Reading and words have always played ___1___ in my life. As a child, I watched my father read ___2___ and magazines from cover to cover. My mother, although not an avid book reader, always had a crossword puzzle on which she was working. My ___3___ with reading and words came fairly early (at the age of 5) in the form of German magazines. As I got older and entered school, scholastic books became my own ___4___. I could hardly wait to order books, which we were allowed to do monthly. I would save my allowance (and ___5___ would add to it, if necessary) so that I could buy the books I wanted. I kept these books ___6___ into my adulthood, until I finally realized that some other children enjoyed them __7____, and donated them to a local charity. My favorite books as a child were about individuals who ___8___ many hardships and difficulties, remained positive and went on to do ___9___ in life. The stories of Helen Keller, Louis Braille, and Sojourner Truth were among ___10___.