I'm a strong believer that parents who read to their children before going to bed create a lifelong love of reading. My mom would read to me almost every night until I was old enough to read for myself (and there were plenty of nights I had to quickly turn off my lamp when I heard mom coming up the stairs because I knew I was reading too late…). Even a family member of mine loves listening to books, even though he struggles reading them himself. He sits and plays video games and listens to audio books in the background. I've noticed the same thing with my nieces and nephews. When I spend nights with them, I'm normally expected to read to them before they go to bed, and they absolutely love books. I remember learning how to read on one of my favorite childhood books: Tigger: King of the Beasties. I'm pretty sure I made my mom read it to me so much that I practically memorized it, and then made the connection between the words on the page and the story I knew so well. As time went on and I got older, my parents and sisters would buy me books for my birthday. One year, one of my sisters had gotten me an entire box full of books from The Boxcar Children series from a garage sale. Another of my sisters was in college when Harry Potter became popular in the U.S., so she bought me the first two books and my mom and I started reading them together right away. Of course I then became a huge HP and JK Rowling fan, and as I got older I started reading the Harry Potter books on my own (and trying to write very similar stories myself!). Thinking back, I was always one to pretend and imagine I was in another world entirely. I have 5 siblings, but all are much older than me, so I grew up in a house with just my parents, practically an only child. Being alone on a farm meant playing alone and finding ways to entertain myself, so for years I would play pretend and have imaginary friends to talk to. Books gave me another way to entertain myself and immerse myself into new worlds. Not only that, but they gave me ideas for my own imaginary worlds. Even now, as I sit writing this in my apartment (I'm all alone…There's no one here beside me…) I see the book sitting beside me and long to start reading to escape this world. Books give me a place to turn when nothing else can distract me. As I read, I realize that I'm not the only person who goes through that certain emotion I'm feeling. I'm not the only one who worries about this or that. Knowing that others experience my same grief, sadness, anger, and joy comforts me. That's also why I have the urge to write. I've always been an emotional person, and having a pen and paper (or a keyboard and computer screen) helps me to release the emotions that I try to hold in a majority of the time. Reading and writing are my escapes from reality, and the only other thing that can come close to that same feeling is what comes when I listen to music or watch a theatre production (Music student here! Saying music comes close to literature is a big deal!). So that's why I love books and reading. What about you? Did your parents read to you when you were a kid? Do you have similar reasons for your love of books, or are your reasons completely different from mine? Please, share your story! I'd love to read about you!
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AuthorJust sharing my passion of reading through my passion of writing. Archives
May 2020
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