After reading Terri's post about reading, I feel inspired to talk a bit about books.
I have loved books for as long as I can remember.
As a child I remember building up a collection of Ladybird books. These were a mix of children's stories and historical books about famous people. I remember reading about Henry V and the Battle of Agincourt over and over again. Hm, I guess some things never change!
As I grew up I read a range of books, but tending towards historical fact and fantasy/sci-fi fiction. Harry Harrison, Azimov, Tolkien, etc. sit along side books about Stalingrad and the Battle of Agincourt. No I don't still have that Ladybird book...
Some people can only read a book once. Mrs RC is one of these. To me, some books are like old friends that I never tire of reading. I have read The Lord of the Rings cover to cover 4-5 times and have dipped in at random points more times than I can count. Similarly my collection of Terry Pratchett books is battered and thumbed, uncomplaining witness to my repeated readings.
I love to sink into a good story and read at every opportunity. I am well known for walking down the street while reading a book, glancing up to check that I am not about to walk into a post or something. Sometimes something I read triggers a chain of thought and I find that I am staring through the page and seeing something completely different, maybe reliving a lost memory or developing a strange idea for something. It is good to escape life from time to time...
We encouraged our children to read from an early age and they all enjoy reading in some form or other. The hardest to get going was our eldest daughter. Due to her disability she had difficulty imagining things that are not real. It was not until she was 12-13 that she finally cracked it. We were home tutoring her by this time and my wife had got her to read a story called "Goodnight Mr Tom", about a family during the Second World War. It is a really sad story, and it had my daughter in tears. Ha, I am almost crying just thinking about it! But it seemed to turn a switch in her mind and allowed her to imagine for the first time in her life.
Books are wonderful things.
6 comments:
I like the idea of books as friends. They provide an ever-changing world of adventure, emotion, mystery and excitement.
When I was a kid, I loved a series called "Encyclopedia Brown." He was a boy detective who solved mini-mysteries, one per chapter. I also loved the "Mrs. Piggle Wiggle" books. I seem to remember also reading anything having to do with the Civil War era, though these were mostly fiction based on true events. And there was one other series I couldn't get enough of... what was that called?... Oh yes, "The Great Brain."
In our family, the boys (including Mark) won't be found reading books. I bought SO many books for my sons over the years, hoping to spark their interest, but it was useless. They will at least read magazines about hunting, sports or cars. Mark reads the newspaper and lots of news online. But Kacey is my reader. Loves it like I do and that makes me very happy.
Man, I knew there was something about you that I could relate to. You've only read LOTR 4-5 times? I think I am up to 7 (I really need to get a life). Still have my original hard back versions from the 70's along with the Hobbit and the Silmarillion. I like dip back into the books every so often to revisit the story.
Books can be a door to a whole new world. Adventure, mystery, romance, westerns, sci-fi, history. To me, each one is a new path to explore. Some are simple, some are complex, some are downright addictive.
I guess I am the reader of the family. I try to read at least one new book a month. The wife doesn't have the patience or time for a good read and my son is more of an e-reader. I love to lose myself in a good book, if only for a short time.
That's such a sweet memory of your daughter (hugs). I hugely regret our Sweet Sam (other than to write his name) remains iliterate, it must be akin to living in a foreign land, unable to read street signs and the like. Both hubby and I are book worms, and I wish I could say the same of for our other kids - but, hmn.. they are more into the internet or texting! Oh, they pick up the odd book, sure - but isn't a passion, y'know?
I smile at that image of you walking down the street with your nose stuck in a book - why am I not surprised?
Books and music were life saving joys and experiences for me as I was growing up. My children watched me reading every spare minute I had. My older daughter caught the love of books and still is an avid reader. My son was not as interested in reading until one year a school in Virginia was promoting reading and using the library and he was on fire with enthusiasm. He still mentions that school so many years later. My younger daughter was not as interested in reading until she was in her teens and then she joined the reader lovers. Your experience of reading even while walking is a true reader's story. Hubby and I have a book with us at all times, five minutes waiting somewhere is an opportunity to read.
I've always loved reading too and I always have my nose in a book. Although I can't read anywhere where there's lots of noise so I don't read on public transport.
I agree - books are wonderful things!
lovely post! I love love reading and enjoy reading so many different things! My faves as a child were Louisa May Alcott books and the Secret Garden! I'm reading two books now (yes, I too read more then one at a time) Bill Bryson's, Home (I highly recommend it to those who love history of all kinds) and a book called Beneath a Marble Sky, I'm not far enough into it yet to recommend it....
if you get on to Good Reads...look me up, it's fun to see what people are reading!
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