According to
this article, one in four people polled haven't read a single book in the last year. As a book lover I find this astounding; as a previous book-avoider I can see how it could be true.
Before we chucked the television in 2001 I read very little. I didn't even know where the library was in my town. What little I did read was mostly for bible study or picture books to the kiddos, and even this was very limited. Reading was not a pleasure and felt like a waste of time. It seemed impractical. I simply "didn't have time." My time was taken up with morning visits with friends, shopping, certain stupid TV shows, and a lot of sewing. I mourn for my age of ignorance.
Of course now, if I don't have time to read each day I feel cheated. What's odd is that I really have less time now then I did when I wasn't reading at all. I really started reading in earnest when my third baby came along and we started homeschooling. As I started reading up on homeschooling I found how important reading is to a well educated mind. And I don't mean reading the fluff I was reading in the first year or two of this journey. Romance novels and memoirs about overcoming childhood abuse are more sentimental than educational, though I can see how reading one of these memoirs could be helpful if one is currently in a abusive situation and needing assistance or motivation to get out of it. When I read up on classical education I was thoroughly convinced of the importance of good books in life. When I read
The Well-Educated Mind I was ready to take the plunge. I was determined read all those books that I should have read in school but never knew anything about, the classics.
As I cracked open my first real classic, Don Quixote, I was very intimidated. I had
NEVER read a book bigger than 200 pages. DQ is 1000 pages. I gave it 4 hours a night, every night for a month. When I finished it I felt on top of the world; but my work was not done yet.
The Well-Educated Mind has two levels of questions that you answer for each book you read. Some of these questions were frustrating. But in another couple of weeks I felt that I understood DQ inside out. As a reward for accomplishing such a hefty goal I read
Anne of Green Gables, not a book that teaches anything lofty but an instant favorite none the less.
After a year I notice that those 1000 page tomes were read through a bit faster. Those questions could be answered in a night or two. I found that with consistency and dedication I had become a reader.
My life has been thoroughly enriched by this journey into literature. I love sharing my story with others. I hope my struggles and successes encourage others to take that next step. I feel sorry for those that will never understand the benefit of a book. It's value is beyond measure.
