There are countless benefits to fall in love with reading this year. Knowledge, relaxation, and adventure are just a few.
Dear Sister,
When I was teenager, I couldn’t drive, so I would ride my bike to the park and sit on my favorite green bench overlooking the bay while I read.
My copy of Jane Eyre had a red cover and an ornate painting that didn’t capture the mood of the story within. Jane Eyre was the original “plain Jane” and wouldn’t have had lace trim and ribbons.
Despite the frilly cover, I discovered a gothic romance like none other I’ve ever read before or since. I looked up to Jane’s strong sense of right and uncompromising morals. The love story tugged at my heart as two imperfect souls were drawn to each other despite being an unconventional match. I was on that bench, teetering on the edge as the mystery of nightly howling in the attic was revealed to Jane. How could such an old story have such crazy plot points?
I’ve reread Jane Eyre a few times, and I think it might be time again soon. But Jane Eyre isn’t the only book I’ve loved in my life. Words have a way of shaping how we think, opening our minds to new ideas, building empathy, and allowing us to go on adventures otherwise shut off. Despite my desire to meet Mr. Rochester in person, he is forever trapped in the pages of Jane Eyre.
Young ladies come to me and say they don’t like to read. Sister, if you don’t like reading you haven’t found the right read. Most people, young and not so young, who enjoy the written word can usually trace it back to a particular book. After they found that special book, a hunger for reading was born. So keep searching. Find the tender romance, gritty thriller, mind-bending mystery, otherworldly fantasy that hooks you for life.
Screens have taken over our free time. But when I spend time quietly reading, I find my evening feels fuller and longer. Otherwise, my days can drag and my evenings speed by. Slowing down and letting myself get lost in a good book helps the stress of work and school slide away.
In my training as a reading teacher, I learned the number one indicator of whether a child will thrive in school is not skin color, family, socioeconomic standing, or where they go to school. It’s whether or not they were read to as a child. Thanks Mom! Being a good reader makes you a better student.
Reading expands your exposure to rich vocabulary. The child reading children’s books is getting a higher vocabulary than prime time television. Through reading your mind is filled with ideas that don’t necessarily come up in daily conversation, so your background knowledge is growing and preparing to encounter similar concepts in school. Building endurance to read helps when you encounter drier and longer material. Hello standardized tests. I’m looking at you.
As a good reader you will be a more empathetic person. I think about all the stories I’ve read that exposed me to how other people view the world, the pain and loss they’ve experienced, and why they made decisions I would balk at. I love when a book shows multiple points-of-view and the characters reveal the why behind their actions. Often, both characters feel justified. It helps me understand how two well intentioned people end up in conflict. That is a master storyteller. People are complicated and messy, and I love a story that reflects this, but also builds my empathy for people making different choices.
Through reading I’ve experienced so much more than the simple life I get to live. I’ve gotten a letter from Hogwarts, stepped through a wardrobe, stood in the room one final time with the Tsar and his family, cried with Anne when Matthew was gone, traveled west to homestead, and puzzled over who the killer was when shockingly all were killed.
I hope this year in school you’ll fall in love with reading and it will last your entire life. Read for knowledge, read for pleasure, read for adventure.
If you’re having trouble picking something to get started on your reading adventure here are a few suggestions:
And Then There Were None, by Agatha Christie
The ultimate murder mystery, beautifully written by the inventor of the genre. Guests are invited to an island by a mysterious host. Not all is as it appears. Soon the guests start dying in disturbing ways that mimic a popular nursery rhyme that happens to be framed and on display in the house.
The Harry Potter Series, by JK Rowling
If you haven’t read the Harry Potter books, please do that now! The first two feel as though they are crafted for a younger audience, but as you progress through the series they become grittier and deeper. Ah to go back and read the series again for the first time.
Educated, by Tara Westover
If you’re looking for a non-fiction book, this one is ah-mazing! I don’t want to give away spoilers, so just go read about Tara and her family and how she broke free.
Everything, Everything, by Nicola Yoon
I read this book when I was flying to New York for my MFA residency. Okay, maybe it was in New Jersey, but I spent a little time in the city. This book was a fun romantic read about a single day in NYC. Point-of-view shifts back and forth between the two characters and you can watch as they fall in love.
Code Name Verity, by Elizabeth Wein
I loved a good historical fiction when I was younger. This story brought me back. Vivid characters, accurate historical details, and a clever structure. You’ll laugh, cheer, and cry. If you listen to this on Audible, there is a recording of the author discussing some of her research at the end. My nerdy writer heart is happy.
Carve the Mark, by Veronica Roth
A sci-fi worth reading. Veronica Roth does an incredible job with world building. Beyond special abilities and strange planets, Ms. Roth creates cultures and values within them to tell this story. There’s lots of action and mystery, too! When you finish reading it, don’t worry there is a second book.