Monday, May 18, 2009

Musing Mondays... Again

It's been awhile since I've done a Musing Mondays post (I think the last one was in October 2008), but today's was an interesting question and I've decided to jump back in.

"Do you remember how you developed a love for reading? Was it from a particular person, or person(s)? Do you remember any books that you read, or were read to you, as a young child?"
I, honestly, can't remember reading a lot as a child, which is kind of weird. I know I read nearly the entire Baby Sitter's Club series from around age seven through sixth grade, but those are the only books I remember reading on my own. I don't remember reading anything for pleasure from then up until after I graduated from college, which is sad, right? (And so fascinating to me that so many young people read voraciously. Yeah for them!)

I think, possibly, my love of reading, which was always there--yet dormant until I had the time aside from all the school-related reading--came as a result of the influence of my mother, who was a voracious reader. Granted, I'd hardly ever read the stuff she read (she was such a genre fiction junkie who was nearly obsessed with Grisham, Clancey, Ludlum, etc.), but I have very distinct memories of her doing book swaps with my aunts and uncles at Thanksgiving and Christmas. My mom died a little over five years ago, and I think that's when my sister and I rekindled our love of reading--maybe we are carrying out her legacy. Who knows? Now it's just a compulsion.

My sister, who has a 14-year-old son, is much more intentional about his reading. He can pick whatever he wants to read, but he is required to read a chapter a day and it's kind of fun to watch when he picks something that gets him really good, and he doesn't have to be forced. Right now he's reading the final book, The Last Olympian, in Rick Riordan's "Percy's Adventures" series and really enjoying it. (Here's to hoping that he doesn't lose his cultivated love of reading next year when he starts high school and the level of required reading increases. Fingers crossed.)

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

i do wonder if a parent telling him to read will be more off-putting than the school.
i find it fascinating that you didn't fall in love till after college!

Missy B. said...

Great question!

Mine is here: http://missysbooknook.blogspot.com

gautami tripathy said...

My younger brother is grateful that I got his son into reading. All I did was gifted him some graphic novels and he was hooked!

Here is my post

Matt said...

Yes, I couldn't wait to be done with all the school-related, obligatory reading and got to my own favorites! But that I was always confined at home made all that reading possible! :)

Yvonne said...

I always had problems getting through school-related reading. I was always anxious to get to the books I wanted to read.