Romeo and Juliet, by Shakespeare

I still remember the first book I ever read. How could I forget? It wasn't a book at all, to start with. It was the playscript of Romeo and Juliet, made into a black-leathered, hardcover handbook with a golden rose to illustrate it. Nothing more than that. No illustrations. No children literature either.

I admit I was only 9 by then and understood nothing but the fact that a boy and a girl liked each other but died. Oh well... I grew up, still regard that "book" as a treasure (stole it from my sister  actually, but don't tell on me, please).

I remember I read Romeo and Juliet because she was reading it. I remember saying something in the lines "If books are this boring, I´d rather play volleyball with the boys!", which I did until I was 17.


Then, my reading habits took a dramatic turn.

I started learning English. I started to realise that the world (and the stories within) was much more than my little small-town world had to offer, much more than Brazil had to offer.