~Notes on Reading Habits and Reading in Community
From my earliest memories, I was a Reader. I took myself to the library on my bike about every other day and checked out a stack of books, reading them voraciously. I had to get ‘permission’ to check out ‘adult’ books as I had exhausted the libraries’ supply (and become bored with) the children and teen section. This was thankfully in the days before the era of Young Adult fiction, so I jumped from youth fiction to adult/classic fiction quite readily. My mother was an English teacher but oddly I have no memories of being read-aloud to, (now one of my great passions!). I think that I was simply enmeshed in my own reading and she in hers. My favorite book of all time is “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn” because in Francie, I saw myself, a young girl with a reading obsession, trying to find her way and yearning to go beyond the confines of her small neighborhood.
As an adult, I became an ‘accidental’ homeschooling mom and must admit, found my calling. I could now Read (and buy books!) and justify it as ‘education’. But as some of us Charlotte Mason educators know, Education is a Life. And All of life is Learning. And this learning is accomplished not only by reading, but primarily by reading, writing and most importantly paying attention.
We read to shape and to inform ourselves, we read to share with others and to shape the world. We read to become who we are and who we want to be. We read to sustain life and to sustain hope.
I was remarking to my son recently that the first thing that I do when I enter someone’s home or office is to look at their bookshelves. (Everyone has them). Because if I can surmise what a person is reading, I can surmise who that person is. I can also get ideas for my own reading and find conversation points with that person.
Reading and learning is vital to life as humans. More on this later but suffice it to say that in ceasing learning and curiosity and imagination (fueled by reading), one will cease to be human any longer. Some may argue that reading is difficult for one reason or another, and I do not argue that point, however, one can now read by listening to Audible or You Tube or a plethora of other venues. The Point is To Read. Reading will alleviate depression and anxiety, it will fuel the fire of excitement for so many things, its possibilities are truly endless.
This reading can and will look a little different for everyone, but the essence remains the same. Read.
I have always found a way to read. Sometimes it has been more challenging than other times. As stated above, it will look different for us all. I read 125 books this year. 140 books last year. Admittedly, about 25% of those books were Audio books, which I read on 1.25 speed and can blow through in a few days. But also in that stack are classics and scholarly works and much deep reading. Over time I have developed a few Reading Habits that have boosted not only my reading, but my enjoyment and retention of reading.
Here are a few of these that I have found tremendously helpful:
1. Track and Journal your Reading.
The first thing that I did was to track and to journal my reading. This actually caused me to slow down my reading, but also to think more deeply, to remember, and to share. I wrote down narrations and beautiful quotes, things that made me think, and things that challenged me or that I questioned, or that I highly agreed with. This in turn actually makes a reader hungry for more!! And it can get others excited with you as you share what you have written down.
2. Read Some Young Adult Books
Next, in addition to the ‘stiff reading’ that I am doing~ classics, biographies, non-fiction~ I also read many young adult reads. These young adult reads, are beautiful books, dealing with often heavy issues and themes, (especially todays YA reading), but they move more quickly, and are page turners, making them easy to be completed in one or two days. And they leave you breathless, often tear filled, but fulfilled in a wonderful way.
3. Take Reading ‘Opportunities’.
I also take advantage of ‘opportunity reading’. You know, those little snippets of time when you are at the Doctors office, or waiting for a kid, or, let’s face it, when you just don’t want to socialize anymore. I carry a book everywhere I go, maybe two. Because, they always come in handy!! I have completed several books this way, with just little nuggets of time, which over time turn into a gold mine.
4. Read many books at a time, from different genres.
I always read many books and various genres at a time. Because, although I hate to admit this, I get bored. I am the perfect Charlotte Mason student, because I get bored easily, and need to keep moving, onto the next thing. So I rotate between school books, non-fiction books, fiction (classic) books, fiction (easy) books, educational books, biographies, poetry, and on and on.
I have definitely found that this habit of reading many books of many genres at a time means that I am always pushing to finish one or two every day or so.
Charlotte Mason was a huge advocate of reading many books over a variety of subjects at a time, so I figure that I have good precedence for this habit!
5. Read audio books!
I have Audible downloaded on my phone and can listen anywhere. And I do! We do not have a TV in my home, so I listen when I do laundry or housework, I listen as I am falling asleep, I listen wherever I am and whatever I am doing. And I always listen in my car. Do audio books count? Yes, you bet they do!! Because audio books are read aloud, they are often read more slowly, and I listen to every word, sometimes even going back to replay a sentence or paragraph that I find meaningful.
6. Read in Community
This last suggestion is the reason for this little mini blog, which I am calling, “What I am currently reading?”. One of my favorite things to do is to look at other people’s booklists and favorites from the year. Substack is replete with these lists at the start of the new year. This is because I get ideas, I get support and possibly encounter challenges or validation and for what I’m currently reading. Most importantly, it gives me the opportunity to talk about what I am reading. This might come simply in the form of a review on Goodreads, or a comment here and there, or a Discord or Zoom discussion. All of these are things I do, and all are a valid way to share your reading! Most satisfying are the in-person discussions, which for me take place in a classroom and at my home almost daily, and with a Book Club as well.
One final thought, a bit of a deep dive in my reading recently has been our Post-Modern world and the fact that we are hurtling toward an illiterate society. This is supported by a plethora of research as well as what I personally see every day in the lives of my students and children and their friends. There are many reasons for this, beyond the scope of this discussion, but I believe that one remedy is simply talking about books. And normalizing this activity. Talk about a book a see if it lights a fire in someone, to read the book or to agree or disagree with its points!
So, my Rock has always been reading, and listening, to that still small Voice, that appears everywhere, if you are able to slow down just long enough to hear it.
So, to all who are struggling to find your ground, go and read a book. You will not regret it
“In everything I have sought peace and not found it, save a corner with a book.”
– Thomas a Kempis
Happy Reading! And Happy New Year!!
