A year ago, this same “Back to School” week in 2021, I penned the essay below about my relationship with reading and how it's changed over the years. Recently, I've joined several book clubs with the hopes and strategy of not only meeting and networking with some great book club members, but to also try to force myself to participate properly in the culture of literary pursuits because, really, there is no reason for me, at 49, to not be reading regularly. In the last six months, I've also graduated to the world of Audiobooks and I actually find it quite convenient to be able to listen to a book while multitasking, working out, or driving. For a while, I felt like if I listen to books in audio form that I was somehow betraying the physical book literati, especially people like my mother, who inspired my love for reading growing up, and she was someone who would read about three books a week. It took me a minute to get over that and now I'm a member of Audible and Scribd. I'm still on a journey to get back into the good graces of reading and I'm happy to say that, while it is improving, it is definitely not where I want it to be but I'm halfway there. Enjoy!
In recent years we’ve seen reading and books take many forms, from the likes of a company, Amazon, selling books online to reading books on electronic devices to listening to books via audio apps, reading, thankfully, is still a thing! I, for one, have let my love for reading, fall by the wayside over the last few years, however, for 2021, I am vowing to read more, even if it’s just at least two more books than I read last year. My favorite reading material today includes multicultural literature, poetry, cookbooks, and magazines. But when I was younger I had different reading tastes.
If you are 40 and over, much of what we read was required reading for class. I was a Scholastic junkie back in the day and I couldn’t wait for the Scholastic reps to come to school. I was ready, with my allotted money in hand, ready to walk away from the table with a pile of new books. As a poet, my favorite book was Honey, I Love by Eloise Greenfield and I loved all of the Shel Silverstein books, including Where The Sidewalk Ends. For fiction, I loved To Kill A Mockingbird and the older Judy Blume books like Superfudge. And I’m dating myself, but back in the day many of the children’s movies were often accompanied by a recording (on LP record) and a read-a-long book. I had alot of those. I also enjoyed the “teen romance” or better yet “teen mean girl” or “teen mystery” books like Sweet Valley High (I looked it up, there were 12 of those books, who knew), The Babysitters Club, and the classic teen sleuth, Nancy Drew.
In my 20s, I became interested in the ever emerging Black Chick Lit genre that became popular in the 90s, during my college years, as well as the New Black Arts Movement, specifically spoken word poetry turned into books. Since then, I’ve joined and participated in book clubs on and off over the years, but I finally discovered a thing known as “Silent Reading”. Who knew that was a thing? Apparently it goes way back to the Middle Ages. Well, since I feel like I’m in my middle ages, I’ll take it. Anything to get me reading more.
Recently, I also started working with Middle School (and most recently elementary school) age students. And although much of their reading, consists of graphic novels, Harry Potter series, and thankfully teen romance still lives on, I’m just glad these kids are still interested in reading, considering all of the bells and whistles and electronic distractions they have at their fingertips today. Let’s be happy that, some of them at least, still want to pick up a book.
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I was obsessed with Sweet Valley. There's definitely a few more than 12 of those though! I love silent reading as well, my book club has just started doing it. The perfect social activity, if you ask me. And about young readers - I've been working with teenagers the past couple of years and I think it's a bit of a myth that kids aren't interested in reading anymore - some aren't, but lots are, and it was always the case that some weren't! Always keen to chat Sweet Valley! :)
I remember reading the Nancy Drew Series. That was the only genre I would read and it made my mother angry because they were not science or math books or any kind of advancement in my academics. I was really excited when the Hardy Boys Series came out and read those too.