I just got back from a very productive, unproductive weekend with my Honey. We stayed indoors all weekend and.....read. Well, I read, my Honey did cross word puzzles and it was heavenly! It was my ideal weekend- a stack of books, no responsibilities and hours and hours of just reading. My Honey doesn't read books; I think he has read one book in the whole twenty some years I have known him. He reads newspapers, car magazines, and sports magazines, but NOT books.
I just don't understand that! How can you not be hungry to read a book, lots of books, piles of books? I have a used book store on speed dial. Part of who I am is because of the books I have read. I felt a kinship with Anne and her love/hate relationship with Gilbert, I understood sibling rivalry from The Great Brain, I felt lucky to get more than a tin cup for Christmas after reading Little House, I learned there is a reward to plowing through a hard book with Tale of Two Cities. I don't think there is a single skill more important than reading, unless it is loving to read.
I have had a stack of books next to my bed my whole life. As a mom, I made it a point to read to my kids, bought them books they love and even told them I would never interrupt them to do chores if they were reading. Some of my favorite memories are of the boys in bed and me sitting next to them reading a book outloud. I remember sobbing as I read the end of Where the Red Fern Grows to my boys, and seeing the tears run down their cheeks as they silently cried with me. Whenever I read to them they would beg for one more chapter, and then one more, and I would read until I was hoarse. But, none of that has paid off. I have raised three children who are great readers but will only tolerate reading.
Where did I go wrong? Where does that love of reading come from? My kids will read once in awhile. Zel will read an occasional military book, Davis likes books about bands, and Elle reads shallow girl books. They don't read often, but I guess as long as they read occasionally I can't count the battle lost. But, right now their ideal weekend would not include a pile of books-
or me -for that matter! I guess it might be because they're teenagers. Let's just hope they out grow it!
Monday, August 18, 2008
A Phase?
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4 comments:
They'll outgrow it, just wait. But Amen to all your thoughts on reading (especially "Tale of Two Cities" and "Where the Red Fern Grows". My latest wonderful read was "The Book Thief" by somebody Zusak.
I also thought because my husband and I love to read (and always have a stack of books next to our bed too!) we would have kids that love to read. We read to them when they were little, always bought them books from the book orders & book fairs, let them read in bed until the wee hours of the morning (most likely when I was reading in bed at the same time!)
Well, we got one reader out of three kids.
I have always loved reading too. There are always piles of books on my nightstand and Katie's too. Her tastes have evolved much like mine have. I have always wanted her to read all the same things I read at her age (totally not interested) but I'm just happy she loves to read. Elle's still young...she has a lifetime to discover awesome books!
I think it's the 500+ TV channels available to kids now. Remember when we only had 4? Reading let our minds go somewhere interesting. Now they just have to flip through channels to get there. Even if we limit their TV time, they still know it's there, and it's a lot 'easier' than reading. Sigh.
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