By Jessie Mattis @JessieMattis

Remember that kid in school who got their classwork done early and then buried their nose in a book until the bell rang? That was me. In grade school, I would carefully balance my stack of thirty Baby-Sitters Club books as I left the library, knowing I’d be back in a few days to swap them out for more. In high school, books were my safety net because I was deathly shy unless I was in the presence of my few close friends.

Isn’t the power of books fascinating? As a child, books were my friends and my teachers. Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry by Mildred D. Taylor will remain one of my favorites of all time, because it opened my eyes in ways that otherwise wouldn’t have happened in my small-town farm community. I remember reading it with a flashlight, way past bedtime, tears in my eyes as I looked at the clock, which read 11:11. In that moment I said a prayer for those struggling at the hands of racism and randomly told myself that whenever I saw 11:11 on a digital clock I’d do the same. Nearly thirty years later, I still say that prayer when I see the special time on a clock. Books are powerful.

Did a childhood love of reading follow you into the grown up years? That's what happened to @JessieMattis and she shares her story in today's My Reading Life. Click To Tweet

As an adult, books are still my friends and teachers, although since becoming a writer and a homeschooling mom of three, my reading life looks a little different. My brain can only take so much. While I’m inspired and impressed by those reader/writers who say they read every day, that’s not me.

Or maybe it is.

Nowadays, my reading life looks a lot like scanning blogs to figure out how to create a homeschool high school transcript or research natural health solutions or recipes. Also, my husband and I still read aloud to our tween/teen children. Little House on the Prairie, The Green Ember, Harry Potter, A Walk Across America…so many great read-alouds and conversation starters! I have to be deliberate to cycle in books for myself.

With so much going on, my reading happens in phases. If I’m in a writing phase, reading takes a backseat. I can’t write and read fiction at the same time, although when I’m not in a writing phase, I’ll devour several fiction books in a row before my next writing project. Recent favorites have been Until Leaves Fall in Paris by Sarah Sundin and What Love Looks Like by Stacy Boatman. Historical fiction is my preference, but I enjoy contemporary fiction too.

I’m always excited to pick up a nonfiction theological book as well. Sometimes I’ll read one for a palate cleanser during a writing phase. I recently loved On Purpose: Understanding God’s Freedom for Women Through Scripture by our own Julie Zine Coleman. This new release should be required reading for every Christian, if you ask me.

Whether fiction or non, books never stop teaching and they’re always there, like a comfy old sweatshirt. I’ll never stop thanking God for the powerful gift of books.