This past week I received one of those forwarded emails that we all get from time to time. This one was from my sister-in-law (who is nine days older than I am) and was about the benefits of growing older. Numbers one and two on the list were something like being able to say what you want and wear what you want, respectively. But it wasn't until I was almost at the bottom of the list that something caught my eye. It said, "I can stay up reading a good book until 4 AM and sleep all day." Well, my gosh—forget everything else. That alone would be enough for me to look forward to growing older!
When I was a young girl growing up in my family of non-reading boys, books were my closest companions. I can't remember when I first discovered books—maybe it was when my dad bought me Little House on the Prairie or maybe it was my elementary school librarian who placed my first Nancy Drew mystery in my hands. I just remember using every spare minute—at the breakfast table, at recess, in the car, on the subway, in math class—reading a book.
Weekends and holidays were all about endless hours of reading, oblivious to the weather, annoying brothers, and adolescent angst. Books were my refuge from a family that could never quite figure out what I was all about, and my saving grace from my middle school years of being a target of the cooler kids who were allowed to wear platform shoes and pantyhose. I simply took my knee-sock and loafer-clad feet up to the teacher's lounge to read during recess.
I was the nerdy kid in seventh grade who cut school one day to read Gone With the Wind and who read Tolstoy, Austen and Bronte for fun. Books made me happy, and they made the difficult growing-up years bearable.
But now I have, well, a life. I still love books more than ever but I can't tell you the last time I've been able to read for more than ten minutes at a time. I've become creative about stealing reading time whenever I can, making bargains with myself like, "If you finish writing this chapter and fold a load of laundry, you'll have fifteen minutes to read before you have to pick up the kids from school." I've joined a book club which forces me to read a book each month and I've discovered the joys of books on CD (am currently listening to Jodi Picoult's Nineteen Minutes). And, quite unexpectedly, I've learned how to read vicariously. (Yes, this is an actual activity).
My almost-16-year-old daughter, Meghan, is a voracious reader. She forces me (okay, pretends to force) me into bookstores at an alarmingly frequent rate to feed her habit. When she was in first grade, I magnanimously gave her my Nancy Drew and Little House collections and sat back to see what happened. Happily, she's become a Mini Me (but one who is not only better dressed but who is not forced into the teacher's lounge during recess). When she tells me with urgency in her voice that she needs a book, I completely understand. And we head for the bookstore.
So, yes, the days of endless reading are long behind me—or far ahead of me, depending on how one looks at it—but for now I'll have to make do with hurried pages snuck in between carpools and deadlines. And I'll look forward (a little bit) to growing older when I can revert to reading into the wee hours of the night without a six o'clock alarm to dread.
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The Memory of Water is a story about two estranged sisters and how life brings them back together. Karen White is the featured new author in the Sisterhood Group. Click here to join the group today.
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Comments: 30
I am presently about 3/4 toward completing "The Memory of Water", and it is all I can do to close it to go to sleep at night. I love stories that deal with the human heart, soul, and emotional healing as yours does. It's wonderful to have a book that I really look forward to reading each night before I go to bed, and I will look forward to reading any future books you write - you speak to my own heart. I only hope you'll be able to find the time between car pooling, trips to the library, etc. to write your next one! Thanks, Karen, keep up the excellent work! ~ Nancy
I can relate to vicarious reading (or re-reading). through my three kids, I've been able to run the gauntlet again from Seuss and Sendak to Kafka and Camus. Here's to second chances and second glances!
-Mark
Now I have two sons, 8 and 2. I work full-time. I MAKE time to read..while they are quietly playing in their rooms, while they are finishing up their dinner, once they've gone to sleep at night. There was a time when I didn't read...and it felt as though a piece of my soul was missing.
I read "Memory of Water" in a day...it was simply amazing. I've reviewed it on my blog, I've recommended it to all the reading groups I belong to. I've requested "Learning to Breathe" from my local library and I'm looking forward to your new release later this year!
Jenn
When I was in college, I didn't read for pleasure at all and didn't really start reading again until after my first child was born. And it really was like finding a long lost friend again. I look forward to going to bed at night just because it means quiet reading time for me. I love it too much NOT to read--I just have to be more creative about finding the time to do it.
I have a daughter who grew up reading. She now has a daughter who reads more than she ever did. My granddaughter was one of those who began reading at 2 1/2 years old and never stopped. Today she is 9 and has put Nancy Drew and several others under her belt. When they come to visit, she often times raids the play room where there are many children's books from when her mother and uncle were growing up plus many more additions over the years from her 3 Russian aunts.
I remember exactly what got me into books. I pick 'Seven Tears for Apollo' written by Phylis A. Whitney, from the school library when I was 16 and I was hooked for the rest of my life. I learned that books were wonderful. I began reading other authors, but always had a soft spot for Phylis Whitney.
Among my favorite writers are Philippa Gregory, Jude Deveraux, Julia Quinn.
My husband's aunt passed away the other year and we picked up her collection of books, which were many. We passed some on to another aunt, but kept hundreds for ourselves.
So, enjoy these years as best you can...cause there are great times ahead!
Now, I want to spend every waking moment and most of my should be sleeping moments writing.
When i am not working, i spend nearly all of my time reading and/or writing. My soul needs it.
I will be buying your book next weekend.
I felt like I was reading my own story of my love for reading. I too grew up on Little House, Nancy Drew, The Bobbsie Twins - I remember how excited I was that my high school was the first in the area to offer Advance Placement Composition because it meant that I could read more books. And graduate school meant I got a whole new library! Just yesterday I was reading at the stoplight and stopped not because I was concerned that the light would change but because I wanted to savor every word of what I was reading. I can't wait to read your book.
I'm in Savannah this week doing research for a book and brought along my daughter because it's her spring break. I did all the driving (4 1/2 hours) and was trying not to be too jealous of how she read the entire way!! She's addicted to the Stephanie Myers TWILIGHT series and is reading the 3rd one now. I have no doubt that she'll aske me to wait in line with her at midnight of release date to buy the book at our local bookstore. Oh, to be 16 again with all the available reading time!!!!
I related so much to what you wrote about reading! As a child, I had to literally be dragged to dinner because I'd be reluctant to leave my reading behind for even a minute. I'd try to read on the school bus even though I usually got car (or bus) sick. And then I got married and had kids and...well, things got very busy.
Let me know what you think of Nineteen Minutes. I've read that one too :)
I finished NINETEEN MINUTES last week (and am now listening to ANGELS by Marian Keyes). As with every Jodi Picoult novel, I'm mesmerized by her lyrical writing and her brilliant characterizations---I read her as a reader and as a student of writing. However, maybe it's because I'm a writer, but I KNEW how this book would end after the first chapter and I was a little disappointed in the ending because of how nobody really 'won'---everybody was continuing to suffer. Even THE KITE RUNNER had an uplifting ending! I suppose that's my personal preference--that even if all ends aren't neatly tied up at the novel's conclusion, I want to be able to feel HOPE that things will be better for the characters in the future. Still, Jodi Picault remains one of my favorite authors and I will continue to read everything she writes!