Reading-A Passion

I don't ever remember not liking to read.  I know when I was going into first grade I was tested to be in the "slow" readers group, but I remember my teacher telling my Mom that she couldn't figure out why because I was one of her best readers.  I can tell her why.  They tested our reading ability based on phonics-I hate phonics, loathe phonics, I did not learn to read with phonics.  Never did get them, I just read.

To me there is nothing like getting lost in a book.  When I was young I loved Encyclopedia Brown and then I moved on to Nancy Drew.  I tackled Little Women while still in Elementary School.  I often would be told to go to bed, but found reading instead.  In my teenage years and early twenties I could often be found staying up late reading "just one more chapter."  Even now I often have to force myself to go to bed because I don't function as well on 2 or 3 hours of sleep as I used to.  Sometimes now I won't even pick up a book for a few days because I know I have things that have to be done, and I will not have the willpower to put the book down once I get started.

Because of my love for reading, I intended to pass that on to all of my children.  Easier said than done. Two of my kids picked it up and are just like me.  I often see them with their noses in a book, and I love it.  What a great way to spend some of your free time.  So much better than the other mindless pursuits that are available. With some of my other kids though the love of reading has not quite taken hold.  I have one daughter that doesn't really like reading, but loves certain books.  Then there is another child that just doesn't like reading at all.  All of my kids have loved the Harry Potter books, but she even struggles with those.  She was reading a book recently that she had to have finished by the end of the term.  It was torturous punishment for her to have to read 40 pages a day.  One night it was getting late so I offered to read to her while she was getting ready for bed.  I had no idea what was going on in the book.  Almost instantly I was transported to this magical land and drawn in even though I didn't know anything about these characters.  We finished the chapter and she was ready to go to sleep.  There was only two chapters left!  I looked at her, and said how on earth can you not finish this.  Don't you want to know what happens next?  What if they all die? She just looked at me and said she didn't really care, she just wanted to go to bed.  So the next day I finished the book with her.  I was talking to her about the book.  She had admitted that it was an interesting story and that she liked it.  I then said, reading isn't that bad is it?  She said, the book was interesting, but I didn't like reading it.  I don't like to read, Mom.  I'm not giving up on her, but not sure I will be able to win her over to the reading side.