WHEN THE READING LIGHT WENT ON

Penny Markey is the coordinator of youth services for the Los Angeles County Public Library:

Reading has been a part of my life, all my life. What I can remember are sound bites.

One of the first things I remember is my mother buying me three books of my own. We lived in a small town, and when she went into the city to shop, she would always bring us back a treat. She bought me three books: a book of dog stories, one of fairy tales and one of horse stories. I remember holding the books and realizing I owned these books, they were mine. I read them over and over and over. They are probably still at my mother’s house.

I can remember walking over the snow to get on a Bookmobile, around the age of 6.

I can remember holding my mother’s hand and walking into the library for story time.

I can remember going into the library and passing all the “serious” books. I read my way through the “Wizard of Oz” books after seeing the movies. There were the twins books--Gold Dust Twins, Peruvian Twins--that were very popular in the 1950s. I read everything.

I remember in the summer, reading under the trees, my mother calling and calling when I was too wrapped up to notice. It drove my mother crazy.

I loved the fat books: They would go on and on. I loved serious books because you could keep going back to the characters again and again.

Reading is valuable to me because I’m always learning. It’s just the center of my life: to read and appreciate other people’s work. Just admiring the creativity and the stories--it’s wonderful.