Getting back to the point of my previous blog…
I am not quite sure what fostered my love for books. I suspect that it was my paternal grandmother. Every time she visited us she brought at least one book in tow. Every time we visited her, she would let me go through her built-in book shelves in the living room, and pick which ever book I fancied at the time.
I read my first Louisa May Alcott after having picked it from her shelves. I also had my first taste of William Shakespeare, as well as Edgar Allen Poe from those shelves.
I attended Iowa State University so that I could be close to my beloved grandmother. She lived in a little town in the northern part of Iowa which I was able to visit while attending college… via the Greyhound bus lines. While visiting my grandmother, I remember going to her small town’s library on many occasions. That was probably where I first was introduced to Agatha Christie, Victoria Holt, and Mary Rinehart Roberts.
When I look back at those times, and my grandmother’s absolute love for books, I can see where I possibly came by my love for the printed word… and hope that I have passed that love along to both of my children. (Actually, I know my husband and I have>>> They are both voracious readers.)
Dennis says
I enjoyed going to the library as a kid. I was introduced to mysteries involving the Hardy Boys, Trixie Belden, Nancy Drew, and Sherlock Holmes. I have been continuing with mysteries and am particularly fond of Texas mysteries. My kids have become readers as well – even though their interests are different than mine.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Isn’t it wonderful to foster a love of reading in chilren? Can you imagine a world without reading? I am always amazed to find that there are still people (who are able to read) out there who simply don’t enjoy it…
linda says
Danna, Just another old posting that I thought I would comment on, to read or not to read. I love reading. I was the 5th kid of a family of 6. We had television early on during the 1950’s but we had to watch only the TV shows that my dad wanted to watch. A lot of those early shows I just didn’t care for at all. So I would read. My dad was a reader and so were 2 older brothers and an older sister. The other sister and brother didn’t read anything other than the newspaper. But I used to stutter quite a bit . This stuttering was very embarrassing to me. So I would hide myself away someplace and read. Then I lost most of my hearing but I could still read. When I lost my son I starting reading more as a form of coping.
I too couldn’t imagine a world without reading. I feel so sorry for people who cannot read. They are missing out of so much. Whenever my kids or any of my grandkids or my many neices and nephews would tell me they are bored I would tell them to pick up a book and read. They just might learn something. So long as I have SOMETHING to read I am never bored. I have a book with me at all times. I have books in every room of the house, in my purse, in the car. I make sure I have a book wherever I go. I love reading.