I homeschooled my children for a little over eleven years and each day we’d read from a variety of books on different subjects.
We followed the Charlotte Mason 'living books' method of learning so there were overflowing bookcases in every room, divided into many different subjects and genres. Blossom especially loved having our own home library and was usually found with a book or two on her lap at all times, and it was not unusual to see a wide golden sea of light spreading out across the hallway carpet from under her door in the midst of night.
Our days began early with Bible study and prayer before the kids would separate to various areas of the house and work on their individual math, science and language arts lessons before I called them back to the table (or outdoors on the grass if the weather was nice) for morning tea. A plate of crackers, cheese and fruit satisfied their appetites as now we would immerse ourselves in music, art, nature study or poetry, dependent on what day of the week it was.
Back to their individual studies until lunch was served, I'd bake, catch up on housework and begin the dinner prep.
But my favourite part of the day (and theirs) was the afternoon. We would settle ourselves down in the lounge room for a long afternoon tea (usually an hour ortwo) and I'd read aloud to my dear children from our current fiction novel, a book almost always based on a specific time in history with a variety of real or imagined characters and an engaging or edge-of-your-seat story line.
Back to their individual studies until lunch was served, I'd bake, catch up on housework and begin the dinner prep.
But my favourite part of the day (and theirs) was the afternoon. We would settle ourselves down in the lounge room for a long afternoon tea (usually an hour ortwo) and I'd read aloud to my dear children from our current fiction novel, a book almost always based on a specific time in history with a variety of real or imagined characters and an engaging or edge-of-your-seat story line.
Those long and lazy afternoons with a steaming pot of tea, scones or cake to feast upon and the large plump floor pillows, quilts or blankets scattered around, are truly some of the very best memories we have of their childhood and young adult years.
Oh, the wonderful books I read to them! Robinson Crusoe, Lord of the Rings, Peter Pan, Children of the New Forest, Around the World in 80 Days and hundreds of other tomes which would carry us from where we were in our living room into a place and time far away and long ago.
Some books were written centuries earlier, some only 60 or 70 years ago, but each had a richness of language and a story line which taught the children how to speak and write with beautiful words, grammar and expressive comprehension themselves.
As the afternoon drew to an end I would bring the cover down on those pages to a chorus of "just one more chapter" and even though I wanted to continue (for my own pleasure!) having them eager for more reading the next day was even more of a joy.
Now all grown, it's a cherished thing to share memories of favourite books read years ago with some of my children. The funny quotes we use in everyday conversation remembered from numerous books read over the years, phrases which to us are a normal Reynolds flow of speech, confound newcomers to the family who wonder why we fall apart in laughter at their raised eyebrows. Stay long enough to become one of us and those secret messages are unlocked.
When homeschooling finished and the children graduated into adult life my fictional book reading gradually diminished and was eventually replaced with needlework, sewing and design work. I did switch to audio books for a while but mostly these were Christian non-fiction that I could listen to as I stitched.
I even purchased a number of books on kindle when it was the 'new thing' in a hope that would get me back to reading, but when you have loved reading all your life (I was just like Blossom growing up) there is nothing quite like holding a real book in your hands, turning the pages, turning down the page when you can't find a bookmark, holding it in your lap for the longest time when the last page has been read just to savour the story that little while longer.
So I simply stopped reading novels.
I had my Bible which I love to study every day, favourite monthly English home and garden magazines, and various craft, sewing and homemaking non-fictions - the kind of reading that can be picked up and out down at any time - but no longer was I taken away in the pages of a really good story for pure pleasure.
In 2016 this bothered me enough that I read four books that year, not many at all by previous standards but I certainly enjoyed each and every one, however, life stepped in with extra responsibilities and once again the down-time of relaxational reading evaporated.
Late last year I discovered a wonderful blog (Coffee, Tea, Books and Me) written by Brenda, a book-lover who has reminded me why I need to read and the joy I have missed not doing so.
Just last week I ordered a book she'd recommended and yesterday it arrived in the mail (no luck with our library) so I brewed a fresh coffee, set two sour cherry rock buns on a tiny white aged Wedgewood plate I'd purchased at a yard sale for $3, and settled into our most comfortable chair to re-establish a once loved daily habit of reading for pleasure.
My Blossom used to read Elizabeth Goudge but I never had. She always said "Mum, she's a wonderful writer" and now I know that is true, even after the first few chapters. This time of quiet relaxation has been needed for so long...why had I overlooked it? All in the right timing, I suppose.
I believe thirty minutes or an hour spent each day in a good book is far better entertainment than a hour spent on social media, and far better for peace of mind, imagination and a sense of well being, don't you?
So I shall enjoy reading again, this time to myself, novels that have substance by authors I know are wonderfully engaging writers and can weave a story that leaves you feeling satisfied and enriched.
I shall gift myself the time to step away from life's busyness and prepare an afternoon tea for one, settle into my most comfortable chair and begin an old tradition in a fresh way.
I shall gift myself the time to step away from life's busyness and prepare an afternoon tea for one, settle into my most comfortable chair and begin an old tradition in a fresh way.
What about you?
What book are you reading and do you have favourite authors?
hugs
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