*thinks way, way back* IIRC, the first adult book I read was Les Miserables in the sixth grade.
I learned to read when I was very young and don't remember a time when I wasn't reading. I think I graduated very quickly from kids' material to more adult books via a librarian family friend. The first "sex" book I read was that towering monument to WTF known as Flowers in the Attic and its sequels. Duuuuuuude *g*. They did what? With *who*?
Like you, I was never particularly censored, but I did stop reading things if I felt I wasn't ready for them. I also have the brain chock full o'trivia and a vocabulary that many of my friends told me made me sound "polished" - whatever that meant to a twelve-year-old. In reading interests and quantities, I far outstripped my parents, who were never really readers. I don't think they ever really knew what to do about that other than pat me fondly on the head and view me like some kind of interesting exhibit.
With my kids, I've never really limited what they've read unless it was clearly inappropriate for their age or similar criteria. What I mostly try to do is talk to them about what they're reading/what they've read. That gives me a far better idea of not only what they're interested in, but also how they're processing what they're reading. Plus, it gives great jumping off points to other genres or categories. For example, The Boy really liked George R. R. Martin, so I pointed him in the direction of some medieval history. My youngest has been delving a bit into women's biographies and issues. I sent her The Bookseller of Kabul and Promised the Moon for her to read about women in other parts of the world and women who have pushed against the cultural/social boundaries of their times.
I hope that if I have kids...I hope desperately that they will read...
IMO, I learned to read and love it because it was modeled for me by teachers and friends of my parents. They took an interest in me. They bought me books. They took me to libraries. They asked me questions to find out what I was interested in. Because of that, I did the same with mine. Saturday was Library Day many times. When we went to the mall, we'd always visit the bookstore and I'd try to buy them a book each time. Every now and then, I'd turn off the TV and tell them to go read a book (and they would!).
And, yeah, not just the "good" books *g*. Sometimes things become the unlikeliest of springboards. I got interested in genetics because of (wait for it) X-Men comics :). Reading Robin Hood at a young age sparked an interest in English history that I have to this day.
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Wed, Jul. 14th, 2004 03:09 am (UTC)I learned to read when I was very young and don't remember a time when I wasn't reading. I think I graduated very quickly from kids' material to more adult books via a librarian family friend. The first "sex" book I read was that towering monument to WTF known as Flowers in the Attic and its sequels. Duuuuuuude *g*. They did what? With *who*?
Like you, I was never particularly censored, but I did stop reading things if I felt I wasn't ready for them. I also have the brain chock full o'trivia and a vocabulary that many of my friends told me made me sound "polished" - whatever that meant to a twelve-year-old. In reading interests and quantities, I far outstripped my parents, who were never really readers. I don't think they ever really knew what to do about that other than pat me fondly on the head and view me like some kind of interesting exhibit.
With my kids, I've never really limited what they've read unless it was clearly inappropriate for their age or similar criteria. What I mostly try to do is talk to them about what they're reading/what they've read. That gives me a far better idea of not only what they're interested in, but also how they're processing what they're reading. Plus, it gives great jumping off points to other genres or categories. For example, The Boy really liked George R. R. Martin, so I pointed him in the direction of some medieval history. My youngest has been delving a bit into women's biographies and issues. I sent her The Bookseller of Kabul and Promised the Moon for her to read about women in other parts of the world and women who have pushed against the cultural/social boundaries of their times.
I hope that if I have kids...I hope desperately that they will read...
IMO, I learned to read and love it because it was modeled for me by teachers and friends of my parents. They took an interest in me. They bought me books. They took me to libraries. They asked me questions to find out what I was interested in. Because of that, I did the same with mine. Saturday was Library Day many times. When we went to the mall, we'd always visit the bookstore and I'd try to buy them a book each time. Every now and then, I'd turn off the TV and tell them to go read a book (and they would!).
And, yeah, not just the "good" books *g*. Sometimes things become the unlikeliest of springboards. I got interested in genetics because of (wait for it) X-Men comics :). Reading Robin Hood at a young age sparked an interest in English history that I have to this day.
*reins in babbling*