ABSTRACT
I became an educator because I loved to read. I loved how reading exposed me to new worlds. Reading made me feel creative. Reading entertained me. Reading let me “sound smart.” Therefore, despite my education career having been with students with language- and reading-based disabilities and differences, when I began to work in education, I had trouble empathizing with students who didn’t love to read. In addition to my lack of empathy, I often became frustrated by students who didn’t love the books I held so dear. I used to find it even more frustrating working with students who were strong, but unmotivated readers. As recently as a few years ago, I held some snobbery about the benefits of books over eBooks (which was not strictly based on research).
