My lost love of reading books
When was the last time you read a book..?
As in, a book, an actual book book, one that’s written and meant for grown-ups? And not a board book or fabric one or one with a cartoon character on it or in it or one that’s not 99% illustrations or the first in a series of a million Miffys or Gruffalos or something you’ve read out loud, again and again and then again and then ‘just one more time.’?
Distressingly enough, the last one I read start-to-finish was on holiday. We went on holiday in June. And in the swirly mists of time before that, I can’t even really remember. I really can’t (and not even sure I can blame this).
It’s distressing because I love – loved? – reading books. It’s a life long love affair that I now seem, sadly, to be breaking up with.
And I really loved it. As soon as I learnt to read, properly, I was off. I read anything I could get my hands on, from everything in the library to magazines (Just 17!) and absolutely anything from fiction to biographies and the lightest of chic lit to the weightiest of important things. I loved the detail, the intrigue, the escapism and the wonder of words to transport you anywhere they wanted to take you. I especially had a love of reading books about boarding school and used to badger my bewildered mother to send me to one. Just for the midnight feasts, obviously (I still remember finding out from an ex-boarder university friend that they didn’t actually happen. The horror).
I used to cart boxes of my favourite books around with me, from leaving home to uni to moving to London and then from house to house. Even when my life consisted of a heady partly-work-mainly-social-life mix, I’d cram in some book time on my commute and spend lots of lunchtimes wandering around Waterstones. I used to read the entire Booker Prize shortlist and *whispers* actually had my own opinion on them that wasn’t formed on something someone else had shared on Facebook from The Guardian.
And now?
I’d like to say that it was motherhood that disrupted this relationship. I mean, my attention span is now permanently fixed and fixated on something else, I’m usually too tired to do anything at most times, especially in the evening. And it’s hard to read in the dark at 3am when books don’t have backlights and there’s a baby attached to your boob.
But really…? Although it was perhaps *slightly* optimistic to have packed a book in my labour bag, it was a decline that started with my first iPhone when I fell down the ‘I’ll just have a quick look to see what’s happening on Facebook’ social media perma wormhole and never quite made it out with my attention span intact.
Although I don’t really read for myself at the moment, like most people I read all the time with my children, because it’s lovely, nostalgic, good, important and educational and because it’s reading. And we read all the board books and fabric ones and ones with all the cartoon characters on and in and that ones that are 99% illustrations and the entire series of the millions Miffys and Gruffalos, out loud, again and again and then again and then ‘just one more time.’
A few weeks in to school Eliza’s take-home learning books are the very first basic two-three-letter phonics ones, but her amazement as she picks out what the words are is magical, and it takes me way back to the very early joy of learning to read myself.
But I also realised; how can I stress how important it is and how much joy there is to be discovered in reading for pleasure if they never see me reading books? If they never see me with my nose in a book or a book in my hand?
So I’m going to rekindle the romance and relight the fire. I’m making a stand against my iPhone and bringing books back into the bedroom. And the rest of the house. Even if it does mean hunting out the Kindle charger. Anyone read anything good lately? (Seriously, I need some suggestions. Also; where would you have hidden the charger if you were me?)
More posts…things they don’t tell you in NCT but TOTALLY should and fighting the battle of who can get dressed
3 Comments
Sarah Rooftops
October 19, 2016 at 8:55 pm
All those lists of Motherhood Essentials should include a backlit Kindle – it’s a sanity saver; I actually (mostly) look forward to doing bedtime because I can plonk M in her bed and enjoy half an hour of reading my book in her darkened room, guilt free.
Have you tried any other micro-USB cable you’ve got lying around (assuming all homes are covered in unidentifiable cables, like ours is – and that that’s not just a side effect of living with an IT guy)? They’re the same size so can’t see why they wouldn’t work.
Malgosia
October 25, 2016 at 8:59 am
Very nice post! I’m a mother of two daughters ( 6 years and 1 year old) and I must admit that I’m a book worm 🙂 and since I’m on maternity leave I catching up on reading. I also read a lot to my older daughter and now she is reading by herself and we are in a book shop several times in a month to buy what she wants to. So my reading again and again and again and one more time bears fruit 🙂
Have a nice Day!
Julia
November 8, 2016 at 7:19 am
It’s weird I was having this conversation just the other day with a friend. I said that every time I vowed to read on my Kobo e-reader (cheap equivalent of a Kindle) I end up getting distracted & messing about with it (you can set up collections on a kobo so I have all my books in Author collections alphabetically in surname order! (I’m a bit OCD/geeky in that respect) Or I end up looking in the kobo shop for more books to buy!?! So I started reading a paperback copy of “Three Wishes” by Liane Moriarty.
I had an incident recently where my iPhone had to go in for a repair & I was without it for 2 whole hrs & I genuinely panicked because I didn’t know what to do at first, so I went to Waterstones brought a book then sat in the library for a couple of hours. It was great!!