Home » Posts tagged 'reading'

Posts Tagged ‘reading’

The Clock Story

When I was a child, my parents labeled different things in the house to teach me to read. In our living room, the lamp on the end table would most likely have had a sign taped to it that said “lamp.” In my bedroom, signs for the bed, desk, window, and door were in my line of sight. Even the clock that looked like a flower in our 70’s kitchen had a sign next to it with the word “clock.”

I spent a good part of my early years reading these signs and learning all kinds of new words. My mom tells me that this habit of reading signs stuck with me, and as I got older, I would point out signs on the train like EXIT and STOP. I guess it was a good thing my parents never took the subway. Can you imagine what new words I would have picked up by reading the graffiti on the wall?!

Anyway, the time came for me to move to another room because my baby sister was on the way. The wallpaper my parents picked out was a pretty floral print of pinks and yellows. I can still see the wallpaper of my childhood bedroom in my mind, and when I googled it, I recognized it immediately (see below).

Upon seeing this wallpaper, I yelled out “clock, clock, clock,” pointing to each flower because they reminded me of the flower clock in the kitchen. It made perfect sense to me at the time. I guess my parents didn’t think to put signs out in the garden for flowers, trees, and bushes.

Of course, if they did, they would have missed out on an adorable story about me as a young reader (which they love to tell people at parties).

Thanks, Mom & Dad for teaching me to read. It was definitely a sign of things to come. 

Books I Never Liked

My reading life hasn’t always been ideal. The books I was forced to read in middle school could have easily turned me off to books altogether. For instance, when my seventh-grade reading teacher assigned us “The Red Pony” by John Steinbeck, it was pure torture. The endless discussions about allegory and symbolism put me right to sleep. And the fact that my teacher had a thick, British accent and a soft-spoken manner made it even worse.

I had hope that the reading selections would get better. But sadly, they didn’t. I was not a fan of the epic poem, “Beowulf,” “The Old Man & the Sea” by Ernest Hemmingway, “Animal Farm” by George Orwell, or – the absolute worst – The “Metamorphosis” by Franz Kafka.

Seriously, Kafka in middle school? Who’s bright idea was that?!

Oh, how I missed the beautiful writing of “Charlotte’s Web” by E.B. White and “James and the Giant Peach” by Roald Dahl that I read in elementary school.

It wasn’t until I got to high school that I fell in love with reading again when I discovered Shakespeare’s “King Lear,” “Beloved,” by Toni Morrison, and “The Scarlet Letter” by Nathaniel Hawthorne.

I will say that my complicated reading life in school taught me one important lesson. Never waste time reading books you don’t enjoy. There are many excellent titles out there, and life is too short to read books you don’t want to read. I don’t care if your best friend or your mom tells you that you will love it. And even if the book is number one in the country, I am giving you permission to put it down and find another one. (Unless, of course, there is a test on Friday, and then you are screwed).

Over the years, there have been plenty of “best-sellers” that I could not get through. At times, I would try to push myself and feel guilty about not finishing it. I would tell myself if I kept reading, it would get better. But it never did. Nowadays, I allow myself 50-75 pages. If I’m not engaged in the story, I move on.

Here are some of the books that I DNF’d (did not finish) that others have enjoyed.

What books have you read that some people liked, but you did not? What did you read in school that you hated?

 

Let’s Talk About Your Bookshelves!

messy bookshelfI’ve done a lot of writing about what’s on my bookshelf. Now, I want to talk about what is on yours. 🙂

I’m very curious about what other people are reading. So much so that when it comes to other people’s bookshelves, I am not shy about walking over and taking a look as if I were in a bookstore or a library. I don’t give a second thought to selecting a book and reading the back cover. I may even sit down on the sofa and read a few lines of the first chapter to see if it interests me. If it does, I may ask to borrow it, and if not, I throw it on the nearest table and walk away. (Just kidding, I put it back where I found it. I’m not an animal!).

I think you can tell a lot about a person by what is on their bookshelf. For instance, what kind of stories do they like? Are they a history buff or a fan of graphic novels? Do they have the entire Harry Potter collection, or are they working their way through a lot of romance novels? If you are looking for a conversation starter, ask someone if they liked a book you saw on their shelf.

In my defense, no one has yelled at me (yet) for looking at their books. So I assume this is a perfectly acceptable practice. During the pandemic, there were photos in the New York Times of celebrity bookshelves. The most interesting reads were identified in the captions. FYI, Tom Hanks had several presidential biographies, while Gwyneth Paltrow owns a ton of art books. I took this entire series of photos as justification for my spying – I mean – browsing people’s bookshelves.

Another thing I notice is how people organize their books. Alphabetically by the title or by the author? Are they color-coded like a rainbow or grouped by genre? Do they separate the hardcovers from the paperbacks? Are they stacked like a high tower or lined up neatly? The possibilities are endless!

And in case you are wondering, my bookshelves are real, and they’re spectacular!

Now that I have totally blown your mind let me say that I would never judge anyone based on what they are reading. However, I might be a little put off by one thing – empty bookshelves. I would likely question if the shelves were there for decoration. Or did that person just move in and hadn’t had the chance to unpack their books yet? There could be a lot of reasons for empty shelves, but often not good ones.

But, I digress. As long as they don’t waste perfectly good shelf space and do something crazy like adorning them with trinkets and chachkis. And if that’s the case, let’s hang out at my house instead.

1 2 3