Somehow my answers got sent in before I was ready.
The book I remember reading vividly as a child is A Wrinkle in Time, for lots of different reasons. Probably the easiest one to explain is that I was raised by very strict parents, and I was such an unnaturally good child that I was pretty old before I realized that it was PHYSICALLY POSSIBLE to disobey my mother. Not that I'd get in trouble, just that it was possible at all. Anyway, I stayed up late and finished Wrinkle with a flashlight under the covers, which was wildly, astoundingly disobedient in my family. My mother caught me and was astonished, since I'd never done such a terrible thing before. I said, "Mom, you gotta read this book." And she did. And she said, "Well, having read it, I can see why you had to finish it. But DON'T DO IT AGAIN!" For a book to occasion such amazing disobedience on my part and such astonishing leniency on my mother's part, well, it had to be a heck of a book. And it IS, of course, as everybody knows. Everybody knows all the usual reasons why this book would make an impression on a child, but my family dynamics made it have an extra effect. :-)
to clarify my comment -- I think love of reading is changing, not disappearing. but I think reading on the Internet and even watching tv/movies are forms of reading.
When I said it never occurred to me, that's not entirely accurate. I know that people do it, I just don't understand exactly why and it never seemed like something that would enhance my enjoyment, but I can see why others might want to do so.
I read Homer Price when I was in fourth grade, and my rebellious feelings were starting to coalesce. My mom had come to tuck me in and said something like, "You can keep reading for a little while but you need to stop when you feel sleepy." I was lost in the marvels of Homer and his donut machine until I woke up in the middle of the night with my light on and the book on my lap. I turned the light off so my parents wouldn't know, although they might have noticed I was very tired the next day.
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branchandroot
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Date: 2007-12-21 01:15 am (UTC). . . No, not a Bible . . .
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Date: 2007-12-21 01:27 am (UTC)The book I remember reading vividly as a child is A Wrinkle in Time, for lots of different reasons. Probably the easiest one to explain is that I was raised by very strict parents, and I was such an unnaturally good child that I was pretty old before I realized that it was PHYSICALLY POSSIBLE to disobey my mother. Not that I'd get in trouble, just that it was possible at all. Anyway, I stayed up late and finished Wrinkle with a flashlight under the covers, which was wildly, astoundingly disobedient in my family. My mother caught me and was astonished, since I'd never done such a terrible thing before. I said, "Mom, you gotta read this book." And she did. And she said, "Well, having read it, I can see why you had to finish it. But DON'T DO IT AGAIN!" For a book to occasion such amazing disobedience on my part and such astonishing leniency on my mother's part, well, it had to be a heck of a book. And it IS, of course, as everybody knows. Everybody knows all the usual reasons why this book would make an impression on a child, but my family dynamics made it have an extra effect. :-)
(no subject)
From:no subject
Date: 2007-12-21 01:39 am (UTC)(no subject)
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From:no subject
Date: 2007-12-21 02:09 am (UTC)To receive...well, I would like to read "The Years of Rice and Salt".
no subject
Date: 2007-12-21 02:55 am (UTC)More specifically...
Date: 2007-12-22 02:42 pm (UTC)