So, I have a confession…I have been following and reading Ryan Jacobson’s blog, Author vs. Monster for some time now. It’s hilarious! He posts about his reading, writing and comics that he loves. The real part of my confession…I absolutely did not make the connection between his book Lost in the Wild (that I reviewed yesterday) and his blog. When I was putting this post together I had a “duh” moment, truly. It made complete sense though, I loved the book and I love the blog! So now to get to know a bit about Ryan and what got him started on his reading journey…

Confession time: I was a reluctant reader. My literary choices in elementary school consisted of magazines (which barely counted as reading) and comic books (which didn’t count at all). Oh, how I loved my comic books!

Some of my fondest memories were of walking to the local drug store, browsing the selection and carefully choosing which to buy. I wasn’t loyal to any one superhero. Rather, I selected whichever comic looked the most exciting, whether it be Superman, Spider-Man, Iron Man, you name it. (To this day, I love studying comic book covers.)

Two specific issues stand out as my childhood favorites. The first was Batman vs. the Incredible Hulk (DC Special Series #27), a dream match-up between superheroes from rival publishing companies. This rare gem pitted the title characters against one another in an oversized, extra long story. I vividly remember the day I successfully begged my mom to buy it.

My other favorite funny book was a less celebrated one: Daredevil #208. Called “The Deadliest Night of My Life,” this was not your typical superhero story. It was more like an Indiana Jones movie, in which Daredevil had to survive a booby-trapped house (as opposed to the antics of a supervillain).

In fifth grade, I had a brief love affair with my first children’s book series: Choose Your Own Adventure. I loved, loved, loved those books! The challenge of making it through a story without “dying” was addicting. Unfortunately, I could only get my hands on three of them. Once I had finished those, I retreated away from books again.

My other reading passion was Sports Illustrated. I can probably point to the magazine as the greatest writing influence of my youth. I was obsessed with sports and got a subscription for my eleventh birthday. I read each issue religiously, so it’s no small wonder that the first “voluntary” writing I did was as a sports reporter for my high school newspaper.

Short stories weren’t far behind, although credit for my interest in fiction goes to my older brother, Jason, who introduced me to Stephen King’s The Stand. My real interest in children’s books, however, wasn’t sparked until college, when I met a cute kindergarten-teacher-to-be, who would eventually become my wife (but that’s another story.)

So I suppose the lesson here is that reluctant readers can and sometimes do become book lovers—and even writers. The trick is finding a subject matter and a format that speaks to them. After all, you never know when “unconventional” reading material might awaken another reluctant reader’s inner author.

“Do I really need to say more? Ryan is fantastic and his writing is great! It definitely makes sense to me that his own writing would appeal to young reluctant readers now as he was once one himself. Lost in the Wild was a book that when I finished, not only did I love it, but I truly felt if I knew a ten year old boy who wasn’t too keen on reading I would hand them the book immediately. Ryan’s enthusiasm for writing and reaching readers, especially those who are reluctant about it is evident in his writing and I’d definitely recommend picking up Lost in the Wild.

“Thank you so much for stopping by today Ryan!”

Giveaway!

Thanks to the author, publisher and Winsome Media Communications I have one copy to giveaway to one of my There’s A Book readers! Thank you so much!

This book was provided for review and giveaway by Winsome Media Communications and the publisher, Adventure Publications. Thank you!
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This giveaway is now closed. Thank you to all who entered! Please check back soon for more great giveaways!