When I was a little girl, I would often spend an entire day reading a whole Nancy Drew book, start to finish. Thanks to my Mother, I've loved books and libraries and writing as long as I can remember. Luckily, I managed to pass this on to all three of my kids, too. I read to them from the time they could sit up in my lap. We went to the library regularly, and bedtime included 30 minutes of reading to themselves in bed before lights out every night. They are all adults now and we all enjoy telling each other about the latest great book we just read and passing them around to each other.
I read cookbooks from cover to cover. I like a good biography. I love most things by John Irving (A Prayer for Owen Meany and Hotel New Hampshire). I always have several books on my bedside table. What will I be in the mood to read tonight?
Daughter reads all kinds of things. She loves anything by Jane Austen. We both love Pat Conroy (Beach Music and Prince of Tides). We both love children's literature. (If you don't already know the series of books by Russell Hoban about Frances the Badger, please go the library and spend 20 minutes in the children's section reading one or two of them! My Mother read them to me as a child and I own them all.....)
Oldest Son (a Sheriff's Detective) reads a lot of criminology related books, fiction and non-fiction, and military themed novels.
Youngest Son ( a Chef) reads a lot of Chefographies and food related books, cookbooks, and anything related to WWI history.
All 5 grandkids are avid readers. 12 yr. old always has a current young adult novel around. 11 yr. old finished all 7 Harry Potter books a year ago and loves science fiction and fantasy. 7 yr. old reads far ahead of her age level, with such beautiful voice expression and even does each characters voice. The little ones love her to read to them and I told her she should be doing a storytime at the library! A favorite gift for these girls on any occasion is a gift card to Barnes and Noble!
I have often thought about the fact that there are people in this world that hate to read or who have never owned a book. My heart aches for them and what they are missing. I am so thankful that in this country, for those who want them, there is an endless supply. In our 3 generation household we have many, many books of many kinds:
One of my greatest pleasures is seeing a member of my family off by themselves, enjoying a quiet moment with a book.
This past weekend it gave me much joy to take 3 and 4 yr. old to the library to get their "own Library card"!! They signed the applications themselves
and proudly handed the 'Library Lady" their own cards this time. They are enjoying these books even more this time because they checked them out themselves!
When we got home, I ran to the fabric store (YES! an excuse for fabric shopping!) and spent the afternoon making them each a library bag,
complete with an inside pocket for holding those special cards.
...AND OUR FAMILY'S LOVE OF BOOKS LIVES ON IN ANOTHER GENERATION!
3 comments:
My kids don't know how lucky they are to have a Mimi like you! :) Thanks for all you do for grandkids #'s 4&5! I'm pretty sure D-I-L would go crazy WITHOUT you (seriously!)! We love you.
Just wanted to tell you how MUCH I enjoy reading your blog. This post touched me particularly because it brought to mind my own memories as a child and those made with my own children who are now grown.
Thanks for sharing!
I'm so glad I'm not the only one who loves the smell of books. =)
I loved your post on taking your grandkids to the library. AND, I'm also planning on making a library tote before the books are due.
I hope and pray that I can instill a love of reading in Nathan and anymore kids I have. I'm with you, it's sad to me when people hate to read. My husband is one of those people. To think of all he is missing.
Post a Comment