I love reading. It’s that simple! I live in Perth’s Darling Ranges where you will find me avoiding winter’s cold snaps such as we are currently experiencing, curled up in one of my reading nooks, devouring new publications by my favourite authors.
A reading nook anytime, day or night.
Why this obsession with reading?
At an early age I cannot recall being surrounded by any reading material at all. Up to the age of seven, my childhood was spent in a cottage, a tiny four-roomed home built from a shed on my grandfather’s farm. If I read anything then it remains a mystery as there was no money to spare: I recall few newspapers, books or magazines in the home.
However, I do recall my deeply religious grandmother would sit at our bedside and sing to us before leaving to go home after a visit: one hymn remains clear in my mind to this day. Her influence was that of reading the Bible – a book that gave instruction on how to live her life and that generated and supported her beliefs. My first ‘how to’ book from the great canon of literature still influences my life to some degree, though I heard it, rather than read it – rather like excerpts from an audio-book! Hearing the written word had a profound, positive influence on my ability to comprehend what I later learned to read.
In our second home, my parents’ circumstances seemed to change. My brothers and I grew up surrounded by books. I was ten when we moved the sixteen miles further inland to my parent’s property and into our new home. During my years there, I acquired so many books and comics I felt like I was Alice in Wonderland! I’d go down the proverbial rabbit hole into worlds created by wonderful writers. Among the many worlds I visited were those of Anne of Green Gables and Pollyanna which were given to me by an aunt as her daughter had outgrown the series and long since left home. I still own those copies. My post as a guest on Louise Allan’s, Writer’s in the Attic highlights more of my background.
Comics hold a special place in my heart
During my teens, my mother bought June, a comic, for me to enjoy. June was a British weekly girls’ comic anthology published by Fleetway Publications and IPC Magazines from 18 March 1961 to 15 June 1974. (Wikipedia) . Was it each week my mother managed to give me a copy or each month? No matter. It was a treat beyond belief. My brother became familiar with the Phantom. We were fortunate as children to have our parents foster a love of reading a variety of genres.
To that end, I have few qualms about encouraging reading of comic books such as those my grandchildren enjoy. My one reservation is the content, at times, does sit as comfortably as I’d care it to. It raises the question for me, if the content of June or other comic books of the time, upheld the same values as those my parents subscribed to. Certainly, for the comics to have been given to us, they must have ‘passed muster’, so to speak!
Bedtime reading
At night I’d sit up and read till my eyes fell out of my head! My mother’s voice admonished me to turn out the light as she passed by my door to her bedroom. Once I heard silence descend on our home, I’d sneak the light back on and keep reading!
A legacy handed down – the joy of reading
I grew up surrounded by the love of literature, of reading. It was part of my everyday existence. It still is.
Coming home on the school bus, my brother and I had to bring home the loaf of bread and the newspaper. So we grew up with printed matter at the table. Dad, like many fathers, sat at the head of the table, paper open, after a long day’s work. Once the meal started it was laid aside, and afterwards, he might pick it up and read it in the lounge room. That was before the days of television.
When Dad died, Mum gave us the biography he was reading on Sean Connery. He enjoyed learning about other’s lives, as do I. The main point here is, my father was reading literature till the time he left us. Now that’s a testimony to the joy of reading.
Why are these seemingly insignificant events of importance to me?
Life without books is unimaginable to me! I live with books in every room – bookcases lining my walls, books I’ve bought and given away, books I discover in bookstores where the pages smell new; books I find with layers of dust on in second-hand stores, books I find on market stalls. Perhaps I ought to have been a librarian! It might have saved a lot of money!
Another reading nook I enjoy curling up in, whether it is in the cold of winter, rugged up; or during hot summer days, out of the heat. Reading is an escape for me, as well as a place of learning.
What do you enjoy reading?
Please leave a comment below or by clicking on the link here and scrolling to the end of the post.
To be continued….
This is the first of a series of posts about my love of my reading and of readers in their element.
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Great blog, Susan. It sounds as you were surrounded by books after you moved to your second house, and everybody read. I love the story about your grandmother. That goes to show how important is the role of grandparents in helping develop good habits and passions in their lives.
Thank you, Maureen. Yes, a grandparent’s role is invaluable. I have a great many memories with mine, and as a grandmother, too.