A Few thoughts on Reading

I feel a renewed inclination towards reading.  This feeling is quite refreshing, because back in the Fall, I was struggling to garner enough interest to pick up a book and put forth the effort to finish it. I think I took over a month to read one book during that time. A month is an eternity for me, because I can usually read a book within a week or even a few days if I truly enjoy it. I thank Benni Harper Ortiz for helping me get back into the swing of things. I picked up a book from the Benni Harper series during that dry spell and read it in about a day. It felt real good.

I would like to share some of my thoughts on my reading evolution. I don't suppose my story or thoughts are very different from others, but it's been fun to reflect on the evolution of my reading interests. 

Reading's Beginning:
Do you remember the first book you loved? Mine was the first chapter book I owned--I think in second or third grade. It was The Secret Garden, not by Frances Hodgson Burnet.  My book was written by Jan Carr and based on the then recent film version of the story. The book had pictures from the movie inserted into the middle pages.  I read the book over and over again. I remember a proud sense of accomplishment for having memorized the first paragraph of the book and slightly wearing the pages.

Reading in School:
Then there were many years spent reading for school and only reading what was required. There were a few books that I read and enjoyed on my own. Surprisingly, I only read a few Babysitter's Club books.  Babysitter's Club and Nancy Drew were way too mainstream. I read more Sweet Valley High, Boxcar Children and other random novels, which my mother helped me to pick out from school book fairs. Belle Prater's Boy and Bathing Ugly stand out the most.


Reading in Excess:
The summer between my freshman and sophomore years of high school is when my reading got a little out of hand. I realized I could read a lot of material and fairly quickly. I swiftly moved from the required summer reading to whatever books I could get my hands on. I was voracious for new material.  Next to dancing and singing, reading was my favorite pastime. This is still true. 

If I had a spare moment at home, you could find me reading in my room with the door closed--not to be disturbed.  As a teenager, I had no qualms about hushing my siblings whenever they were too loud and interfered with my precious reading time. Well, maybe I hushed them with harsher words. It was probably a lot like Julian Smith in this video:



One of my Pen and the Sword professors at BYU once made a slightly uncouth statement in class, which was meant to emphasize the importance and value of reading. He told our class that if we had never disobeyed our parents and stayed up late just to read, then we did not deserve to be at BYU or to receive a higher education. I describe it as uncouth, because he was both chastising and commending BYU students for obeying or disobeying their parents. My parents were not strict enforcers of bed time, so I never felt too guilty about staying up to read.  Professor Keele would have been proud.

Reading with friends:
All of last year I participated in a reading group. It was the first book club sort of group I had ever joined. I am still in it.  This is a neat group for me because we tend to read non-fiction. I used to read novels for pleasure--never non-fiction.  This reading group has helped me to branch out with new titles and topics. It has also made me a more responsible reader, because I usually feel like I need to report or reflect on what I read to the group instead of stowing my thoughts away in my inner library.

Reading in its proper place:
Last summer I traded rooms in my apartment to a smaller and quainter space. Organization methods immediately started competing for my time. The most glaring challenge was finding a place to store my beloved books since I lost my wall length bookshelf.

I went to Ikea and picked out a natural wood-colored shelf and wall supports. When I came home I realized I had the wrong wall supports. Urgh. So I compromised and just stacked the books up under the shelf.  The shelf gives a flat surface on top of the books where I can display pictures, flowers, etc. The rest of my books are still bulging out of the cabinet. I continue to buy books so I'm sure I'll have to find another solution in a few months.

Favorites:
You're probably hoping that I'll list my favorite books here, but I really wanted to mention my favorite movies that depict heroes and heroines who like to read.  You've Got Mail and Beauty and the Beast are my big favorites. But since I'm here and thinking about it: my favorite books are East of Eden (Steinbeck), The Gift from the Sea (Lindbergh), A Room of One's Own (Woolf--an essay, but I'm counting it), The Painted Veil and Stargirl. Women play major roles in each work.

And that's all this time around.  I'm going to read a little before I go to bed.

beck