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How I Made Myself Love to Read: Falling In Love With Books
Do you hate reading? Do you dread reading out loud to your children?
Would you rather read a simple children's picture book rather than a chapter book? Do you avoid reading aloud in public? Does a movie sound more appealing?
I Hated Reading Assignments
My experience with reading was pretty much the same from elementary school through multiple years of college. The end of a class would come, and we would be assigned to read a chapter or more of reading and I would panic. "Would I be able to read it all? How would I ever get it done?" Needless to say, I was far from a good reader. I was barely a mediocre reader.
As I got older I learned how to work around this problem. In textbooks, I would read the bold print along with the chapter intro and summary. For chapter books, I would read the beginnings and ends of chapters. So for over 20 years I would just pretend that I had read the assigned reading and sailed my way through school.
I Hated Reading Out Loud!
I also dreaded reading aloud. In any public setting, I would avoid it like the plague. Let's set the scene. I am sitting at church waiting for a class to start and the teacher asks me if I am willing to read something out loud. I don't show it, but I reluctantly say yes and secretly hope she gives me the smallest piece of paper. Once the paper is in my hand I look it over. "How long is it? Are there any words I don't know how to say correctly? Will I be able to read this smoothly?" So there I sit obsessing over the slip of paper, unable to concentrate on the rest of the lesson.
I HATED TO READ!
Not until I was 31, when I had a 4-year-old son, and new baby boy, did I decide that I had to learn to love reading. Why you ask? Well, there were a few reasons.
I wanted my kids to have an easier time in school when they were older.
I wanted to be able to say I had read a book before a movie came out in the theater. I was so tired of hearing people say how much better a book was than the movie. How could that be?
I was tired of being called on to read at church and working up a sweat as I quickly read over what I was expected to read out loud, hoping I wouldn't make a fool of myself.
I wanted to be able to read to my children and be good at it.
So How Did I DO IT?
I Found Motivation
I started small. As I just mentioned, I wanted to be able to read a book before its movie came out in theaters. Spiderwick was going to hit theaters a few months from when I had made this goal; so, I purchased the first book. It was small, had pictures and had larger print. I was completely shocked when I had finished it in less than 48 hours. I was so proud you would have thought I had read Les Misérables.
Click Here to see the list of 20 Books For Reluctant Readers.
A Taste Of Success
I was so giddy that I got online and ordered the entire set. I was dying with anticipation. As soon as they arrived I gobbled them up. My 4-year-old son saw me choosing to read and read and read. He would look at the books, their pictures and ask me questions. I imagined all of the wonderful scenes and how grand they would look on the big screen. It drove me crazy that I had nobody to share my excitement with. After ignoring and delaying motherly responsibilities for a couple of days, I finally finished my first book series.
WHAT? The Book Is Better?
When the movie came out in theaters I was so excited to see it. I watched in horror as they changed the characters some, altered the story, and completely eliminated parts of the books. Although I was a tad disappointed, I was abl