I’m a bookworm. My love for books began in second grade. My teacher, Ms. Black, recognized my passion for reading and gave me a paperback copy of “Little House on the Prairie,” by Laura Ingalls. I still have it — it’s yellowed, dog-eared and falling apart, so I keep it in plastic — and I cherish it.

Ask my mom, and she’ll tell you that it was difficult to truly put me on restriction. Sending me to my room, banning me from television and the telephone wasn’t really punishment to me — I had my books, and I’ve been a card-carrying member of the library all my life. I love walking the stacks and sitting quietly, reading. It’s a little piece of nirvana.