Love of Reading
I yearn for those long, lazy summer days ensconced in a reclining chair with a good book or two and the occasional nap thrown in for good measure. I am fully aware that my stack of books to read (above is a snapshot of just one shelf) encompasses a variety of genres and seems to grow exponentially.
While many will say that reading is not just for pleasure, but also the key to learning, I would contend - especially when thinking of those with learning differences who struggle with reading - that it would be more accurate to say reading may be one of the keys to learning. Thus, I was (with the caveat of being “one of the keys” rather than “the key”) delighted to come across the great quotes in this image (credit to: @MrDoherty617).
In addition to those listed in Mr. Doherty’s image above, the following [taken from The 100 Best Quotes About Reading] are some of my favourite quotes pertaining to reading and the effects thereof.
“Let’s be reasonable and add an eighth day to the week that is devoted exclusively to reading.” – Lena Dunham
“The reading of all good books is like conversation with the finest (people) of the past centuries.” – Descartes
“Some books leave us free and some books make us free.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
“I’m old-fashioned and think that reading books is the most glorious pastime that humankind has yet devised.” – Wisława Szymborska
“What better occupation, really, than to spend the evening at the fireside with a book, with the wind beating on the windows and the lamp burning bright.” – Gustave Flaubert
Gone are the simple categories of children’s texts (ie. Enid Blyton’s Famous Five, Secret Seven, Noddy) and classics (ie. Aesop's Fables, Anna Sewell’s Black Beauty, Frances Hodgson Burnett’s The Secret Garden or Kenneth Grahame’s Wind in the Willows). Nowadays texts appeal to a wide range of interests and reflect the diversity of modern day life. I love that there are so many books in which, inter alia, kindness is championed (Brightly’s list Cool to Be Kind: Children's Books That Champion Kindness), those that reference Martin Luther King’s legacy (Brightly’s list Books That Carry On the Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.,), texts that celebrate our diversity (30 Children’s Books About Diversity That Celebrate Our Differences), and that graphic novels are taken as serious reading materials (2019 Great Graphic Novels for Teens Top Ten).
I am aware that while my love of reading started, per Emilie Buchwald’s observation, “Children are made readers on the laps of their parents.” (Thanks, mum!), I definitely experienced ups (George Orwell’s 1984 and Animal Farm) and downs (Billy Liar, My Life and Other Animals and more texts than I care to remember) with the required reading of secondary school. While George Orwell’s analogies drew me into a world of suspense and intrigue, other texts were painful to read in terms of storyline, writing style and more.
In addition to reading texts, I love to listen to radio shows/podcasts in which literature is discussed (BBC Open Book, BBC A Good Read, The Guardian Books Podcast, The Penguin Podcast), read short extracts of books I would otherwise be unlikely to read (Delancey Place) as well as read recommendations of new books through carefully curated lists (such as The Atlantic Books, The Atlantic Book Briefings, Grown-Up Reads, Lithub, Guardian Books). All of these give me more titles to add to my books to buy/books to read list.
“I have a passion for teaching kids to become readers, to become comfortable with a book, not daunted. Books shouldn’t be daunting, they should be funny, exciting and wonderful; and learning to be a reader gives a terrific advantage.” I invite you to consider how you can engender this passion for reading - so eloquently expressed by Roald Dahl - to those whom you teach.