Why Read?

If you walk in my front door, the first thing you notice is the built-in bookshelves. I was very excited to find these in our house. In the last house, we had two floor to ceiling bookshelves and they were full. Technically, these shelves have two sets of four shelves each. However, I have too many books for that. We have books going all the way across the top of the shelves and lined on the floor using the floorspace as extra shelving. These shelves are FULL. Nothing broke my heart more than having to take FOUR bins of books to the used book store to divest myself of before our big move.

Books are lined up all the way across our shelves, with books sitting sideways on top of the other books. I can't help it. I love books. I love book series. I love for my kids to read books and book series. I will admit, we do have a shelf and a half of DVDs on these bookshelves, but, I also have books all over the house. There are several books in my room. My mom has a bookshelf in her room with some of my books on it. My daughter has a bookshelf in her room with a lot of books on it. My sons all have books in their rooms.

I love to read. I read anything and everything. I run the gamut among authors. I read from many different genre. I have favorite Christian fiction books, and I have read the Twilight series. I like Dan Brown, Dean Koontz, and John Grisham. I have several favorite Christian authors from different genre, as well. I read and re-read books by Tracie Peterson, Janette Oke, Judith Pella, and Frank Peretti. I don't listen to other people's opinions about books. I want to find out for myself. I hear hype and controversy, and then I have to read. I want to know what has people up at arms. It never fails to amaze me that no matter what I read, I learn something.

I do not let my kids read just anything they feel like. I have read all of the Harry Potter books, the Percy Jackson books, and others in that genre. I read them because I wanted to read them first and decide if my kids should be allowed to read them. I like to read books for content to see if I approve of them for my kids. Have I said "no" to books? Yes. There are some that I don't think my kids are mature enough to read yet.

I am proud of the fact that I am multi-faceted in my reading. My kids are multi-faceted readers. I like to read before I go to sleep. It relaxes me. My two oldest boys have gotten into the habit of reading before they go to sleep. I see books beside their beds and it makes me proud. I don't just see books. I see novels. They have read classics like David Copperfield by Charles Dickens and new classics like the Harry Potter series. They read quickly and absorb all. Matthew learned enough on the history of Egypt by reading FICTION that he is now a unit ahead in Social Studies!

In my personal opinion, if it gets a kid to read, let them read it. I don't think that all kids should read anything they feel like. Of course there is plenty of trash out there. I KNOW that there are books I have read that I do NOT want my kids to read. This is one reason why I read before they do. I feel like as long as a piece of fiction is not challenging my personal beliefs or those I am trying to instill into my children, then, they should be reading. I discuss books with my kids. I talk to them about what they are reading. They WANT to share with me and ask me questions as they read. This is why from the time they first start school, teachers comment on their vocabularies. They are well-read and well-spoken because I have taught them to love reading. They know the value of it. They enjoy the experience. They learn while having fun. I am so proud that they read and like it!