How Many Readers are in Your Family?
MOOD STATUS: "Hungry". Been dieting lately. Ugh.
DAYS LEFT ON P90X: 78. Ugh.
For the longest time I was the only reader in the family.
My mom doesn't read.
My hubby won't read.
My kiddo couldn't read.
Depressing, isn't it?
But then my daughter got a fabulous teacher in 2nd grade and now she has become a voracious reader. (Go, kiddo!) In fact, they read different genres each month in her school and she has come to the realization that she loves comedies the best.
Huh. Just like her mama. :)
Kiddo loves Junie B. Jones and Judy Moody but her most recent favorite series that she cannot get enough of is the Dear Dumb Diary series.
<---This is what she's reading now. Dear Dumb Diary: That's what friends aren't for by Jim Benton. (it's pretty funny)
Now my hubby was a harder nut to crack. He always felt "he didn't have time to read". **rolling eyes here**
I wanted to point out all the opportunities he did in fact have, but being the good wife that I am, I bit my tongue instead. Then, lo and behold, on Christmas he received not one, but TWO books. I thought to myself, "Oh, brother. This should be good." But he surprised me and actually started reading one of them when we came home from Vermont. He reads when I read now. (I know, isn't that cute?)
This is what he's so actively reading right now: The Wave by Susan Casey. Being a surfer and all, he's LOVING this book about rogue waves and whatnot.
So there you have it. We all are reading now. :)
Now if I could just work on my mom...
What about you? Do you come from a family of readers? Do you try to encourage it? How many readers are there in YOUR family?
31 comments:
My family reads. My hubbie tries but often falls asleep at night. But he listens to audio books on his commute. Does that count? My daughter reads twice as many books as I can and twice as fast. For fun she'll reread the Narnia books over a few days.
My one son is a reader; and the other, I still have hopes for but he's so active!
I've always been a voracious reader (since childhood) and my kids take after me. Actually, they started reading at a much earlier age than I did. My youngest started at age 3 1/2 and started reading the first Harry Potter before kindergarten (I stopped him after chp 6 bc it got a bit scary but he went back and read it all before 1st gr.). My mom loves to read historical romances and reads tons of them.
Now, my sisters...hmmm...I'm trying to convert them into romance readers. I've been trying for over a year. My DH reads a lot...only not novels. He can spend hours reading anything news related. He loves The Economist magazine. I tried getting him to read a read a thriller once...then a romance...my kids tried pushing Harry Potter on him...none of it worked. Newspapers on the other hand...
So it really boils down to my boys and me. My youngest (age 6) wants to publish a book :)
I've got lots of readers in my family...my mom, sister, brother, sister-in-law, mother-in-law, other sister-in-law. :) My husband likes to read, but he reads non-fiction...not much of a fiction fan. I love having so many readers in my family because they're widely read and give me good feedback on my books. :)
My kids devour books like they're candy. I love it! I told my 12 yo son he should keep track of the books he reads in 2011, just for fun. He just said, 'whatever, Mom.' Then I asked him how many he's read to date (third week in January, mind you) and he thought about it...Four -- then he added that he was almost finished with #5. And he reads big, 300-400 word YA sci-fi and fantasy books. Crazy!
Growing up, our dad read a lot. Mom, not so much. My sister and I were both voracious readers. She still is, devouring a couple of books each week. I do really good to get a book a month on top of writing, critiquing, and reading for research.
We're all readers, though my daughter and I are the ones I'd term "voracious."
My older sister was a huge reading fanatic. Then all the friends I rode with on the bus to school would spend their time reading, so I figured I would give the Baby-sitters Club a shot and wow, got hooked on reading in about the 4th grade.
Later, another older sister started exchanging romance novels with the first sister, and listening in on their conversations got me loving romances.
My hubby likes to read magazines (does that count). My kiddo is only 11-months but we do find her flipping through the pages on her board book alot!!
My mother is a voracious reader ... we swap books back and forth all the time, although our literary tastes have been diverging of late.
My six-year-old loves to read, although she's still in the beginning stages. It was a chore for her earlier in the year, but she's really picked it up lately ... I have great hopes that she will be a reader like me because ...
My sixteen-year-old hates to read. She's a very good reader and an amazing writer, and she'll read books for her A.P. English class and discuss them in great depth, but she doesn't ENJOY reading the way I do. I'm hoping this will change at some point ...
My hubby rarely reads (he prefers TV and Xbox :). My mom and I trade books all the time. Thankfully my kids love books. My sixth grader doesn't read quite as much as he did, but he reads at least a book a month. My 8 yr old daughter reads late into the night which makes it hard to choose to tell her to stop or get some more sleep. And thankfully my kindergartener begs me to take him to the library each week (yeah, twist my arm, I love it too!).
Hubby's not much of a reader, definitely not a fiction reader. Oldest Son is a somewhat reluctant reader but I keep plying him with books that once he begins them, he gets excited. Middle Son, now in 2nd grade, is becoming an avid reader like his mother. Youngest likes me to read to him but it's too soon to tell.
My mom started reading to us every night when we were toddlers. She instilled in us a love of reading I think. My hubby loves to read, and my oldest daughter devours books to such an extent that I'm constantly struggling to find her a new book. My 8 year old, not so much, but my 3 year old is showing signs of being an avid reader.
Oh, and I just finished a little book myself, titled Georgie on my Mind. Awesome! And I hear there is a sequel in the works...can't wait:)
Bravo you! I wouldn't say I come from a family of readers, but I do encourage it with my children. My oldest son is a product of that encouragement - he's 5 and LOVES for me to read to him, and he's thisclose to reading on his own.
P.S. You are my hero for doing P90X! Keep it up!
Not many readers under my roof either Jennifer:) My hubby isn't interested in much except the Bible, which I will never complain about:)
Two kiddos is too small to read, but I take every opportunity to read to them.
My tween is too busy changing outfits to pick up a novel!
I grew up in a family of readers (of course there is that story that I refused to learn to read until I was in third grade...)
I married a man who won't read anything but a newspaper. My teenage boys only read computer game manuals (okay, the middle one does read biographies of his favorite rock star.)
But my 11 yr daughter has recently discovered Nancy Drew and loves a good mystery (so unlike her mama!)
That's so great your daughter loves to read now! Hopefully she'll stick with it!
My hubs doesn't like to read... so I stopped trying to make him. He just can't concentrate on stories.. it's not his thing.
My mom has recently gotten into some of the books I've leant her (she gobbled up The Hunger Games series and called me constantly to say OMG).
My sister in law and I talk about books a lot--she's probably the most solid reader in the family besides me. I'm the only writer though... so I try not to talk about it much. I'll just surprise everyone when I get published one day! :)
Both my parents were readers, for awhile, and my mom taught me to read, so it was always encouraged.
I married a non-reader. To this day all he reads regularly is his Bible.
Kids #1, #2, and #3 are all readers. Still working on #4 and son-in-law. I'm not sure how people who DON'T read survive!
Woohoo! Yay for awesome teachers who inspire kids to read!
My hubby, who is not a reader, is the odd one out in our family. The rest of us read a lot. Though, the few times he does sit down with a book, that's all he'll do until he finishes it.
My mom reads, dad does not...except Civil War non-fiction and gun or car manuals. Hubby does not read, except magazines, but I am making him read my books. My daughter loves to read, she's almost 8. She's enjoying the Whimpy Kid series right now. My son, he's almost 3, and when he was younger, he would not sit still to let me read to him. My daughter, I had been reading to practically since birth. But the last six months, he has started to let me read to him and he quite enjoys it. So hopefully he will not be like his dad or grandpa.
Wow, I'm glad I'm not the only one who had some non-readers in the house. LOL
Kara: Thank You!! I am working on a sequel to Georgie on His Mind. :)
Klo: I wouldn't worry. I was a big read in middle school then not so much in highschool and now look at me. LOL
Beth: ha! Thanks! I'm pretty proud of myself for doing p90x too!
Awe that's awesome! Now if only I could get the hubs to read...And the cats. Then the whole house would be readers!
I think finding the right genre is SO important to get non-readers reading. Keep trying for your mom. :O)
I grew up in a family of non-readers, but I always loved reading.
Thanks for following my blog!
Nice idea for a blog, we don't often give credit to the readers in our family. My mom is a big lover of books, and is funny because she's settled into the niches of two genres: crime mysteries and amish families. Imagine if someone wrote an amish crime mystery! lol. I'd say all of my likes to read, but it's also one of the first things thrown on the back burner when "life" gets busy, which is sad. I made a new year's resolution this year to read one new book a month! Loving it so far!
I come from a big family of readers, albeit all different tastes.
But now that it's just hubby and me, I'm the only consistent reader. Hubs is cyclical. Some months he reads all he can, others he spends with his Xbox. :)
Love this post :)
Both my husband and I are avid readers; we literally always have our noses in a book and our nightstands are really just book depositorys.
My college student daughter, however, essentially never reads outside of what she has to do for school. I read to her from the time she was born, and up until about 5th grade, she loved to read. Then something happened, and boom, it stopped. In high school she would say that she didn't have time to read for fun, but she didn't read even on vacation breaks. In the beginning, it used to drive me crazy, but I have let it go...
Maria: What is it with men and their video games? LOL
thebookgirl: When I was in college I didn't have time or energy to read anything beyond school work either. Maybe she'll pick reading up again. :)
I read all the time. My husband goes through periods of always reading and not reading. My 18 year old reads occasionally.
All of us are readers! We trained our daughter at an early age to bring a book on the plane and to sit around the pool with on vacations!
I've been curious about Susan Casey's book. Maybe your hubby would want to do a review?? :) Growing up my house had a circulating tower of books, magazines, and newspapers on the coffee table always, that were devoured. My dad is now blind but he still 'reads' 2 or more audio books a week. My girls are readers, but my boy not so much!
My youngest really starting reading this year. It's so amazing to pick up a small book and just go right through it! He's following the footsteps of a reading fanatic mom & older brother. My husband reads when he finds something he really enjoys. Believe it or not, he read the Twilight series (for the fast cars). He's into books about cars, drivers, & Top Gear personalities more than non-fiction these days. The top presents under our Christmas tree were... books! Reading is a gift in this house! :)
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