set. The latter two terms of JSS 2, I was able to redeem myself.

Kay9 you're my brother from another mother. Actually my parents encouraged me to read . . . anything. My dad bought saturday and sunday papers for me alone since i was 8 . . . i would read the thing back to back and my mom would have to come to ask me what was in the news (that she had read o!) a few days later.
The first time i knew i had a bad reading problem was the day i got Mallory Towers from a friend. I read the book from Friday 11pm and didnt drop it till 6pm Saturday when i finished. I didnt sleep throughout the night, i read it in the bathroom, skipped chores, read it during breakfast, lunch and dinner and refused to go out with my dad . . . the fellow was so impressed he asked my mum to leave me in peace till i finished it.

The good part of reading is that it helps you to learn how to study. You find out if you figured out how to pick apart a subject rather than merely reading through the entire verbiage, you did far better in exams with much less study than those who read their notes like story books.

Reading had its downsides though, PORN! the way its cleverly packaged in some books you wont even know until you were neck-deep in sin!

Reading was fun, but now i'm an old man . . . i rarely read anymore.

One thing, i have come to understand is that if you are throughly a novel reader you must have high thinking capability and have a high imaginative level, This novel stuff has really taken me through a lot of problem, actually i might not say that i am addicited, but one thing i have come to understand i that once you are reading a very intresting novel you tend to be in another world, i mean you tend to imagine things, based on the writers decription. This has caused many problem with me and my teachers during my secondary school days,dats is over now. Inorder to rectify this problem i created a special time for myself, which i suggest most of you should do, it works. Right now am looking for means to download books especially ones like the Godfather; I had it's intresting if you have pls let me know!!!!

The guilty pleasure of reading fiction is a temptation I find very hard to resist . . there is something slightly decadent about adjusting ur chair to recline mode, putting ur feet up and wallowing in fantasy.
There are so many urgent, more pressing matters jostling for our attention, so taking time out to read anything not related to the necessity of earning our daily crust is looked upon with disapproval
Thou the words are not uttered, one can easily read the thots behind those scornful eyes. . those disapproving looks have been the bane of my life. . Sometimes they ask what book is that? as my interrogator points with indignation to the book under my nose. . I wud say. . feigning a delicate balance of distain and surprise, throwing in for effect the sneaky disclaimer, “oh! I ve just picked it up” someone just gave it to me. .in a bid to disassociate

They were constant companions of my childhood as I surreptitiously read under my bed cover, practically every where . . they followed me thru college days as I was caught, I must confess, on many occasions with the latest best seller masquerading as a hefty legal tome, law of jurisprudence, Land law or some other scintillating topic. Now here we are in adulthood and I find my companions constant as ever still with me , but I find my attitude towards them have definitely changed . .im no longer an avid reader
However, reading expands one’s horizons infinitesimally

Pepeye:

The guilty pleasure of reading fiction is a temptation I find very hard to resist . . there is something slightly decadent about adjusting ur chair to recline mode, putting ur feet up and wallowing in fantasy. . . .

When i was in school, my ideal saturday was spent lying in bed with my class notes scattered around the room, my CD playing mixed hiphop, a huge bowl of popcorn and a 50cl pepsi bottle within easy reach, and my head buried inside a huge-spined novel - with about 5 more of such waiting their turns at the foot of the bed. Decadent, by Jove!!

@Uwem2009: check www.4shared.com

kay9:

When i was in school, my ideal saturday was spent lying in bed with my class notes scattered around the room, my CD playing mixed hiphop, a huge bowl of popcorn and a 50cl pepsi bottle within easy reach, and my head buried inside a huge-spined novel - with about 5 more of such waiting their turns at the foot of the bed. Decadent, by Jove!!

Aha! taking it too far . . .weren’t u?
for me I don’t let anything distract me, while im reading . .
drinks, snacks and food is obviously out of reach till im done

i haven't gotten into really tough spots before anyway, but i usually coax my mum into buying hadley chase novels, but not before i shade the cover picture with my hand!

it has really educated me alot
i mean i just love reading novels like crazy

Can't say i've gotten into trouble.
My major 'wahala' was reading through the night and i had to go to school.
Now that i work, i force myself to sleep max 1am.
Can't even think 'bout all the money spent on novels.
I just so love novels.

once when i was much younger, a beating from ma dad.
Recently, lots of sleepless nights

I had to place a ban on novels for a while, 1 month and half now without a novel and its affecting me badly. The nights are worse as I usually read late into the next morning, so the lights are always on, now my husband puts out the lights and then I get nightmares. But I'm determined to make it to 3 months, it was becoming too much, I can't even come online to check mails and stuff, all I think of after work is the next book.
Hope to resume with more moderation sha _{panting exicitedly}

kay9:

When i was in school, my ideal saturday was spent lying in bed with my class notes scattered around the room, my CD playing mixed hiphop, a huge bowl of popcorn and a 50cl pepsi bottle within easy reach, and my head buried inside a huge-spined novel - with about 5 more of such waiting their turns at the foot of the bed. Decadent, by Jove!!

Thats too much activity for me, when I'm reading a novel, my multi tasking skills go to zero. Call it decadent and more, food can wait.

Pepeye:

Aha! taking it too far . . .weren’t u? for me I don’t let anything distract me, while im reading . . drinks, snacks and food is obviously out of reach till im done

Definitely!

davidylan:


Reading had its downsides though, PORN! the way its cleverly packaged in some books you wont even know until you were neck-deep in sin!

True talk, M&B was exciting, reality is more harsh, I still read them when I have nothing else to read, but I make sure I'm having like 10 at a time, so I can read them non-stop. And oh, oh, I just skip the bad parts now . They're very predictable but I just love their happily ever after endings.

i almost missed my GCE exam a few years back cos i used the money for registration to buy ian flemming (james bond), nick carter & james hardley chase. got the beating of my life then. was actually banned from reading novels n my house

Nothing so far!!

@ Topic

I have quite an history of getting into trouble with my novels, [size=5pt]i still wonder how i got through that phase[/size]

*  I used to read while walking on the road whether its sunny or cloudy until one elderly man stopped his car, poked his head out and warned me never to do it again.
*  Lock myself up in the toilet for hours so i could conclude a novel without my mom disturbing me
*  Read novels during classes especially in secondary school, the teachers were tired of me, my english teacher in particular will sneak up on me while my head was under the desk , grab the novel and throw it in the dust bin and make me stand up throughout the class
*  I read novels in the kitchen and always ended up serving the family burnt offerings
*  I read novels in between examinations instead of doing my revisions for the next paper, [size=5pt]thank God i was quite clever[/size]
*  My parents knew they had an issue on their hands and started seizing my novels some of which were not mine. So i devised a means of sorting my self out. I look out for where my Dad hides the novel replace it with a read one and continued my fun each time it was seized , [size=5pt]i wonder if he never use to take note that they were different titles and cover[/size]
*  The worst one which i always feel bad i ever used to do was take my novels to church and no matter what was going on, i put my novel in the middle of my bible and read on .
The day i was discovered , oh what trouble i was in, i did not hear the last of it for Months, 

Now am a better person and can control myself but am still novel Crazy

tubabie:

@ Topic

I have quite an history of getting into trouble with my novels, [size=5pt]i still wonder how i got through that phase[/size]

* I used to read while walking on the road whether its sunny or cloudy until one elderly man stopped his car, poked his head out and warned me never to do it again.
* Lock myself up in the toilet for hours so i could conclude a novel without my mom disturbing me
* Read novels during classes especially in secondary school, the teachers were tired of me, my english teacher in particular will sneak up on me while my head was under the desk , grab the novel and throw it in the dust bin and make me stand up throughout the class
* I read novels in the kitchen and always ended up serving the family burnt offerings
* I read novels in between examinations instead of doing my revisions for the next paper, [size=5pt]thank God i was quite clever[/size]
* My parents knew they had an issue on their hands and started seizing my novels some of which were not mine. So i devised a means of sorting my self out. I look out for where my Dad hides the novel replace it with a read one and continued my fun each time it was seized , [size=5pt]i wonder if he never use to take note that they were different titles and cover[/size]
* The worst one which i always feel bad i ever used to do was take my novels to church and no matter what was going on, i put my novel in the middle of my bible and read on .
The day i was discovered , oh what trouble i was in, i did not hear the last of it for Months,

Now am a better person and can control myself but am still novel Crazy

Must have been a real novel addict for real. . . .

TOYOSI20:

Must have been a real novel addict for real. . . .

yeah,

LOL!!, were u into romantic novels??

pardon me miss toyosi, but u look like person wey go dey more into jimmy choo's than babara cartland.

TOYOSI20:

LOL!!, were u into romantic novels??

Everything readable dear. romance(mills&boons, harlequin, barbara cartland, historical romanceetc) espionage, thrillers, horror, autobiography
I was a voracious reader
I got my first love for reading from my mum. The first romantic novels i read were from her collection

Nofin neg.
I enjoy reading dem bookz! d lykz of B. Jackson, Omar Tyree, Eric Jeremy, Federick Cooper juz to mention a few!
And yeah! Zane novelz mahhn! read quite a numba of her collectionz!

tubabie:

Everything readable dear. romance(mills&boons, harlequin, barbara cartland, historical romanceetc) espionage, thrillers, horror, autobiography
I was a voracious reader
I got my first love for reading from my mum. The first romantic novels i read were from her collection

Nice. . . .that's real cool. . . . .!!

Wasn't so much into romantic novels. . . i loved, suspense, thrillers, and detective novels. . . .OMG, i would stay up all night reading 'em!!

And still long for More the next day, the whole page flipping quotient got me addicted. . . .

I had Friends that were also into the same kinds of books so we would switch books. . .

Go to the Library, join other book clubs . . .and all that. . . .it really was fun though!!

Well here are a few i can remember. . . (Thrillers, and suspense)

Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors by Piers Paul ~About a rugby team's plane crash, and how they survived for 10 whole weeks!!

The Andromeda Strain, By Michael Crichton~ science fiction thriller, about a microscopic germ killer!!

And a host of others along that line. . . . . maybe i just might stop reading Cosmo. . . . and get a romantic novel or two pretty soon!!

TOYOSI20:

Nice. . . .that's real cool. . . . .!!

Wasn't so much into romantic novels. . . i loved, suspense, thrillers, and detective novels. . . .OMG, i would stay up all night reading 'em!!

And still long for More the next day, the whole page flipping quotient got me addicted. . . .

I had Friends that were also into the same kinds of books so we would switch books. . .

Go to the Library, join other book clubs . . .and all that. . . .it really was fun though!!

Well here are a few i can remember. . . (Thrillers, and suspense)

Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors by Piers Paul ~About a rugby team's plane crash, and how they survived for 10 whole weeks!!

[b]The Andromeda Strain, By Michael Crichton~ science fiction thriller, about a microscopic germ killer!! [/b]

And a host of others along that line. . . . . maybe i just might stop reading Cosmo. . . . and get a romantic novel or two pretty soon!!

Dearie, Michael Crichton tickled my imagination endlessly! Pity he's gone now
let me see, Timeline, Eaters of the dead and of course Jurassic park, amazing books

tubabie:


Dearie, Michael Crichton tickled my imagination endlessly! Pity he's gone now
let me see, Timeline, Eaters of the dead and of course Jurassic park, amazing books

He's dead. . . . .gurl i hadn't the slightest clue at all. . . . .RIP to him oo!!

yeah he was really good too. . . .I loved Jurassic park as well. . . . .!!

Nora Roberts novels are more dramatic than romantic. . .no??

Cos I remember reading several of her books as well. . . .u??

TOYOSI20:

He's dead. . . . .gurl i hadn't the slightest clue at all. . . . .RIP to him oo!!

yeah he was really good too. . . .I loved Jurassic park as well. . . . .!!

Nora Roberts novels are more dramatic than romantic. . .no??

Cos I remember reading several of her books as well. . . .u??

Oh no dear, Nora Roberts novels are romantic all through but i think she had some funny ones she wrote which were neither here no there.
Do u like Tami Hoag and Judith krantz too?

tubabie:

Oh no dear, Nora Roberts novels are romantic all through but i think she had some funny ones she wrote which were neither here no there.
Do u like Tami Hoag and Judith krantz too?

Hmmm. . .i see. . . .little wonder most of her books were made into big screen romantic series!!~Lifetime~

Haha. . . .Ms Krantz, is all that and then some. . . .WOAH!!. . . .The Spring Collection??. . . . .that was sooooo cool, and ROMANTIC as well!!

As well as Scruples, and Mistrial Daughter. . . Will have to check out Hoag though,

I was and still am into romance novel, when i get the time that is.