As a small child, I couldn't wait to be able to read myself and once I could, I was an avid and yes, voracious reader! My mother said that I could read any book in the house, so I did. I found Shirley Jackson's THE LOTTERY at quite an early age and loved it! And once I found an author I liked, I would then try to read EVERYTHING written by that author. Which usually stood me in good stead.
Since it's how I grew up, I read to my progeny from almost birth. And now the progeny dis that to theirs.
And books for Christmas and birthdays is another family tradition that is still kept!
You're correct about older authors and having to know and understand about the time each wrote during, though. Ditto MOBY DICK; though TYPEE ( which I had to read in college ) is far worse!
With the written word the fun is never over. If you read Albert Speare’s Book Spandau take a canteen with lots of water. Give it to someone you don’t like. :)
#MeToo (Except for the Lottery.)
This seems to be a common denominator for all avid readers (and highly intelligent people). They were encouraged to read from an early age by their parents and had no restrictions on what they could read.
My own parents never believed I was "too young" to read something. If I was able to read it, then I was able to absorb it, understand it and put it in the proper context.
Like you, if I found something I liked, I endeavored to read everything by that author. I remember reading Jack London's "Call Of The Wild" in fourth grade. Within a year of that, I had read everything that Jack London wrote, including "John Barleycorn" and "People of the Abyss" - which was heady reading for a 4th grader.