My mother was an elementary school teacher who specialized in reading, and she may have used me as her guinea pig. So I learned to read very young (around 3, according to family legend) and read pretty voraciously from there on out. One of my aunt’s favorite parlor tricks was to have me read for her friends, who were impressed that a toddler could read and comprehend books for older children.
My love of reading lead me to (surprise!) become an English major in college, and years after graduation, I went to library school, because, like most readers, I spent a lot of time working in libraries, both as a researcher and for pay, and I liked them a lot. I’m now a public librarian at a medium-sized library in a university community. While I do not get paid to read at work (sorry if that bursts your bubble), I do read a lot on my own time, and I average over 100 books per year. I still read widely, although my preferences include historical fiction, memoirs (particularly if they are tawdry or humorous), historical romance, nonfiction, urban fantasy, and contemporary fiction. I write book reviews for Library Journal and the Historical Novels Review, too.