Who if anyone encouraged you to read when you were a kid? - Page 2

AprilHare · 07-26-2010, 11:32 PM

I learnt to read spontaneously.
This annoyed my mother as I used to read everything, all the time, out loud, in public.

Supermarkets in particular. - I used to get books instead of sweets at the checkout queue.
This extended to naming the make and model of every vehicle on the road while travelling in my safety seat.
My father used to read to me. I remember the astronomy books especially.

Mercury · 07-27-2010, 12:50 AM

Neither of my parents ever read for pleasure, but they always encouraged my brother and I.
Books for christmas and birthdays, the mobile library once a week and then the big library in town once a month maybe.
Looking at my own home, which is filled with books, I don't remember any books, other than ones my brother and I owned.

On the issue of censorship, I could read whatever I wanted, and at school they used to let me go to the older kids classroom to get books from their shelves.
I remember scaring myself silly once with horror book designed I think for 14-16 years olds, but that i read when i was around 7. The only harm it did was give me a deep love of all horror, good and bad!

Lady Fitzgerald · 07-27-2010, 01:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by banjobama

...Like others here, nobody ever censored the books I chose and if they had tried I'm sure I would have only tried harder to read the book.

I don't remember my parents ever censoring what I read but my high school did. Didn't work.

Maggie Leung · 07-27-2010, 01:25 AM

Neither of my parents read or read to us, but my Dad encouraged me to read when it was clear I'd taken to it. I learned to read after I started learning English, my second language, in school.

My parents had limited education, but my Dad encouraged curiosity and learning. When I'd ask him something he didn't know, he'd say that was a good question and suggest that I research the answer on my own. That taught me to think critically and skeptically, and to value learning for its own sake.

My Mom was a screamer, and she indirectly encouraged my reading. I learned to concentrate well and read through all sorts of rackets, lol.

toomanybooks · 07-27-2010, 01:35 AM

Both my parents encouraged me. After both my older brothers refused to read at all they were so grateful I read they had very few rules. No reading at the table, no reading while guests were in the room and no reading at two in the morning. Otherwise I could read when and whatever I wanted.

GraceKrispy · 07-27-2010, 02:24 AM

My mom read a lot, I remember her reading in the (mostly unused) living room, hiding from the kids. I didn't read until the end of 2nd grade, when I started reading about 3 years above grade level. And never stopped. I read constantly and was often told to "just put down that book for a minute and do your job!" Now I find I have to tell my son that.

rebarnmom · 07-27-2010, 02:32 AM

Definitely my mom! Besides reading to us herself, she provided loads of trips to the library, opportunities to buy books at school book fairs, and through Weekly Reader book orders in school, and Children's Book of the Month-type clubs. She loves to read and made sure that we had plenty of opportunities to read and buy books.

Thanks Mom!

I tried to do the same for my daughter. After years of angst over the fact that she didn't like to read, she is finally, without-a-doubt a reader! She loved to be read to and she knew how to read, but it held no interest for her, until I found the right book series! I think I read the first page and thought "this is SOOO my daughter". Apparently she thought so too!

Thank you author Megan McDonald for the Judy Moody books!

SpiderMatt · 07-27-2010, 03:12 AM

Everyone! My parents read to me growing up and frequently took me to the local library. Then when I was a little older we'd go to the local B&N a lot and my parents must have been pretty good about getting me books because I have a ton of them. I don't ever recall being discouraged from reading comics. My mom got me into Spider-Man at a young age and that is something that has obviously stuck with me through the years.

In 5th grade I took a keen interest in Edgar Allen Poe and he quickly became my favorite author. I remember in 6th grade we had designated reading periods and I brought in my complete works of Poe paperback (which was missing a few things, I believe, but that's OK). The teacher looked at the book on my desk that I had ready to read that day and said, "Isn't that a little advanced for you?" I replied with a curt, "No." That's the only time I can think of in which someone actively tried to discourage me from reading something. I hated her for that comment and took it as a slight against my intelligence even though, realistically speaking, Poe is advanced for a 6th grader. But seriously, screw her. I don't think you should ever discourage a kid from reading something, especially not something he/she actively seeks out.

afa · 07-27-2010, 03:16 AM

No one.

When I was an adolescent, I heard about a lot of kids reading something called "Hardy Boys" and decided to give it a whirl. I enjoyed it. Haven't looked back.

Nobody in my family is big on reading for enjoyment. Every time I sit back and spend a significant amount of time with a book, they look at me with a "So you're just gonna sit there and read, then? Man, you're weird." sort of expression.

I think they wonder if I'm really related to them.

Rumpelteazer · 07-27-2010, 03:17 AM

My mother reads a lot, my father doesn't but they both encouraged me to read. Until I was about 10 I mostly read comicbooks, I later learned that this worried my mother.

My grandmother also encourage her grandchildren to read but she always wanted us to read "proper" and "educational" children's literature (all the games she had were also educational or good for memory training) and I wasn't really interested in those.

I live in the city centre of a big city, not many children of my age lived there plus there were no safe playgrounds around and at the time there was both a junkie and a biker problem so playing outside wasn't possible. The library was close by so I went at least one every week to get new books.

When I was about 14 I started reading English books, my favorite genre still is horror and I remember that the librarians tried to disuade me from lending Stephen King books. My grandmother didn't know how to react: I wasn't reading "proper" books, but I was reading them in English and the books were really long (It, The Stand, etc).

Druid_Elf · 07-27-2010, 03:20 AM

My mother encouraged me to read, and school required me to read

For the langauge courses we were obligated to read several books each year (usually 6 in dutch, 3 in english , 2 in french). And I hated reading.
I only started appreciating books when starting to go to university

Prash · 07-27-2010, 03:29 AM

My reading habits have been quite strange actually. I have been encouraged to read by many when I was a kid, but the type of books I was encouraged to read differed with person.

My mother encouraged me to read anything in my regional language, which is Kannada (language which is native to Karnataka, in India). I mostly read a bimonthly book for children, which was an excellent mashup of stories, picture comics, facts related to science, history, places and more, all presented in a light mood which made it fun to read. It was considered to be a silly book by many, but I was encourage to read it by my mother a lot, and I am thankful that she did so. It has made my general knowledge grow a lot in a very short period of time and I haven't seen any books (periodical), here in India as good as that one so far. I'll post couple of photos of that book to give you guys an idea about the book.

My father encouraged me to read mostly english periodicals, which I hated initially. But I did start reading a lot of those too later on, as it gave a lot of information for the highschool quizzes I participated in.

TGS · 07-27-2010, 04:02 AM

The only book I remember being in the house when I was a kid was a Bugs Bunny annual. Neither of my parents read anything they didn't have to, but when I was 15 a teacher introduced me to, amongst many other things, (some of them not entirely legal), Herman Hesse, Tolkien and Knut Hamsun. I shall be for ever grateful to Mr Gregson, wherever he is, (he decided teaching wasn't for him and was last heard of heading for Morocco to read John Fowles' The Magus.

banjobama · 07-27-2010, 04:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TGS

The only book I remember being in the house when I was a kid was a Bugs Bunny annual. Neither of my parents read anything they didn't have to, but when I was 15 a teacher introduced me to, amongst many other things, (some of them not entirely legal), Herman Hesse, Tolkien and Knut Hamsun. I shall be for ever grateful to Mr Gregson, wherever he is, (he decided teaching wasn't for him and was last heard of heading for Morocco to read John Fowles' The Magus.

I had an influential English teacher at about the same age. Here's to you, Mr. Strong.

Lyndl · 07-27-2010, 04:26 AM

I'm not sure I'd say anyone particularly influenced me, although my Father steered me towards my first sci-fi books. I too was uncensored as a child and would read anything I could. I'd just take books off the shelf that had titles I liked and read them. Some of it I didn't understand but I just kept reading. I started on Shakespeare at age 7, it took a while but I eventually figured out what they were talking about. Books were my treasures, I'd save my pocket money for weeks to buy one from the local bookshop. I still have them all.

07-27-2010, 12:50 AM	#17
Mercury Enthusiast Posts: 38 Karma: 164 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: London, UK Device: Sony 505, iPad	Neither of my parents ever read for pleasure, but they always encouraged my brother and I. Books for christmas and birthdays, the mobile library once a week and then the big library in town once a month maybe. Looking at my own home, which is filled with books, I don't remember any books, other than ones my brother and I owned. On the issue of censorship, I could read whatever I wanted, and at school they used to let me go to the older kids classroom to get books from their shelves. I remember scaring myself silly once with horror book designed I think for 14-16 years olds, but that i read when i was around 7. The only harm it did was give me a deep love of all horror, good and bad! Last edited by Mercury; 07-27-2010 at 12:50 AM. Reason: spelling

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07-26-2010, 11:32 PM	#16
AprilHare Wizard Posts: 2,981 Karma: 11862367 Join Date: Apr 2008 Device: Sony Reader PRS-T2	I learnt to read spontaneously. This annoyed my mother as I used to read everything, all the time, out loud, in public. Supermarkets in particular. - I used to get books instead of sweets at the checkout queue. This extended to naming the make and model of every vehicle on the road while travelling in my safety seat. My father used to read to me. I remember the astronomy books especially.

07-27-2010, 01:25 AM	#19
Maggie Leung Wizard Posts: 1,449 Karma: 58383 Join Date: Jul 2009 Device: Kindle, iPad	Neither of my parents read or read to us, but my Dad encouraged me to read when it was clear I'd taken to it. I learned to read after I started learning English, my second language, in school. My parents had limited education, but my Dad encouraged curiosity and learning. When I'd ask him something he didn't know, he'd say that was a good question and suggest that I research the answer on my own. That taught me to think critically and skeptically, and to value learning for its own sake. My Mom was a screamer, and she indirectly encouraged my reading. I learned to concentrate well and read through all sorts of rackets, lol.

07-27-2010, 01:35 AM	#20
toomanybooks Addict Posts: 302 Karma: 1039424 Join Date: Apr 2009 Device: Ipad, Ipod Touch, KIndle Fire	Both my parents encouraged me. After both my older brothers refused to read at all they were so grateful I read they had very few rules. No reading at the table, no reading while guests were in the room and no reading at two in the morning. Otherwise I could read when and whatever I wanted.

07-27-2010, 02:24 AM	#21
GraceKrispy It's Dr. Penguin now! Posts: 3,909 Karma: 4705733 Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: (USA) Device: iPad mini, Samsung Note 3, Sony PRS-650 (rarely used now)	My mom read a lot, I remember her reading in the (mostly unused) living room, hiding from the kids. I didn't read until the end of 2nd grade, when I started reading about 3 years above grade level. And never stopped. I read constantly and was often told to "just put down that book for a minute and do your job!" Now I find I have to tell my son that.

07-27-2010, 02:32 AM	#22
rebarnmom Wizard Posts: 1,289 Karma: 4525055 Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: rural Illinois, USA Device: Sony PRS-700 (traded in), Sony PRS-650	Definitely my mom! Besides reading to us herself, she provided loads of trips to the library, opportunities to buy books at school book fairs, and through Weekly Reader book orders in school, and Children's Book of the Month-type clubs. She loves to read and made sure that we had plenty of opportunities to read and buy books. Thanks Mom! I tried to do the same for my daughter. After years of angst over the fact that she didn't like to read, she is finally, without-a-doubt a reader! She loved to be read to and she knew how to read, but it held no interest for her, until I found the right book series! I think I read the first page and thought "this is SOOO my daughter". Apparently she thought so too! Thank you author Megan McDonald for the Judy Moody books!

07-27-2010, 03:12 AM	#23
SpiderMatt Grand Arbiter Posts: 447 Karma: 1574837 Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Arizona Device: iPod Touch, Amazon Kindle, Motorola Droid	Everyone! My parents read to me growing up and frequently took me to the local library. Then when I was a little older we'd go to the local B&N a lot and my parents must have been pretty good about getting me books because I have a ton of them. I don't ever recall being discouraged from reading comics. My mom got me into Spider-Man at a young age and that is something that has obviously stuck with me through the years. In 5th grade I took a keen interest in Edgar Allen Poe and he quickly became my favorite author. I remember in 6th grade we had designated reading periods and I brought in my complete works of Poe paperback (which was missing a few things, I believe, but that's OK). The teacher looked at the book on my desk that I had ready to read that day and said, "Isn't that a little advanced for you?" I replied with a curt, "No." That's the only time I can think of in which someone actively tried to discourage me from reading something. I hated her for that comment and took it as a slight against my intelligence even though, realistically speaking, Poe is advanced for a 6th grader. But seriously, screw her. I don't think you should ever discourage a kid from reading something, especially not something he/she actively seeks out.

07-27-2010, 03:16 AM	#24
afa The Forgotten Posts: 1,136 Karma: 4689999 Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Dubai Device: Kindle Paperwhite; Nook HD; Sony Xperia Z3 Compact	No one. When I was an adolescent, I heard about a lot of kids reading something called "Hardy Boys" and decided to give it a whirl. I enjoyed it. Haven't looked back. Nobody in my family is big on reading for enjoyment. Every time I sit back and spend a significant amount of time with a book, they look at me with a "So you're just gonna sit there and read, then? Man, you're weird." sort of expression. I think they wonder if I'm really related to them.

07-27-2010, 03:17 AM	#25
Rumpelteazer Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,321 Karma: 27919658 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Utrecht, the Netherlands Device: Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition	My mother reads a lot, my father doesn't but they both encouraged me to read. Until I was about 10 I mostly read comicbooks, I later learned that this worried my mother. My grandmother also encourage her grandchildren to read but she always wanted us to read "proper" and "educational" children's literature (all the games she had were also educational or good for memory training) and I wasn't really interested in those. I live in the city centre of a big city, not many children of my age lived there plus there were no safe playgrounds around and at the time there was both a junkie and a biker problem so playing outside wasn't possible. The library was close by so I went at least one every week to get new books. When I was about 14 I started reading English books, my favorite genre still is horror and I remember that the librarians tried to disuade me from lending Stephen King books. My grandmother didn't know how to react: I wasn't reading "proper" books, but I was reading them in English and the books were really long (It, The Stand, etc).

07-27-2010, 03:20 AM	#26
Druid_Elf Zealot Posts: 109 Karma: 612 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: belgium Device: none	My mother encouraged me to read, and school required me to read For the langauge courses we were obligated to read several books each year (usually 6 in dutch, 3 in english , 2 in french). And I hated reading. I only started appreciating books when starting to go to university

07-27-2010, 03:29 AM	#27
Prash Zealot Posts: 102 Karma: 387 Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Bangalore, India Device: K3W, LG OG-E970, Utopia Apad	My reading habits have been quite strange actually. I have been encouraged to read by many when I was a kid, but the type of books I was encouraged to read differed with person. My mother encouraged me to read anything in my regional language, which is Kannada (language which is native to Karnataka, in India). I mostly read a bimonthly book for children, which was an excellent mashup of stories, picture comics, facts related to science, history, places and more, all presented in a light mood which made it fun to read. It was considered to be a silly book by many, but I was encourage to read it by my mother a lot, and I am thankful that she did so. It has made my general knowledge grow a lot in a very short period of time and I haven't seen any books (periodical), here in India as good as that one so far. I'll post couple of photos of that book to give you guys an idea about the book. My father encouraged me to read mostly english periodicals, which I hated initially. But I did start reading a lot of those too later on, as it gave a lot of information for the highschool quizzes I participated in.

07-27-2010, 04:02 AM	#28
TGS Country Member Posts: 9,058 Karma: 7676767 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Denmark Device: Liseuse: Irex DR800. PRS 505 in the house, and the missus has an iPad.	The only book I remember being in the house when I was a kid was a Bugs Bunny annual. Neither of my parents read anything they didn't have to, but when I was 15 a teacher introduced me to, amongst many other things, (some of them not entirely legal), Herman Hesse, Tolkien and Knut Hamsun. I shall be for ever grateful to Mr Gregson, wherever he is, (he decided teaching wasn't for him and was last heard of heading for Morocco to read John Fowles' The Magus.

07-27-2010, 04:26 AM	#30
Lyndl Member Posts: 18 Karma: 1132 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: W Aust Device: Kindle 2i, iPad, iPod Touch, Kindle Touch, Kindle Paperwhite	I'm not sure I'd say anyone particularly influenced me, although my Father steered me towards my first sci-fi books. I too was uncensored as a child and would read anything I could. I'd just take books off the shelf that had titles I liked and read them. Some of it I didn't understand but I just kept reading. I started on Shakespeare at age 7, it took a while but I eventually figured out what they were talking about. Books were my treasures, I'd save my pocket money for weeks to buy one from the local bookshop. I still have them all.