About Me page 

so much depends

upon

a small red

clue

left at the 

scene

of an unsolved

crime

I got into mystery novels the same way everyone does, by reading them. However, I'm still not sure what exactly hooked me into the genre. Was it the suspense, that feeling of your heart pounding in your chest when you don't know what's going to happen next? The fear, when a new body appears and there's still a killer on the loose? Or maybe it's the thrill of the chase, right when you get to the end of the book, when you're so close to finding out the truth, but you're just not quite there yet? I may never know, but I'm going to try to find out.

"What are you reading?" My friend asked me, with a curious tone in her voice, "You seem to be so invested in the story."

"A mystery," I replied, "it's riveting, so full of suspense and the unknown. It's interesting, it's sucked me in."

"What's it about, a murder? Is there a killer? Who do you think it is? What's you're favorite part so far? I ne-" she stopped talking when I gave her a cold stare. "I should stop talking, probably. Sorry, I'll let you get back to your book." She walked away.

I thought about her questions some more. It was about a murder, and there is a killer on the loose. I'm still not sure who the killer is, but I have a few theories. My best bet is the victim's shady friend, he always left me on edge. My favorite part was when the detectives found that one clue, the one that made the victim's friend look even more guilty. I've got to keep reading, I have to find out the answers to all these questions. It dawned on me then that I didn't know what my favorite book was. Was it the first one I read ever? Or maybe it was that one I read last month that I finished in a day. Maybe it was that one I read finished last week. So many choices, and so many more to read! I thought about it some more, then chose a favorite. I kept on reading the book I had in my hands.

I had finished reading for the day, and got up out of my chair to go inside. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed another girl reading a book. I walked over to her.

"Hey, I noticed that book you're reading, is it a good one?" I asked her.

"Yeah! It's my favorite!" She replied enthusiastically.

I smiled at her and walked inside, and got back to reading.

I sat down inside and opened my book again, but I didn't read a single word. I thought some more about how much I love to read, how I like to get lost in the story, how I can connect to the characters. I smiled to myself, and got lost again in the book in my hands.

There are many studies that attempt to determine if reading is linked to better creativity. Doctors and scientists conduct experiments to see what affects reading has on your imagination. You may have experienced something like this, yourself. After you read a book, get lost in the adventure, and next time you're writing a paper for school you suddenly get a wild burst of creativity. You just write and write and write until you've finished that essay in one sitting. Creativity and a more active imagination can be connected to how much you read.

You may not believe me, especially if you're a little kid who hates reading books, but reading is very healthy for your brain! When you read, you visualize what's happening. Every word you read paints a picture in your mind, and you use that picture to go on the adventure that takes place in the book. Reading accesses your sensory cortex, the part of your brain that processes the information you receive from each of your five senses. Reading also has an affect on your left temporal cortex, which is the part of your brain that processes language. Reading works out these parts of your brain, and by doing that, supports better brain function.

Your brain is like a muscle, and when you want to make a muscle stronger, you exercise. Reading is like exercise for your brain. It makes you more creative and more imaginative. When you read and pass the information through your brain, you access your sensory cortex and left temporal cortex, and your brain becomes "stronger." According to Creative Market, reading makes you a better conversationalist, a quicker thinker, and a better problem solver (Creative Market, Why Reading Makes You More Creative).

However, it can be hard to believe things you hear from any old website. Hear it from a professional. Doctors agree with everything Creative Market has to say. In the words of Psychology Today, "Neuroscientists have discovered that reading a novel can improve brain function on a variety of levels. [...] The researchers found that becoming engrossed in a novel enhances connectivity in the brain and improves brain function. Interestingly, reading fiction was found to improve the reader's ability to put themselves in another person’s shoes and flex the imagination in a way that is similar to the visualization of a muscle memory in sports." So as you can see, even doctors believe that reading is good for your brain the way that exercise is good for all of your other muscles.

There is a lot of evidence pointing towards the correlation between reading and your brain function. Doctors, scientists, teachers, psychiatrists, and many other specialists agree that reading is the best "exercise" you can give your brain. So next time you read, think about how you could be improving your brain and all its functions.

Little Red Riding Hood

Many years ago in a town not far from here, a young girl decided to visit her grandmother. She put some homemade muffins in a basket and grabbed her bright red hood and walked out the door. Into the forest she walked and walked. The twisty trail went around and around, weaving throughout the trees. She walked and skipped and ran and jogged, on her way to her grandmother's house.

"You need to be careful out here," a raspy voice said from right behind the bushes that are scattered across the forest floor, "there are wolves in these woods." The little girl in her bright red hood turned around, shocked to hear anything but the rustling of the leaves under her feet. "Did you hear me? Be careful," the voice continued, "I'll keep you company, I'll make sure you're safe." The child was uneasy at the thought of someone she couldn't see watching her, but she kept on walking. "I'm going to my grandma's house," the girl replied to the voice. She kept on walking. 

"Did you say there were wolves in these woods? I've never seen any," the little girl said, trying to learn more about this voice and who, or what, was behind it. "You will one day, child, one day," the voice replied. "Tell me about your grandmother," the voice said, "what does she like to do?" "She likes to bake," the girl said, "She makes cookies and cakes and pies and muffins." "Wonderful," the voice said with a growl. The little girl in the bright red hood was startled again to hear something running, an animal, coming from right behind the bushes that are scattered across the forest floor. The child shook it off as nothing, and carried on her way.

The girl arrived at her grandmothers house, delighted to smell the familiar scent of cookies in the oven. She knocked on the door and pushed her way in, surprised to find that the house had been ransacked, completely turned over. "Grandma! Where are you? Are you okay?" the little girl screamed out. She looked all over for her grandmother, but all she found was her apron, ripped apart with little red blotches on it, and the same little red blotches all across the kitchen, leading out the door and into the woods. 

So where is she? Ask the wolves.