Love to Read

I have always loved to read. My mom would read to me all the time when I was little, and was faithful about getting us to the library every 2 weeks. Growing up where I did, there weren't other kids to play with very often, so I spent a lot of time reading. I can even remember getting together with my friend Laura sometimes, and we'd end up reading side by side. I probably made my eyes go bad with all that reading--particularly the reading done in VERY poorly lit situations (like when I was supposed to be sleeping).

Stephanie has kept me busy through the years passing on books that she's read, and has turned me on to some excellent authors (like Jodi Piccoult--I'm reading her latest, "19 minutes" right now and it is excellent, if you're looking for a good book). And Beth has also introduced me to some exceptional books--to think I hadn't read Harry Potter until she loaned it to me (and I just bought "The Poisonwood Bible" and am looking forward to starting it soon...)!

Recently, my neighborhood has started a book club, and several of my new neighbors are bibliophiles just like me. This month we read "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls, which I also really recommend. After reading about this woman's mother, I feel like I may still have a shot at "Mommy of the Year!"

I am doing what I can to pass this love of reading on to my children. We read books together often--it is the one thing that I will drop whatever it is I'm doing to do with them whenever they ask. Ryan is reading chapter books now (he's reading on a late second grade level according to his most recent report card), but still loves for me to read to him. And I'm having a blast re-reading some of my childhood favorites with him (like Charlotte's Web, and Encyclopedia Brown), as well as discovering some new favorites (like the Magic Treehouse books).

So imagine how I felt when I came downstairs a few days ago to see this going on in Kevin's office (yes, Katy picked out her own clothes that day).