Reflection

In a 1991 New York Times article, author Anna Quindlen wrote that, "I would be most content if my children grew up to be the kind of people who think decorating consists mostly of building enough bookshelves."  As I reflect on the past week, and dream of the week ahead, I am thinking of one of the greatest gifts my own parents gave to me - the love of reading.  Some of my earliest memories consist of curling up with a great book.  Family trips to the library were a regular part of our routine, and always turned into an adventure for me.  Sometimes I selected "old friends" like Beverly Cleary's stories about Ramona Quimby, or biographies of Clara Barton and Helen Keller.  Other times I emerged with new tales and adventures to keep my imagination occupied.  Always I left the library with a lasting memory.  My parents, particularly my dad, are avid readers and led by example.  And it is an example I hope to provide to my son as well.

The first "classic" I fell in love with was Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre.  My mom took me to a bookstore when I was eleven, and I felt a connection with the text even before I read the first page.  It took me months to finish the book, but to this today, when I hear the name of Mr. Rochester, or Thornfield Hall, I smile at the memory of my old friends.

As a high school Language Arts teacher, I try and instill a love of reading in my students.  For most of them, books are a chore that they try to avoid.  A few attempt to humor me and read the text, while most work hard to watch the movie or read a plot summary.  For the sake of my son, I hope that the love of reading is partly genetic, and partly environmental.  My wish is that his imagination connects with books, and always him to find (safe) adventures in an unsafe world. 

More for nostalgia than any other reason, here are my list of "Top Ten Books" that somehow struck a chord with me.

1. Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)
2. Gone With the Wind (Margaret Mitchell)
3. Little House on the Prairie (Laura Ingalls Wilder)
4. Tuesdays With Morrie (Mitch Albom)
5. Alias Grace (Margaret Atwood)
6. The Last Silk Dress (Ann Rinaldi)
7. The Red Tent (Anita Diamant)
8. The Awakening (Kate Chopin)
9. Jacob Have I Loved (Katherine Paterson)
10. Goodnight Moon (Margaret Wise Brown)