My hat’s off to you! Your first book is a winner. Last year, I spent a good portion of my pleasure reading time reading through children’s fantasy fiction series to answer those who are always asking me, “what do you think about so-and-so’s series.” Frankly, fantasy fiction is not my favorite genre. I suppose I have been spoiled by… Read More Dear Mr. Smith,
I agree with C. S. Lewis’s pronouncement that “reading oneself to sleep,” is a “deplorable practice,” but I do think that bedtime reading can serve other purposes. When I reflect on my childhood, straining to recall my earliest memories, one that surfaces most distinctly is bedtime reading. My mother, whether consciously or unconsciously, fulfilled the role of “Super Mom.” She… Read More Bedtime Reading
If you have read my opinion about children’s literature very often, you know it is unapologetically emphatic in preferring old books over those written in the last 50 years. I subject “new” books to more stringent scrutiny and few meet my standards. For the record, I hold older books to the same standards, but many, many more of them… Read More Old Things Become New
The house is quiet, the kind of quiet that makes listening easy, when you can hear the softest sounds: a page turning, a little sniff, the sound of someone shifting position In a chair. That’s the way readingtime sounds in our house. There are often little breaks in this quiet, groans of dismay or disgust at who-knows-what predicament,… Read More Family Reading
Have you ever noticed that life runs at a gallop more than at a stroll? Time truly flies. Our children are growing up too swiftly. Do you ever panic at the things you haven’t managed to accomplish with them yet, or, like me, do you ever feel like that clock is your enemy? Time. It is… Read More Finding Time to Read
Recently I had heard or read about Anne Shirley in several places, so I suppose that’s what brought her to mind. For some strange reason, I missed her growing up and didn’t actually meet her until I was a mother myself. That’s the wonderful thing about a classic: it’s good at every age. I don’t know… Read More For Hearts to Grow On
That reading is in decline is indisputable. Despite the popularity of audio books, e-readers, and the superabundance of published printed books continuing to stream our way, the real reading of books is not considered a necessity, let alone pleasure or privilege, for most people. If you are reading this, you are probably not one of the “most people,” or, possibly,… Read More Are You Afraid to Read?
For several years now, Emily and I have been part of a Charlotte Mason book discussion group. Mothers come to a local restaurant once every six weeks and share a meal, followed by what usually proves to be a lively discussion of Mason’s ideas. Six weeks seems to be a manageable commitment for us, meaning eight meetings per year,… Read More Learning Charlotte Mason Together
Why is it that I often bemoan not having enough time to read? At the end of the year, the list usually surprises me because I read more than I thought. This must simply continue to prove my theory that, here a little, there a little, every day a little, gets you through a lot of books in… Read More What I was Reading Last Year
I have written before about the atmosphere of reading, how the presence of books in the home, parents who read, and reading aloud to children influence our children’s embracing of reading as a way of life, so I don’t know why I am chagrined when my grown children, when some offhand remark about audio books occurs, comment, “The sound… Read More Reading with the Ear