There was a story yesterday about how one in four American adults had not read a book in the last year. 25% of adults surveyed had not read one book in the last year. That blew my mind. It runs so counter to my own existence as to be almost unbelievable. It is rare for me to make through a day without reading a little bit of whatever book or books I’m currently making my way through. I read everything – general fiction, literature, sci-fi, fantasy, romance, mysteries, graphic novels, history books, books about current events, travel writing, memoirs, biographies, you name it, I probably read it. Except for really scary horror novels, which creep me out too much. Unless they are post-apocalyptic, of course. Then, maybe.
I clearly remember going to the Aspen Hill library and getting my first library card in first grade. I got a Nancy Drew book out, came home, and read it sitting at the kitchen table until I was done. It made an impression. Every Saturday my mom would take me to Cricket Book Shop in Ashton, and I’d get to pick out one book. It never got old. I still get nostalgic whenever I drive past that store.
I was a somewhat solitary kid. I had friends, but I went to school about 45 minutes away from my house, and no one lived anywhere near me. Every day after school I would go to my parents office and wait until my dad was done seeing patients and they had finished up whatever they had to do for the day. I was in charge of making sure all the exam tables had fresh paper on them for the morning. Since the paper was all on rolls, I had it pretty easy. So, once I finished my homework, I would go find some out of the way place to sit and read. There was one particular tree I liked to climb. I’d sit up there reading my latest treasure from the library – Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys and the Bobbsey Twins, Encyclopedia Brown, the “Soup” books, everything by Roald Dahl, Ballet Shoes, the Great Brain, the Dark is Rising, Half Magic…the list could go on for pages. I was a huge fan of the “underdog makes good” type of story, and a sucker for the any story where people had special powers. No wonder I’m a Harry Potter fan now! As I got older and had more control over my spare time, I continued to do plenty of reading. I still do today.
I’ll admit that my family is a little unusual when it comes to reading. My mom owns thousands of books. My brother and I both started reading young, and to this day, we read pretty much everything that’s put in front of us. Books have kept me company when I was lonely, have entertained me when I was bored, have distracted me when I was miserable, and have helped me cope when I was stressed out, and even helped me get healthier. Books open up your mind, take you to new universes, introduce you to new people and new ideas, and help you learn more about your world. It makes me sad to think such a huge percentage of the adult population is missing out on that.
I too love to read. I can read a book in a day if I work at it. I LOVED the Great Brain books when I was young. Also, the Betsy and Tacy books.
That last sentence sums it up the most-- SO many people who do not know the magic and pleasure of reading-- that's what it so sad. But this is SUCH a great post-- brings me right back to those magic years-- I was a big reader as a kid-- I still love books more than any other medium-- I adored Nancy Drew but my big fave in elementary school were these biographies of Jane Addams and Abe Lincoln's Mother and other women-- I read those over and over--
Oh my gosh ... I felt like I ws reading my life story for a second.
I got my first library card in first grade too. Every week either my mom or godmother would take me and my brother to return one stack and checkout another.
One weekend, when I was about 8 or 9, my parents stopped at a garage sale in the next town over. This lady had three cardboard boxes overflowing with hardcover Nancy Drew, Bobbsey Twins, and Trixie Belden books. After about 15 minutes of begging, to my great shock, my parents actually bought all of them for my reading pleasure.
I love books and never leave home without one. Almost everyone I know reads at least one book per month. I can't imagine going an entire week without reading something much less a whole year. I want to deport all those people to their own private island.