I did not learn to read early. I am like most other children. Reading did come easily to me. I enjoyed the stories.
My parents both liked to read and we children read a lot too. Mom liked mystery novels like those of Agatha Christie. Daddy liked cowboy books like those written by Zane Gray. They did not limit themselves to just those books though. Any story was welcomed.
Now that I am grown I will read almost anything. My favorite books are biographies. I like to know how the person's environment was and what influenced them to make the choices they made.
One of my brothers immersed himself in ancient Chinese history. Everyone seems to have different tastes.
One town we lived in for longer than a year had a library. As a family we would go once a week to return the books we already enjoyed and choose more to check out. The only limit on number was that we be able to read them in a week. There were a lot of us. We checked out a lot of books.
Eventually we had read all the books in the library at least once. As soon as new books came in the librarian would call. So periodically there were new books to read.
Of course my parents made sure the books we wanted to read were appropriate. That is one of the things parents are supposed to do. I did the same with my children.
So now there are those who want to ban some books. I am totally against book banning. I do not worry about what our little ones are reading. We oversee that. As an adult I will read whatever I wish to read.
I want to know the true stories of history. Maybe I want to know how slaves felt. Maybe I want to know how and why people owned slaves. Maybe I want to know how they became slaves. The real lives of kings and queens could not all have been easy. I want to know about explorers lives and what they discovered. I could go on and on. There is so much to learn. Those who would ban books would deprive me of that.
Some things do not belong in books or anywhere else. Crimes against children, how to commit crimes. But no publisher should put them in print to begin with. So there you are. NO BOOK BANNING!
Reading was a pleasure to me when I was a child. I loved going to the library to take out all the books I could carry. Then I would go home, sit on the couch and surround myself with them, trying to decide which one to read first.
ReplyDeleteThere is nothing more comforting than to sit on the couch with a cup of tomato soup, a grilled cheese sandwich, a warm blanket, and a good book on a rainy day.
DeleteI know. Practice makes perfect!
Deletewow this was awesome how your family read all the books in the library !!!!!
ReplyDeleteoh i grew up dreaming about living in place which had library but unfortunately our tiny town did not had one . so only school library was my favorite place to pick up books and i think i read most of it's.
reading is my soul's picnic since beginning and i still feel that way
banning book is not right ,adults must decide for themselves
I knew you would think that way. I just keep thinking of all the knowledge book-banners want to do away with. It is painful.
Delete