I often listen to NPR on my way home in the afternoon. I catch up on the news and then listen intently as a story is told about a musician or a new book is promoted. Today’s book was one I have not heard of and I have not read any of the author’s work.
The book is about a woman down on her luck. First she found a blue pot floating in the river and then she found a manuscript in a house she moved in to. I don’t really know what drew me to the story but I mumbled the author’s name all the way home so I could search for the book on my nook. After a couple tries, I found the author and the book. I downloaded the text and started to read it right after dinner.
Two hours flew by as I was pulled into the tale. There is something so sad about the the main character and yet as I turn the pages I have hope for her. Somehow the author has convinced me that the blue pot and the manuscript are part of a greater plan for this woman.
I love to read. I love losing myself to a book and this book is not going to disappoint me. The last one, Freedom, I struggled to get through. This book reminds me of a book I read last summer. The author’s styles are not at all alike but my need to turn the page and move quickly through the story is.
I want to give my students this feeling of picking up a book and not wanting to put it down. I want them to forget what is going on around them and only enjoy the company of the characters inside the covers. I want their imagination to create the faces, paint the settings, and choreograph the action. I want them to wake up in the morning and wish they could pick up their book and immerse themselves in it instead of going to school. I want their desire to read to be so strong that they will read for a lifetime.
"love to read. I love losing myself to a book ."
ReplyDeleteAs I read this sentence while eating Cheerios,I said aloud in my empty kitchen, " ME TOO!"
Your final paragraph was beautiful.
I love the line, "I want their imagination to create faces, paint the settings, and choreograph the action." I love your thoughtshot in the 3rd paragraph. Your writing is so flowy. I know that isn't a word but that's how it felt when I read your slice.
ReplyDeleteYou were in the reading zone (Nancy Atwell's term)and that is where we want to find our students. Then I think how much time students get to really read, immerse themselves into books and usually that time is not there. Too many things to teach for the test, how sad for the students. You have express it beautifully.
ReplyDeleteThe previous comments trumped mine. I love the line that Diana referenced. 'Twould be lovely if everyone came into a book they couldn't put down. Nanci Atwell said it well, too, the reading zone. I would add one more thing--you haven't told us that new book's title!
ReplyDeleteAs Emily Dickinson stated, "There is no frigate like a book to take us lands away nor any coursers like a page of prancing poetry." I love this quote because it represents how I feel about reading - precisely what you have shared. I love being pulled in by the vacuum of literature, intent on being engaged with the words to a point that I forget I'm sitting on my couch and the world around me continues to move.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't agree more! Getting sucked into a book is the best and we can't help but want to share this with our students. What more could you ask for?
ReplyDeleteI heard the same review on NPR - I'm glad to know you like the book, I'm going to look it up!
ReplyDeleteWe have a lot in common- NPR, downloading new books, getting lost for pleasure and reading...reading...wanting to have kids love it as much as we do. Did you read The Book Whisperer?
ReplyDeleteShe loves reading and has a wonderful way to turn kids on to reading.
Bonnie