Booking Through Thursday: “Indoctrination”

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Using a suggestion from Erin today:

When growing up did your family share your love of books? If so, did one person get you into reading? And, do you have any family-oriented memories with books and reading? (Family trips to bookstore, reading the same book as a sibling or parent, etc.)

I think “indoctrination” is absolutely the right word to describe my experience. Reading is definitely a family tradition for me. Both my parents have always been readers, but especially my mother, which is particularly notable given her legally-blind status, even with glasses. (I still believe to this day that the deterioration of what little vision she had was a factor in her post-menopausal depression and early-onset Alzheimer’s.) I was reading by myself by the time I was four, and at that point I didn’t want to be read to anymore – I lacked the patience to sit and listen.

Weekly trips to the library were one of our favorite treats. My father had cousins who owned a bookstore, and I remember a few visits there as well. My aunt was an elementary-school teacher who often picked out books for my sister and me. As I got older, I started buying more books and borrowing them less often from the library, and I would often raid my mom’s bookshelves.

The family tradition has continued with my son, and I’m glad that even though I can’t claim any credit for it, my stepkids are big readers too.

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3 comments

  1. Is that what it is? A lack of patience to sit and listen? LOL I prefered to read myself or do the reading out loud for much of my older childhood too. I’m still the same way. For me though, I find that I comprehend better when I read something than just by hearing it.

  2. LF – I’m the same way as far as understanding things better when I read them rather than hear them. But I do think that my loss of interest in being read to really was due to lack of patience, and wanting to do it myself (since I’m still like that).