Thursday, August 23, 2007

Booking Through Thursday

When growing up did your family share your love of books?
Did my family share my love of books? Not quite. But, from the time I was a newborn, my mother did read to me. She reads more now, about 10 or so books each year, which does put her ahead of the average American, according to a recent CNN article.

If so, did one person get you into reading?
Not so much as one person, as my situation might have led me to love reading. I think the fact that I was an only child, and many summer days I was stuck going into my dad's office because they couldn't afford a babysitter (my mother worked with my dad), probably contributed to my bibliophilia. There wasn't anything else for me to do.

And, do you have any family-oriented memories with books and reading? (Family trips to bookstore, reading the same book as a sibling or parent, etc.)
Do the late nights hiding under the blankets with a book and flashlight count? :) I always loved the trips to the public library in the summer with my mom. I would marvel at the Adult section, with its high ceilings, wrought-iron railings, and really big books. Then I would scamper down to the kid's library to find a dozen books that appealed to me. I would inevitably be engrossed in one of them by the time we left the library. I was always one of the first kids to finish the summer reading program, and I loved collecting the stars on my little card more than the prizes they gave out! I also loved the fact that I had my very own library card!

11 comments:

Trisha said...

That CNN article blows me away. Maybe if more people read, we'd have less crime, lol.

And what is it about having a library card? I remember getting mine too. I think it's right up there with a driver's license.

teabird said...

One in four! That's actually scary. Even if people just read newspapers, what context - history, culture - do they have for the stories? Yow.

I was the same way about my library card when I was little. It was precious!

bookinhand said...

Under the covers with a flashlight... my daughter still does that! Funny the places we will read when we love reading so much!! Diane

Booklogged said...

I didn't love to read when I was a child. Then when I grew up, married, had 3 children I started reading nonfiction. Somewhere along the way I got into fiction. It is really sad that more people don't read.

BookGal said...

That flashlight is one of my best memories. I saw that same article and blogged about it yesterday. 1 in 4 is a sad statistic.

Literary Feline said...

I never did try the flashlight under the blanket trick, but I did have other tricks up my sleave for staying up reading late into the night. I got away with it most nights. :-)

I remember one night being so caught up in an intense moment in a book that I was up pacing back and forth in my bedroom. I couldn't sit still. Haha

Stephanie said...

I read that article too! Isn't it sad to think that people just don't read anymore?

I never had to use the flashlight. But I always read before bed. We didn't have a library in the small town I grew up in, but my kids know ours well! They are always the first to sign up for the summer reading programs!

Dewey said...

Oops, too bad I missed this one on Thursday. I would have love to have answered it. I wonder if it's ok to post them on Saturday? ;)

Thanks for the link to that article! I can't really imagine how empty life woul seem to me if I were limited to 5 books a year. I'd have to keep reading those 5 over and over again! It's just too depressing to even contemplate.

Nyssaneala said...

@trisha - it does seem that for so many people a library card is a rite of passage!

@teabird - I know. It's amazing looking back to realize how much I have learned from fiction (even if that is just providing me the incentive to do further research on a topic).

@diane - your daughter sounds like she has the makings of a bibliophile!

Nyssaneala said...

@booklogged - that's great that you have discovered the joy of reading! It's one of the few things in life that can appeal to all ages!

@bookgal - Welcome to my blog (I haven't seen you before, right?). It is sad that so many kids lack a reading role model, especially in inner cities. But then, I have also seen adults in GED classes learn to read for the first time, and fall in love with it. It's never too late to learn.

Nyssaneala said...

@literary feline and
@stephanie -
I always read now to help me fall asleep. And there are many a night that I dream about whichever book I happen to be reading at the time.

@dewey - The rare weeks that I remember to do a post on BTT, it usually happens on a Friday or Saturday. :)