Growing up, my local library was an oasis from the outside world.  When I was in elementary school I lived within walking distance of our library.  Since I was on my own, I never had to worry about hurrying to meet anyone’s schedule and could wander among the stacks at my own pace.  It was there that I first met L. Frank Baum, who shared all his stories of Oz with me.  From there I moved on to Lewis Carroll and then Ray Bradbury.  That’s when I found that adult fantasy was within my reach.  I read all of Poe and Arthur Conan Doyle.  Then I moved on to others who dabbed in science fiction, but my love of fantasy began at the small town library.

Where were you when you started reading seriously?