Fall Reading

Fall is here! Okay, maybe not officially, but I consider it to be fall when the weather man says I may need a "light jacket". In my case this usually means wearing long underwear, a turtleneck, and a hooded sweatshirt and still suffering through uncontrollable shivering. This occurs when the temperature falls below a chilly 60 degrees, which here in Wisconsin may occur anytime between July and October.

This morning while struggling to squeeze a damp foot into a wool sock, I began thinking about what a new season means as far as my reading habits are concerned. Obviously, as a bookseller books are never far from my thoughts. In the past I believe I actually read more in the summer months while laying outside absorbing the sunlight. Was that really my life? I don't remember enjoying that activity, or non-activity, as it certainly is, even once this year. Although, I do remember reading quite a few exciting new releases.

However, so far in September my reading has definitely increased. It's quite possibly due to my growing book lists that I will finish sometime in this lifetime, or possibly due to my increased waiting time. With school beginning again, there was plenty of waiting time in the dentist office, on the college campus, and after football practice.

This week I rushed through the ending of Ricochet by Sandra Brown in my haste to begin James Patterson's latest, You've Been Warned. Despite every intention of savoring this intense novel, I inhaled it in a day and a half. Not a typical James Patterson, but definitely a page turner until the very end. This morning after seeing the school bus round the corner I was finally able to bring my journey with Steve Martin and Born Standing Up to a satisfying end. Unfortunately you will not be able to say the same for another three months when the touching and humorous autobiography will be published.

Now it's your turn. Do you tend to read more or less as the weather turns colder? Have you read anything life changing or mind altering lately?

This I Believe

In 1951 legendary journalist Edward R Murrow sensed the need to help Americans reconnect with their ideals for living in a civil society, so he created This I Believe "to point to the common meeting grounds of beliefs, which is the essence of brotherhood and the floor of our civilization." Murrow believed this could be done through essays expressing a single personal belief shared on the airwaves. The program had an estimated audience of 39 million listeners.


In 2005 This I Believe returned to the airwaves thanks to National Public Radio and independent producers Jay Allison and Dan Gediman. Essays received from listeners and other contributors appear on NPR's website. The book version, based on the National Public Radio segments, reproduces the life-mission statements of people both unknown and famous.

"I believe that man's noblest endowment is his capacity to change." Leonard Bernstein

"I am happier when I love than when I am loved." Isabel Allende

"I believe in the power and mystery of naming things." Eve Ensler

"There is no job more important than parenting." Benjamin Carson

"I believe there is strength in surrender." Mary Cook

"Knowledge is marvelous, but wisdom is even better." Kay Redfield Jamison

"I believe in the pursuit of happiness, not its attainment, nor its final mission, but its pursuit." Andrew Sullivan

"I believe that the wonder of discovery can lift the spirit." Broam Greene

What do you believe? What were your greatest influences in shaping those beliefs? How have your beliefs changed throughout your life?

Teachers - Encourage or Discourage Reading?

Last week we discussed what book series may encourage kids to read. What is a teacher's role in encouraging their students to read? Is it possible for a teacher with the best intentions to actually have the opposite effect? My answer is a resounding YES!

First let me stress the fact that I am a huge supporter of teachers. In my opinion, they have the most important job in the world! Doctors, lawyers, the president? How would they do their jobs if they never had teachers to train and inspire them. This is definetly not a teacher bashing blog!!

Now, let me share the experiences of two students with you. Both had reading assignments and both had teachers who were doing their very best to encourage their students to read - one with possitive results, and one with the opposite effect.

The first student, we'll call her "K" as not to embarrass her (I know no one that knows our family will ever figure out the true identity of "K"), had to read a book of her choice and give a book report in front of the entire class! Every teen's nightmare, right? Not "K"! Although she is a quiet child and is like the majority who fears standing up in front of the class more than death, she was actually ecstatic about this assignment. She just finished reading the second book in her favorite series, so she decided she was going to give the report on both books. Unfortunately the speech did have a time limit so "K" lost points for going over. Of course, she probably could have shared her knowledge of the books without losing points if she would have just trimmed the last sentence off her report, "Both Pretty Little Liars and Flawless by Sara Shepard are available right here in Oconto at BayShore Books!" That's my girl!

The second student, we'll call him "C" even though the chance of him ever reading this are slim to none (Unless "K" tells "C" in which case the big "M" is in trouble!), also had to read but he just had to write book reports. He had it easy, right? Not so fast! He had to read a minumum of 4 books per semester for a C and do a book report on each AND the books had to all be about a specific subject. (The actual numbers and subjects here may not be accurate, since the gray hair roots have begun to strangle my brain. For that I apologize) The last semester the subject was World War II. "C" just recently discovered that reading can be fun when he stumbled upon Neal Shusterman. After devouring all of his books, he just began the Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer. He set book two aside to read his World War II books. The first couple were actually quite interesting and "C" even found another favorite book in My Mother Kept a Scrapbook: the True Story of a WWII POW, by Gerhard Johnson as told to local author Kathleen Marie Marsh. I find that usually a book or two on a certain subject is plenty to satisfy my curiosity and unfortunately so did "C". Once again getting him to read was like pulling teeth. He knew all there was to know about WWII and completely lost interest. He couldn't continue with the Artemis Fowl series, because if he was going to read he should be reading his WWII books. Guilt kept him from reading all together. He struggled through the last book or two, pulled off a C and then summer break began. Now he had the time to read what he wanted, but he couldn't remember what was happening in his series and he had no desire to start over. That passion for reading, which took years to establish, was completely wiped out in one school year. Luckily toward the end of summer he watched The Outsiders and is now reading his second S.E. Hinton book.

The point of this story? Telling a kid to read is not enough and telling a kid what to read can actually do more harm than good. Would the second story have been different if the assignment were to read at least 4 books a semester with only two of them having to be World War II books and each student choosing the others? I believe so. What do you think?

Raising One Out Of Four

Tuesday's Associated Press headline was this story about how one in four American adults did not read a single book last year.

My first thought was, we have to do something about that! But, where to start? The old saying goes, you can't teach an old dog new tricks. We have to work with the young dog, meaning children. How can we, as parents, as a society, as educators, interest our young people in reading? That is the question I hear every day. The kids today are into movies, computers, video games. How can we get them reading?

As a parent as well as a bookseller, I've found that getting kids excited about a series of books keeps them reading. Following the Harry Potter hype, this obviously works. The trick is finding the right series for each child. In my opinion, there are a lot more options for girls from Junie B. Jones all the way up to the Gossip Girls. Boys may take a little more imagination and research. The Magic Tree House series worked magic with my own son who thought reading was a chore. This series includes titles for every interest for boys or girls from the Arctic, to Tigers, the Vikings, or the Civil War. What series of books have helped you or your children become enthusiastic about reading?

Next post I will discuss my very strong opinions on what teachers may be doing to encourage or discourage students' reading habits.