“A fondness for reading, properly directed, must be an education in itself." -Jane Austen
A love for reading is something that my mom worked hard at to instill in my siblings and I. She has a large bookshelf that is overflowing with titles -- books on health and wellness, books on historical events, how-to's on anything from gardening to building your own dulcimer, fiction by her all time favorite authors, children's books, classics -- along with several small bookshelves throughout the house, those filled as well.
She took us to the library on a weekly basis, and got recommendations from the Librarians for books we might enjoy based on what we were studying in school or what was popular at the time with other kids our ages.
But it wasn't until I was twelve or thirteen that I truly began to find joy in words on a page. Before then, I read what was required of me and nothing more. Sitting still was boring, reading was boring. And I didn't like boring.
I think you should give this series a try, it might surprise you. My mom handed me a small stack of books, the Love Comes Softly collection by Janette Oke. I was skeptical, but three chapters in, my world had expanded. It didn't take long for me to read through that series, as well as several other series by Oke, and from there I began branching out to new authors and genres, as well as biographies and other non-fiction works.
There were many, many nights after that point where I got so lost in the story, that time ticked by me, unaware, as I read the final words on the last page and slowly closed the book, to then notice that it was well past midnight.
Over the years my preferences have definitely changed. Most often I find myself reaching for non-fiction, however, there are a few fiction authors whose work I love so much so, that when they release a new title I will set aside all other books I am currently reading and devour theirs instead.
Almost every year I make it my personal goal to read twelve new, non-fiction books. Over the course of 2014 I read eighteen new books, so when I added 10. Read twelve non-fiction books to the 23 before 24 list, I knew it would be fairly easy for me. I did surprise myself though, because I'm only three months in and I have already read through twelve non-fiction books and I'm well into several other titles, that I'll add to my ever growing list as soon as I finish them. I'm sure summer will slow my reading down a bit, as it always does, but that's okay, I've crossed this off of the list, and I'll just keep on going strong until the grass needs mowed and my garden need to be tended and the sunshine and my little adventurer keep my out-of-doors from dawn until dusk.
I believe that reading has opened my eyes to the world around me, to different cultures and ways of thinking, and to new thoughts and ideas, some that I can agree with and others that I'll only entertain.
My hope is that I, too, can cultivate a love for books in my own children, just as my mom did for me. (Even if that means that I read What Bear Likes Best five times a day, seven days per week, because it is Carson's current favorite.)
The books I read are as follows:
- Secret Shadows, by Loreen Plett
- Bread & Wine, A Love Letter to Life Around the Table, by Shauna Niequist
- The Science of a Woman - The Art of a Man, Keys to the Glory of Marriage, by Eric Smith
- Bittersweet, Thoughts on Change, Grace, and Learning the Hard Way, by Shauna Niequist
- Same Kind of Different as Me, A Modern Day Slave, an International Art Dealer, and the Unlikely Woman Who Bound Them Together, by Ron Hall + Denver Moore
- A Path Appears, Transforming Lives, Creating Opportunity, by Nicholas Kristof + Sheryl WuDunn
- Unbroken, A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption, by Laura Hillenbrand (audio)
- Make it Happen, Surrender Your Fear. Take the Leap. Live on Purpose. by Lara Casey
- A Year of Biblical Womanhood, How a Liberated Woman Found Herself Sitting on Her Roof, Covering Her Head, and Calling Her Husband "Master", by Rachel Held Evans (audio)
- Jesus Feminist, An Invitation to Revisit the Bible's View of Women, by Sarah Bessey
- You and Me Forever, Marriage in Light of Eternity, by Francis Chan + Lisa Chan (audio)
- Mere Christianity, by C. S. Lewis
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