Project Bookshelf: Hannah McInturff

My bookshelf is young, vibrant, and hopelessly romantic. As a child, my elementary school enrolled every student in Accelerated Reading. In the program, students read books and took tests on them to receive points toward an overall goal. Every child was given a level that reflected their reading abilities. My level was concerningly low. Because of my AR results, I had to spend my free time in a classroom with a reading coach while other students played computer games and watched The Game Plan starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson for the seventh time. I was furious. AR was over in middle school, but I continued to be separated into an extra reading class. I was confused and angry. I knew I didn’t belong there, but I couldn’t get out. One day, my English teacher told me to pick any book from her bookshelf to read for fun. The book I chose was an ambitious novel far beyond my reading level. That book was Twilight by Stephenie Meyer.

I will never forget the experience I had reading Twilight for the first time. I was transformed into an alternate universe I couldn’t escape from. At that moment, I discovered I wanted to create worlds of my own for others to read. During the pandemic, I returned to Twilight as a familiar place, yet an escape during a time of chaotic uncertainty. It was because of my return to my favorite book that I was inspired to write How to Write a Book. All I wanted to do during the pandemic was live out my dream of traveling to the real Forks, Washington, seeing the country, and writing a book. So, I created a world where I did just that.

Another small spark of joy during the chaos of the pandemic was my rabbit Bumbles. A fair warning, rabbits are extremely difficult pets to take care of. They eat three different types of meals every day, do everything you ask them not to, and must be read to every night. Going into high school, I realized there were a lot of books I missed out on as a kid because I was told I wasn’t smart enough to read them. One of those infamous series was Harry Potter by J. K. Rowling. I borrowed the first book from a classmate and decided to read it out loud to Bumbles. He loved it! Each night, he sat patiently beside me as I read, giving each character their own voice and personality. We read every book in the series together and bonded in a way I would have never thought possible, if not for Harry Potter.

I owe myself to the books I have read. They have shaped my confidence in myself, my dreams of being an author, and my relationships with those I love. I continue to read every day whether they are bedtime stories to Bumbles, escapes from reality, or a way to connect with other people. A book is read differently by everyone, but it brings us all together to explore the unknown. I hope to create and explore hundreds of the world’s books have to offer within my lifetime.

Hannah McInturff is an independent writer studying Cinema and Creative Writing at the University of Tennessee. She enjoys all forms of storytelling and shares her love of reading with her rabbit Bumbles who has inspired many of her works. Apart from writing, Hannah paints portraits and landscapes and participates on her university’s ultimate frisbee team.