Bloganuary 1.14.23

Happy Happy Saturday. See, Saturdays get an extra “happy” when it’s also your birthday.

I’m continuing on with some Bloganuary posts this weekend because I’ve really been enjoying writing about what pops up…

One of the suggested prompts this week was: has a book changed your life?

While of course some books immediately popped into my mind, overall, my first thought was: reading has changed my life…

From the time I was little, I remember reading.

Both of my parents are readers. My dad always had a stack of books on the side table by his recliner, and my mom was the one to take us to the library.

In the summer, we’d go to the library pretty often, and we’d always complete the reading challenge…

Around 4th grade, I have memories of reading in my room. I had a little cozy corner (I started making things “cozy” early on!) where I’d sit and read.

I also loved my school librarian, Mrs. Jones. She made reading so much fun. A favorite elementary school memory was when I was in the intermediate grades, some of us would get to help on our class visits and scan books out to our classmates and then tidy up the libary.

Of course, there was the school reading program…

Ahh…I remember those Pizza Hut coupons like it was yesterday.

I feel like I naturally introduced reading to the kids. Even when they were babies, I’d rock them, read them a book, and then put them in bed.

In the summer, it was always a weekly activity to take them to the library. They’d sit and listen during story time, make a craft, click around on the computer, and check out books. The library was a great way to burn a couple of hours once a week in those hot summer months.

My mom, after she retired from teaching after 31 years, worked at the public library for ten more. She even did story time with the little kids, and we’d join her during our summer visits to KC.

Just like when I grew up, during the elementary years, the kids would complete the library summer reading challenge earning free books and stickers instead of pizza.

Hayden’s my reader. I will never forget listening to him read chapter books for the first time. Most nights, I would sit with him in bed, and we’d take turns reading pages of the Magic Treehouse series. There were many nights that I thought he was sleeping only for me to go to bed at 10:00 and see his little lamp light still on. I’d encourage him to finish a chapter and then turn off his light because he needed his rest.

Hadley always preferred shorter books and graphic novels.

She was a serious reader as a toddler…haha

I wish she enjoyed reading, but I think some of it is her attention span. She’s on the go, and it’s hard for her to settle in and focus. That being said, she loves a theme…and “Character Day” in elementary school was always her fave.

Reading through the years...

• I loved Madeline.
• I remember asking for Babysitter’s Club books, and even buying them as they came out one by one.
• In 7th grade, we read Where the Red Fern Grows with Mr. Freeman, and I cried.
• My dad gave me Tuesdays with Morrie when I was in high school, and I knew it would be a book I’d read time and time again.
• I bought Cliffs Notes for every Shakespearean play I read in high school. Even as a high school English teacher, I dread teaching Shakespeare.
• One of my favorite courses in college when we read one “classic” young adult book per week and created a lesson plan. I remember classmates grumbling because we “had” to read one book a week…but I couldn’t wait. We read Chocolate Wars, The Outsiders, The Giver, and more.
• I hadn’t read To Kill a Mockingbird until I taught it my first year teaching…and couldn’t have loved it more. (*Side note: I wanted Hadley’s name to be Harper, but Travis nixed that suggestion from the start. That being said, we did have a dog named Scout!)

As an adult some recent books that have stuck with me…

• The Giver of Stars
• We Were the Lucky Ones
• American Dirt
• Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother’s Will to Survive
• Where the Crawdads Sing

I feel like I said, “I remember…” quite a bit in this post, but I have such fond memories of reading, connecting with a story line, empathizing with a character, and having the best feeling of not wanting a story to end.

Reading has changed my life in more ways than I can count.

What’s a book that has changed your life?