This week I'm going to do a mini-series on reading, mostly by asking and answering questions about reading. I did answer some reading questions last August, so can refresh yourself on some of those answers if you like.
Do you consider yourself a reader? Why or why not?
I've been thinking about this a lot since there are a few bloggers who I read who sometimes question if they are readers and I know they are indeed readers because they post about reading books and obviously think about books. They sometimes say something like "I don't read as much as X or Y" and this answer really puzzles me. It's not a competition. It's an identity.
A lot of people read zero books a year. Those people are not readers. Some people only read a few books a year. But I bet you that those people are very careful about what books they read and think about the books they read very carefully. And they are readers.
I'm basically compulsive about reading, but you certainly don't need to be like me to be a reader.
Do you enjoy reading aloud?
I don't love it. I am not an actor and I don't have a great voice and I am just not cut out for reading aloud. But if there's a child within a twenty-foot radius of me, there's a good chance I'll at least try to read to them.
Did anyone read to you when you were a kid?
Yeah, there were always books in our house. I remember my mom and sister reading to me. As soon as I could read independently, though, that stopped. I sometimes hear about people who read to their grown children still and I think that's adorable.
What book made you a reader?
I was slow to figure out reading comprehension, so I basically went from sight words and really basic picture books to chapter books because once I figured it out, I was insatiable. And I feel like Beverly Cleary, particularly Ramona Quimby, Age 8, was a pivotal figure in my very early reading life. I learned about character, plot, and dialogue from that book.
Later on, there was The Secret Garden, Black Beauty, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, and A Little Princess, of course, but I didn't just jump from See Spot Run to colonialism, inner city poverty, and screeds on animal rights. And thank goodness Cleary was there to fill in the gaps.
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Do you consider yourself a reader?
Do you like reading aloud?
Did anyone read to you when you were a kid?
What book made you a reader?
I think I'm a reader, though I'm in a slump right now. We always had books at home when I was little, and my mom would bring us to the library all the time. My parents and siblings read to me, but once I started reading myself , no need.
ReplyDeleteMy parents had Agatha Christie's novels and subscribed to Readers Digest condensed books, and I would tear through those. But I think Richard Scarry's busy town books first influenced me to look at a book and want more.
Earlier chapter books like Ramona, Witch of Blackbird Pond, Little House books helped too.
I love reading picture books aloud to kids, but not chapter books. I've tried Junie b Jones and Harry Potter, and after 2 paragraphs I'm bored.
So many Reader's Digest condensed books in our house, too! And Reader's Digests in the bathroom! You unlocked a core memory for me.
DeleteI don't remember Richard Scarry's books, but my in-laws read them a lot and so I was exposed to them when my nieces and nephews were little. So much fun!
I agree with you on the first point. Just like a runner, a baker, an investor... you are what you want to be or you relate to or you feel. I have literally tripped many, many times, so I would consider myself a clumsy person. That's just how it works.
ReplyDeleteDo you consider yourself a reader? Yes. I'm fact it is probably one of my highest listed identities.
Do you like reading aloud? Yes, but I don't recall the book as well when I do, so I would prefer to read aloud to kids, or read aloud a book I've already read, rather than read aloud a book I was really wanting to ingest myself.
Did anyone read to you when you were a kid? Definitely. I remember my dad reading Robert Louis Stevenson to me when I was a kid. I read on my own quite early so I'm not sure when my parents stopped reading to me. Actually, my dad still reads The Night Before Christmas aloud to us every year at Christmas.
What book made you a reader? Hah, who knows. I was reading on my own well before kindergarten so it was probably a kids book. However, books I remember were Choose Your Own Adventure, ATGIB (naturally), Nancy Drew, Sweet Valley High, Anne of Green Gables, Peter Rabbit, Little House on the Prairie, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe...and many more!
I tripped walking up the steps yesterday and my husband just sort of shook his head. Hey, he knew I was a clumsy person when we got married. I'm just...sort of careless and unaware of my own body.
DeleteYOUR DAD STILL READS TO YOU. My heart is melting.
You early readers who were reading before school are shocking to me! Shocking!
I am definitely a reader. I don't remember ever not reading. I was apparently reading actual books I had never seen before at age 2. This seems weird to me but my mom swears it was true, she would give me a library picture book and I could read it. So I actually don't remember people reading to me, although they must have, because mostly I would read myself.
ReplyDeleteI agree, it's not a competition. In fact, I think everyone would be better off to remember it's not a competition. You don't have to read a certain amount of books in a year to be a reader, maybe you just read one.
I loved reading to my kids, and I loved "doing all the voices." So I do enjoy reading aloud but I don't do it these days. Maybe one day I'll have grandchildren and you can bet I'll be reading to them.
The books I remember from my very young childhood were The Monster at the End of This Book, Richard Scarry's Busy Busy World, The Poky Little Puppy, and The Saggy Baggy Elephant. This would be from my preschool days, or maybe kindergarten, that's as far back as I could remember. I also had some Sesame Street activity books that I loved, that had stories and craft ideas in them.
Exactly, Nicole. If you read even a single book you are a reader in my mind. But I do understand how it might not be part of someone's identity the way it is mine. It's just so important to me!
DeleteI've never even heard of The Saggy Baggy Elephant, but you better believe I just put that book on hold at the library!
Do you consider yourself a reader? Yes! Though it's much less of my identity as an adult. As a child/teen, I would have labelled it as core to who I was as a person.
ReplyDeleteDo you like reading aloud? I LOVE it. This is probably the thing I miss the most about my kids being younger. We would spend hours and hours each week reading together. Them cuddled on the couch beside me, or me reading while they finished their meals or before they went to bed. I MISS IT. SO, SO MUCH. I have thought about volunteering to read to seniors at a local care home but haven't gotten around to that.
Did anyone read to you when you were a kid? Yes. Both my parents but primarily my mother. Though I started reading on my own at a young age.
What book made you a reader? The Bobbsey Twins ignited my love for books (my mom read these to me) and Nancy Drew cemented that love (I read them to myself). Harry Potter reignited that love. And now I'm all about non-fiction!
And I remember The Poky Little Puppy, too @Nicole. I still own that book!
Elisabeth, I love the idea of reading to seniors! I'm taking the note and putting it on my "what I want to be when I grow up after I stop working next year" list.
DeleteDo your kids not read now, Elisabeth? Is there no "parallel reading" on the couch?
DeleteBobbsey Twins, Hardy Boys, and Nancy Drew all had those same hardcover books and I read them so many times!
My kids read *sigh*, but not very much. I sometimes have us all spend 30 minutes reading in the living room together (silently, each on our own books) but they complain about it. I cannot emphasize how much this breaks my heart. I so desperately wanted my kids to love reading as much as I did as a kid. It was the biggest part of my identity in those years. And it's...not a big part of their lives.
DeleteI've done everything to expose them to the joys of reading - I've read to them 100s of hours, taken them to library programs, and we used to spend several hours a week at a library. But it's not their thing and I'm trying not to be too upset about accepting it.
That said, Belle reads Harry Potter a lot and both kids love to listen to audiobooks, so I guess they like reading just either the same books over and over or via audiobook.
I feel like when I was a tween/young teen, I read the same books over and over again. I think that's great! I still think the hard part of reading is getting into a new book and a new world and the comfort of an old familiar is still important!
DeleteI have faith that they'll turn into readers, friend.
Aw yiss!!! I am here for this!
ReplyDeleteDo you consider yourself a reader? Yes, but what Elisabeth said that it's not a huge part of my identify. Right now it's the last priority in my life but it's also something that I enjoy and that gives me great satisfaction. I went through a low to no reading period in my 20s/early 30s just to see what it was like.
Do you like reading aloud? I don't mind it but it's not something that I seek out.
Did anyone read to you when you were a kid? Oh yes! It should be no surprise that my parents are huge readers. My mom read to me until I could read for myself. During college there was a brief spell where we read out loud to each other. We read a few of the Nevil Shute and Joyce Porter books, trading off every two pages. I don't remember how it started or why we stopped, but it was fun.
What book made you a reader? I don't remember ever not being a reader, and I can't remember one book in particular. However all of the usual suspects were there for me in the early years - Ramona, Little House, Anne of Green Gables, Nancy Drew, etc, etc, etc.
Ha ha ha. The usual suspects! I am laughing at how it really is the same dozen books/series that we all read as children. I guess there are some authors who just know how to write for new readers!
DeleteDo you consider yourself a reader? Very much so, although I don't read like I used to. It sounds odd, but menopause brain fog knocked reading out of my life for a time. I couldn't concentrate on books. But I read other things. And then books came back into my life after a time.
ReplyDeleteDo you like reading aloud? Love it. I read aloud to my kids and my students. And yes, I did all the voices.
Did anyone read to you when you were a kid? My mother did for a time. But I learned to read by the time I was about 2-3. Then I read myself, mostly, and everything I could get my hands on. And NICOLE, my favourite book was The Poky Little Puppy! (And The Color Kittens.)
What book made you a reader? I don't really know. I do know that my sister had the whole series of The Bobbsey Twins (ELISABETH!) and Nancy Drew (ELISABETH!) mysteries, and I read those. And I read Trixie Belden mysteries, too. And my mother took us to the library every week where I would take out 8 books at a time. I read Beverly Cleary books, the Rupert Piper books, the Betsy, Tacy and Tib books, and anything my older sister recommended.
I do not need to hear that menopause brain might change my reading habits. Why can't our bodies let us have nice things?!
DeleteWas eight the maximum number of books you could take out in a week? Isn't it glorious to think about the days of childhood when we had so much free time and could just read all the time?!
This is so funny. My husband used to get frustrated with the GIANT pile of books I was bringing home each week for the kids, so he instituted a "7-book limit." All the librarians knew about this and would help me sneak extra books into our pile. After the kids got older and could manage books better the limit was abolished...so when librarians see me taking a big stack out they chuckle about the days when we had a limit.
DeleteNGS--The library had a 4-book limit for kids my age, but Miss Mamie, the dear and wonderful librarian, made a special exception for me. She knew I read like a fiend, and she also made terrific recommendations for me. And yes, I read SO MUCH when I was a kid. I even took a book up into the tree in my front yard in order to read undisturbed. My mother actually complained about how often I "had my nose in a book". Isn't that ridiculous?
DeleteElisabeth--My husband is not a reader and never was. He was incredibly supportive of our kids reading and collecting books. I think he felt cheated out of the world of reading. I love that you had an accomplice in the librarian! I think librarians are the best.
Isn't it crazy to think about how the kindness of one person has such an impact on you to this day? I try to be super careful around kids because it only takes one careless moment to unintentionally cause harm, but it also only takes one caring moment for kids to realize their worth.
DeleteMy parents frequently talked about me being too much of a bookworm. I suspect we had similar upbringings!
I am an off-and-on reader. Not long ago, I read many books for a few months. My interest has waned for now.
ReplyDeleteOnce upon a time, I read many books to Sue at bedtime, (Dune, LOTR etc) but I am not a great oral reader, and she can get well-read audio books now.
I don't recall being read to except for a vague memory about children's books, like Mister Dog, before I could read on my own, which was grade one.
My first book ever was Bobbsey Twins at the Seashore. An aunt whom I never met sent it to me. I started reading and was soon surprised to see that I had finished my first 'long' book. I then read the series and moved on to Hardy Boys etc. After I moved the this town late in life, I learned that the original writer of The Hardy Boys lived and wrote here.
I love that people of all generations read The Hardy Boys and Bobbsey Twins. Such formative books for literal generations!
DeleteDo you consider yourself a reader? Yes
ReplyDeleteDo you like reading aloud? No
Did anyone read to you when you were a kid? Yes, both my parents
What book made you a reader? No one book, just an appreciation for how any book could help you escape into a different world. It seemed like magic.
Books are magic, Ally! They truly are!
DeleteI love this set of questions!
ReplyDeleteYES, I consider myself a reader. I was a bookworm all through childhood and not much has changed. Luckily, grad school and teaching requires a lot of reading!
I do read aloud to my students and loved reading aloud to my kids...
My parents read aloud to me when I was kid. I can't remember anyone else in my large extended family doing so, though there were plenty of stories told by grandparents, aunts and uncles etc. Do those count? My partner will read to me sometimes now--I love being read to.
I couldn't specify any one book... but reading is almost a tic--even if it verges on the asemic, I'll be out there trying to make sense of it! Milk cartons, book covers glimpsed in movies, I need to read it all...
I'm with you on reading everything. I find myself surprised that everyone doesn't know all the ingredients to their shampoo and conditioner. What else are you going to do while you're in the shower?!
DeleteI rarely read things in the shower. Maybe this is because for years I couldn't see in the shower so I don't think to do it now that I have better vision?
DeleteOh, ha. Maybe that's just it - you couldn't, so you didn't. I'm compulsive. At our school, there are always posters up in the bathroom stalls and I am 100% sure I read every word. I'm definitely the right audience for that.
DeleteDo you consider yourself a reader? Yes, but I didn't grow up loving reading. I think I'm one of the bloggers who sometimes feels like I don't measure up in the reading arena. Some people read SO much. It blows my mind. As an adult, there were years when I didn't read. I was too busy with my kids and it was not a priority. I do remember getting a book out of the library to take to the hospital when I was gonna have a baby. I knew that the nurse would bring the baby to me when he/she needed to eat and I had no other responsibilities for those few days. I loved that. Then for several weeks when the baby was so new, I'd sneak off to read and nurse while Coach was home. I also loved the hospital food, because I didn't have to prepare it I guess. ;)
ReplyDeleteDo you like reading aloud? Yes. I do voices and according to my kids my version of 'Are You My Mother?' is second to none. I currently read aloud to the kids in my daycare and when our foster daughters moved in, I read them Misty of Chincoteague, which is one of my favorites that I read to my biological kids years ago.
Did anyone read to you when you were a kid? Yes, but I have very little memory of that. I assume my mom read to us more than my dad, but I do remember my dad reading to us - probably because it was a novelty. I guess once I could read on my own, my folks stopped reading to me.
What book made you a reader? Hmm, I'm not sure. I know I really enjoyed books like B is for Betsy and Henry Huggins and Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing. I remember when reading Amelia Bedelia I thought, Hang on - this is funny! Eventually I enjoyed The Happy Hollisters, which I believe is similar to the Bobbsey Twin books.
What I love about this is that you didn't always love to read, but you grew to love it! That's such a great success story.
DeleteI bet you're fantastic about reading to your daycare kids! I always envied people who could do storytime and make the characters come alive.
I consider myself a reader now, though it wasn’t always the case. It wasn’t until I was in my 50s that I really started diving into books. (I may turn this into a blog post—I love the idea.)
ReplyDeleteWhile I don’t enjoy reading aloud anymore, I used to in college when I was trying to absorb as much information as I could. Looking back, I realize it helped with my ADD.
When I was young, my mom would read to me and my brother. We had so many books, and trips to the library were always a big deal. But as school got harder and reading comprehension became a struggle, I lost my love for it. Reading just wasn’t fun anymore.
The book that brought me back? She’s Come Undone by Wally Lamb. I read it in the '90s, thanks to Oprah’s book club, and it reignited my love of reading.
Wally Lamb is SO good. I've only read I Know This Much Is True, but it was so compelling and the writing was sparkling. Thank goodness Lamb brought you back to reading!
DeleteI'd love to hear about your evolution as a reader in a blog post. I love to hear about people's reading journeys!
Oh, fun topic! And I just love "It's not a competition. It's an identity."
ReplyDeleteDo you consider yourself a reader? Yes, 1000%.
Do you like reading aloud? I will sometimes read a good bit of dialog out loud to myself, so I guess the answer is yes! I like being read to (aka audiobooks), and though I haven't been around kids to read to in recent years, I remember enjoying that.
Did anyone read to you when you were a kid? Yes, though I don't have any clear memories of it. But there's a family story of my being young and my mother telling me to "go and read" when she and my dad were talking, and my retort, "I don't know how yet!"
What book made you a reader? I don't know for sure, but I remember Who's a Pest? and Fortunately, Unfortunately as really drawing me in.
Oh, and Nicole, The Monster at the End of This Book! You turned the page! I loved that book.
I never put together that audiobooks are being read to until this post. LOLOLOL. Of course that's what it is. If you're in the hands of a good narrator, it's magic!
DeleteI love this post, Engie. And YES, Ramona Quimby. I feel like all the Ramona books are imprinted on my brain.
ReplyDeleteMy parents -- mainly my mom -- read to me every night before bed. I have tried to read to my kid every night, too -- or if I don't, her dad or another relative does. Once, my husband read a chapter of a book to me in bed and it was the most romantic thing ever. (I cannot remember WHY -- I think maybe I was having an issue with my eyes and he took pity on me and read to me while I had a wet compress on my face.)
I'm swooning over here thinking about someone reading to me while I'm in bed. Maybe I'll suggest it to my husband. (Or maybe not. It seems so intimate. LOL.)
DeleteYes, being a reader is an identity and I identify 100%. This year I wanted to read mainly memoirs.
ReplyDeleteI love reading aloud. I tend to make various characters Scottish (I minored in Drama), an accent I learned from my grandparents & great-grandparents.
As a child, no one read to me, ever. However, I did observe my parents reading.
In Grade 2 I read Stuart Little and Charlotte's Web, and those memories still transport me directly to the back seat of my childhood family car; I would read while my Mom shopped. Other happy early reading experiences included Roald Dahl's The Magic Finger & The Hardy Boys.
I love your blog.
Charlotte's Web!! Oh, what a book. It still makes me sad. I guess that's how children's books are, though. I've never read any Roald Dahl - I think that's a place where my foundation is a bit weak.
DeleteI love these questions!
ReplyDeleteDo you consider yourself a reader? Yes, without question. Although now I mostly listen to audiobooks - and I do consider that to be reading!
Do you like reading aloud? No, I don't. I have a weak voice that doesn't hold out very long. So, guess what - I used to read story-time at the library when I worked there! That's pretty much the one thing I don't miss about that job!
Did anyone read to you when you were a kid? My mom read to me all the time. What a great mom!
What book made you a reader? I couldn't even say - I read so many books as a kid! I do remember loving Dr. Seuss books.
Dr. Suess! Those books are SO LONG. I didn't remember them being so long, but when my niblings were young, they always wanted to read them and I didn't because they took like a zillion years to finish. Ha ha. I'm the worst.
DeleteDefinitely identify as a reader. When I started blogging and met people who read as much or more than me it did give me a bit of the ick for a while, since I was used to being The Reader among my friends and family, but now I'm just happy to have more people to talk about books with.
ReplyDeleteMy parents did always read to me. They talk about me sitting on my dad's lap while he read the newspaper and pointing out words and demanding to know what they were from a very young age.
I can't remember what book made me a reader - I can't really remember myself before I was a reader. Beverly Cleary did feature heavily in early reading. I remember reading The Lord of the Flies many years before I was ready to take any of that on board.
I do like reading out loud. I find it easy to read ahead mentally so avoid making mistakes. I love doing storytime with kids in the library, I loved reading to my kids every day and night. One friend from university still asks me to read to her when we're together. I read to Angus after he could read independently (but didn't often) - Eve was happy to read to herself quite early.
Your identity as The Reader is not in question. You are the Queen of Reading as far as I'm concerned. :)
DeleteI was reading Harlequin romance novels by the time I was eleven. I cannot imagine that was good for my budding sexuality. Why weren't our parents watching over any of this?!
lol what no, you are def the Queen of Reading in my circle. Multiple formats AND languages, and so organized and intentional about it.
DeleteI'm very much a reader, but never aloud. One of my favorite memories is my grandmother reading me "The Hobbit" when I was 10 or so. Not coincidentally, I consider that the book that made me a reader, though there were others (Encyclopedia Brown, The Lemonade Trick, Rascal) that stoked the fire.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful library, by the way. :)
The Hobbit is one of my favorite books! It is one I have read over and over. How do you feel about the movie(s)? I was a bit bummed that they commercialized it and made it into more than one movie.
DeleteI didn't read The Hobbit until 2021 and I can guarantee that if I'd read it as a child, I never would have gone back to the fantasy genre. Ha! I know it's beloved, but it's not beloved by me!!
DeleteI'm obsessed with our public library and have devoted entire posts to singing its praises.
https://ngradstudent.blogspot.com/2023/04/630-depression-my-library-my-love.html
I feel three movies were two movies too many for "The Hobbit" (though I would have welcomed a fourth LOTR!).
DeleteI am a reader for sure, although I don't read nearly as much as you do and I do go through phases. But I enjoy books, think about books and would choose books over TV any day!
ReplyDeleteYeah, I would miss television if it went away, but I could deal, I think. I would not miss movies at all! LOL.
DeleteOK, I'm behind on commenting but not reading, so just jumping back in here on the ones I wanted to specifically shout out on... I feel like some of these comments might be directed at me, lol?? I know I have complained before about feeling like an "imposter reader". Thank you for validating that yes, I am still a reader, even if I don't read constantly or prolifically right now at this stage in my life!
ReplyDeleteIt's not JUST you. It comes up a lot. Like...you read books, you're a reader!
DeleteI totally agree with you. If you pick up one book you are a reader. You may loos the identity and come back to it. The number of books is no indication of being a reader.
ReplyDeleteOh, that's a really interesting point that the identity can sort of weave in and out of your life.
Delete