Literary Blog Hop - March 2012

Welcome to the Literary Blog Hop hosted by The blue bookcase


How do you find time to read, what's your reading style and where do you think reading literature should rank in society's priorities?


Hmmmm time to read.  If you take a close look at the dates of my recent posts you will see that my time has been very short lately.  I'm desperate for more time to read.  At present I usually only read at night and since I am so tired by the time I'm in bed I only manage a few pages before it's lights out for me.  This question could almost be described as intuitive for me as I have been trying to create additional pockets of time to hastily fit more reading in.  As I have been reading a real 'page turner' this hasn't been that difficult to do and I have also read my novel whilst having my morning coffee.  This time is normally saved for me getting through reading the weekend newspaper, that comes big and thick with many supplements and usually takes me a whole week to get through.  So even though I've taken up my novel during this time, the bits of newspaper I want to read are sitting there banking up.  Not enough hours in the day!  Two small children (four and two) do not make for leisurely reading time.  There's always somewhere to be or something to be done.


Now that I've addressed the time issue, my reading style is predominantly reading fiction, and I have to be in a relaxed state of mind, hence the reading at night.  I hate reading only a few pages at a time and I envy people who say they devour a book in one sitting.  Oh to be able to afford that kind of time.  I also get stroppy when it is suggested I am a slow reader - this has never been an intentional slight and usually has occurred online from people who do not know me - but I am an extremely fast reader only I do not have much time at present to get through books quickly.  In addition to reading fiction, depending on what I am studying there will be texts and articles to read that will be predominantly set reading for a course.  These usually act as a platform for further reading and then I find my TBR pile and list just grows and grows and grows.  I like making lists for various things and my TBR list is no exception.  I use Librarything to organise it in a satisfactory way and I feel panicky flutters within if I notice my bedside bookpile growing any lesser than a four or five book stack as I then need to start scouting around for more to add to it!


Reading literature in society ranks at about a ten for me.  It is of the highest priority.  I am a Librarian and I am studying to become a secondary English teacher.  The thought of molding young minds towards a literary bent excites me.  I'm sure many of you have heard of the merits of reading to babies.  When I brought my first born home from the hospital, his first 'awake' time was devoted to me reading a Mr Men book to him whilst he looked up at me in wonder and then began to hiccup with excitement.  I'd like to think it was excitement over a book but of course it would have just been due to hearing mum's voice.  Why a Mr Men book you may ask?  Because it is small and light and easy to hold whilst holding a newborn and it has very solid primary colours in their illustrations.  We are frequent visitors to the library and we average about four picture books each night before bedtime.  My son and I broke the record of him being the youngest ever to attend our Library Storytime. - Hey you have to go somewhere when you're at home with a baby and I can think of no better place.  Alighting the flame of curiosity that is aroused when seeing books and wanting to read them is a priority for me with my children.  I consider this my duty as a mother.


On a more somber note, my son has recently experienced some bullying and although it is very new it is of course traumatic for him.  Together with his teacher, we have been strategising ways in which to deal with it.  One course of action we talked about was introducing some books that dealt with differences in children and acceptance etc.  The reason why reading should be ranked as a high priority in society is because it teaches empathy.  It is only when readers place themselves in other's shoes that can you truly digest another's feelings and hopefully make your way as a thoughtful and considerate human being. Aaaaah boy was it good to get that off my chest!!!!  Thanks for another great question, I've madly typed for about ten minutes so I know how enthused I am about this topic.