Wednesday, March 21, 2012

for the love of Books!

I remember discovering books and reading at a very young age, and being one of the regular customers at the library.  The thrill of moving from ''baby books'' to readers.  And then to the non fiction, and  Young Adults section, long before I was even close to being a Young Adult.  The Library of my childhood was a very old building with impossibly high shelves (or so it seemed to me), complete with movable ladders in the aisles.  I visited every week, and would take home a huge pile of books, always returned read from cover to cover.  I dreamed of becoming a librarian, just so I could be in there with all those books, every day.

I have been trying, with very little success, to encourage the Dancing Queen to read more.  I've tried all kinds of books.  We've bought them, borrowed them, recycled them.  I've even offered her glossy magazines.  but within a few minutes she is disinterested.  She says reading is ''boring'' and no matter what the subject, so far I have found nothing to really capture her interest.


As a consummate bookworm myself this is frustrating.  I believe in the power of books, because I love to read.  But I think for her, not helped by some literacy challenges, reading will always be a chore rather than a pleasure.  


There's a line in the movie 'Pretty Woman'' where Edward Lewis is talking about opera.  He says
"People's reactions to opera the first time they see it is very dramatic; they either love it or they hate it. If they love it, they will always love it. If they don't, they may learn to appreciate it, but it will never become part of their soul.""


Yes it's a corny quote from a corny movie.  But I think there's a kernel of truth in there.  

3 comments:

Broot said...

Yes, I think you're right. Both my kids can read but only The Boy is a book devourer. The Girl can take or leave it.

Steve P. said...

I agree with you about books, Susan. I built myself a bookshelf about 5 or 6 years ago to accomodate my larger books, and it's full already. There are books stacked over a foot high on top, as well.

Meyles said...

not being a parent, i don't have any first hand info, except that several people have told me their kids didn't enjoy reading much till they got their hands on good old Harry Potter.