Today is a day for reading fiction — for me. Long before I started teaching I thought there was no way I could teach simply because I’d have to give up the books I love to read kid lit.
In some ways that scenario did come to pass. My reading of novels has declined, in fact disappeared during the school year, and has been replaced by kit lit. I don’t read the New Yorker cover to cover anymore, although it piles up in baskets waiting for me. In book stores, I don’t go to the adult section I head to children’s literature.
Not that I am complaining. I LOVE kid lit. ( I think I’m a level T reader.) Professional literature, be it blogs or books, fuel my teaching which is my passion. I’m not unhappy about my reading life.
Due to #nerdlution, I have chosen to rekindle the reading of books — for me, a little earlier than summer break. The question/fear that lurks is: can I do this?
I started in on Company of Liars by Karen Maitland. It’s been on my to be read pile since the summer. I can’t remember why I bought this, but it was probably because of my passion for all things medieval, English and a tad gruesome.
Initially I had to fight the tendency to think like a teacher and just be a reader. I was honestly concerned that I could get into a book without having the world of teaching or the desire to check my twitter feed sneak into my thoughts. About five pages into the book, I was lost in the world of 1348, filled with pestilence, superstitions, and fear. It is book of story and story tellers. Ah, to be lost in story for no other reason than to enjoy it. You know that feeling. It doesn’t come from anything else.
I read for an hour, and I plan to resume right after I finish this post. What an indulgence. Sort of like eating a box of carmel covered chocolate. This is why I don’t read books like this till summer break. They consume me. But then again, just a little bite couldn’t hurt. I don’t have to eat the whole box. I can enjoy a little and put it down. Right? Working on that.
#Nerdlution continues and life is good.
To Read To Write To Be 