Reading has to honestly be one of my most favorite pastimes. I am the type of person that reads everything every chance I get. For instance, if I'm waiting for an Internet page to upload, or if I'm on hold with someone on the phone, I start to read anything in front of me; from the backs of cereal boxes, random labels...really anything around me! I have two books that I am currently reading for entertainment. I only get enough time each day to read a couple of pages, but those few moments are golden to me. My husband thinks I'm nuts because I rather read than watch Gossip Girl with him! My favorite genres are definitely non-fiction such as biographies, realistic fiction, historical fiction, cookbooks and cooking magazines, educational books (love Jonathan Kozol). A professor, Dr. Onore introduced me to one of Kozol's books, and I was hooked. He reminds me somewhat of Ralph Fletcher - how he writes and his experience in inner city schools. The stories he has are so harsh yet are real. His stories are captivating.
I had a very positive experience reading as a child. I can remember the first book I ever read on my own. My first grade class had just been to the school book fair and I had bought a book with a big, friendly blue dinosaur on the cover. His name was Bronte and he decided to move into the city. I remember finishing the story by myself and just feeling overwhelmingly excited. I ran over to Mrs. Longobardi to tell her the news, and she gave me the biggest hug. After that I could not keep my hands off of books. I read everything from picture books and later to more non-fiction science books. Reading instantly became so easy for me. I always excelled at reading and writing as a child. While many children had issues or struggled with comprehension, that was my strong point. I looked forward to reading assignments ...they were fun for me! Reading came naturally, as opposed to math.
During high school and college came a few negative experiences with reading. In high school I was assigned many texts that I did not enjoy at all, even loathed at the time. We would sit in English class analyzing and then over-analyzing things like Shakespear and the Canterbury Tales...we overkilled the texts so bad I did not enjoy them at all. In college I was introduced to more expository texts, and was asked to do the same thing - study them to death. We were then graded on our opinion, which I thought was unfair.
I am very glad for my initial positive experiences with reading. I was fortunate enough to have these good experiences. Unfortunately not all children experience reading the way I did. I can see how very negative experiences could make enjoying reading later in life very hard.
2 comments:
That's awesome to read about your love with reading! And I definitely agree with the beating the book to death. I am glad that I have overcome my fear of reading because I was afraid to be judged on my opinion of a book and its meaning. I remember now too right after college when I was in my first job freelancing and getting overwhelmed, I went to books for comfort. I had a pile of different ones I found in my dad's old college stack (he was into history) and the others I'm not even sure where I got them. I remember reading some John Grisham lawyer books and love still to this day "A Time To Kill." I saw the movie first, but the book brought even more vivid images to my mind. I read "The Green Mile" before renting the movie, and it is true on most accounts how your mind can create such images that are impossible to portray in a movie. That's when you know a book is good and you've comprehended it. That was my weakness for a while too, but now I can take my time and read or reread something as much as I need too.
I think it is great that you had such a postive experience with reading. I, however, did not. I wish that I had discovered reading and writing earlier than I did. As a child reading was so difficult and so it discouraged me from being able to enjoy anything that required me to read. It is such a wonderful experience discovering the joy of books. Books allow you to pull what you want from them. One book for you might not be what it is for someone else. This is why I love books and I think is why you love them too!
Also, I know that class is almost over, but do you think you can post any earlier? I work two jobs and the chance I had to check on Monday you had not posted yet. Since, you weren't able to post until later, my post is late. Thanks!
Post a Comment