A letter to Stephen King for how he helped me

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KarenK

Member
Jan 29, 2014
9
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South River, New Jersey
I want to thank you. When I went to high school I had a 3rd grade reading level. When I graduated I had a 5th grade reading level. the day I graduated a friend of mine gave me Firestarter and a dictionary and told me to read the book the dictionary was for the word I would not understand. I started reading and I could not put it down that's when I feel in love reading. Now I'm 37 years old and I still read now I don't need the dictionary. my spelling is still bad but when I read I understand what I'm reading. And I have now read all your books. My favorite would have to be The Dark Towers series.
 

FlakeNoir

Original Kiwi© SKMB®
Moderator
Apr 11, 2006
44,082
175,641
New Zealand
I love your avatar, Karen... excellent! :biggrin2:

47340.jpg
 

Walter Oobleck

keeps coming back...or going, and going, and going
Mar 6, 2013
11,749
34,805
I've done the same thing, Karen, with the dictionary. My wife keeps trying to throw that dictionary away as it is in pieces. What I would do, too, is highlight the word I didn't know so the dictionary has all these highlights in it and from time to time I'll skim through it...see if I still remember. Opened it up just now...like cul*pa*ble...responsible for wrong or error; blameworthy. Or here's a ten-dollar word for sure: gran*dil*o*quence...pompous or bombastic eloquence. Bill O'Reilly. And even big famous writers have to turn to the dictionary...was reading Elmore Leonard's Elmore Leonard's 10 Rules of Writing...there's this place where he writes about having to look up a word, funny...don't open the spoiler if you want to read it yourself someday w/o any input from questionable characters like me:
I once noticed Mary McCarthy ending a line of dialogue with "she asseverated," and had to stop reading and got to the dictionary...and next page there's a drawing of Leonard, dictionary open on the desk...as*sev*er*ate...to state seriously or positively.
I thought it was funny, more so w/that drawing of Leonard. I might have performed the action a time or two, but I don't believe I'll ever use the word. Some words are best left in the dictionary. Nothing wrong with knowing them. I enjoyed The Dark Tower, too.
 

GNTLGNT

The idiot is IN
Jun 15, 2007
87,651
358,754
62
Cambridge, Ohio
...add my welcome to the growing stack, and also my admiration for overcoming your reading delays...I always read well above my grade level, and I never really thought about how desperate it could be, to not be able to pick up a book and just sail through it...thank you for humbling me with your story, and I mean that sincerely...
 

Christine62

Well-Known Member
Nov 7, 2013
493
3,127
62
Oklahoma City
I want to thank you. When I went to high school I had a 3rd grade reading level. When I graduated I had a 5th grade reading level. the day I graduated a friend of mine gave me Firestarter and a dictionary and told me to read the book the dictionary was for the word I would not understand. I started reading and I could not put it down that's when I feel in love reading. Now I'm 37 years old and I still read now I don't need the dictionary. my spelling is still bad but when I read I understand what I'm reading. And I have now read all your books. My favorite would have to be The Dark Towers series.


yea! hooray for you! Reading is one of the most powerful things you can do!
 

Garriga

Well-Known Member
Nov 26, 2010
1,315
1,212
43
Starkville, Mississippi, United States
I want to thank you. When I went to high school I had a 3rd grade reading level. When I graduated I had a 5th grade reading level. the day I graduated a friend of mine gave me Firestarter and a dictionary and told me to read the book the dictionary was for the word I would not understand. I started reading and I could not put it down that's when I feel in love reading. Now I'm 37 years old and I still read now I don't need the dictionary. my spelling is still bad but when I read I understand what I'm reading. And I have now read all your books. My favorite would have to be The Dark Towers series.


I have a similar story. So, I can appreciate this.