Friday, March 11, 2011

It's Friday!!

Finally! And to make it even better, I don't have to wait patiently for the man of the house to show up sometime today and give me a hand since he surprised me by showing up around 1 am this morning. I even got to sleep in this morning, waking up only long enough to get the kids clothes together and going straight back to bed.

Posting about my mother's stories yesterday got me thinking about my love of books and words and how I have been surrounded by them for as long as I remember. Would I have been such an avid reader if I had grown up in a different environment? my grandmother tells tales of a tiny me who know one would believe could read until she would pull out a book and prove it. Or of having to drive daily down a certain road in Orlando where strip clubs abounded with me trying to read every sign in sight. A certain club, called Circus Circus, caused many a tantrum because I wanted to go see the circus and could not understand why it was only for adults. As proud as she was that I was reading at such a young age, she wished for me to stop many times.

On the other hand, I do know several people who enjoy reading when no one else in their family is interested in it. But none of them are really as bad as I am about it. I am miserable if I don't have anything to read and there are books in every room of our home, much to the dismay of the man of the house. My grandmother is the same way and every time I go home to visit, she sends me home with boxes of books to make room for new ones on her shelves.

Do you think environment has a lot to do with a love of reading? Are your kids avid readers or writers because you are? I would love to hear your opinions on this!


4 comments:

  1. This is a very interesting conversation. I do remember my mom always reading a lot. Though hers were more in the romance genre. :) I never got into that. (my step-mom reads a ton of those, too. Maybe its a generational thing.)

    I do love to read and collect books. I don't get rid of mine often. Even if I never intend to read them again, they do seem to be attached to memories. Perhaps that is why I have never gotten into the audio book or ebook craze. I develop an emotional attachment to those stories.

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  2. Glad I am not the only one that does that! I have books that I have read a hundred times and had for years, but I still hang on to them.

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  3. I used to be an avid reader until working got in the way and the Internet. I still love to read but can never find the time to. My mom, mother-n-law and stepson love to read and read often. I just bought my mom a new book the other day and she read it until it was finished. She collects books too and reads them over sometimes. :)

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  4. I think environment has something to do with it. As a child you want to learn, you look up to your parents, you want them to be proud of you. Without knowing, you pick up on things they do.

    My mother was an avid reader. I too have a love for books. Reading is my favorite thing to do. English and Writing classes were always my favorite. My mother was a Writing major.

    I am sure her love turned in to my love because that is was what in my environment.

    However, there are those that grow up in that environment and hate reading and writing. So, when you are old enough to make up your own mind, you can certainly change your tune.

    Those that did not grow up in that environment might stumble on it later in life and fall in love.

    I've taken too many psych classes in college, I could go on and on about this topic. LOL.

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