For the Love of Reading

Matt and I gave Paul a Nook for Christmas of 2011.  Upon first blush, the price of the Nook seemed a bit steep to us.  As we considered the purchase though, we realized we couldn't buy the number of books our boy was quickly plowing through for the price of the Nook.

As Paul's parents, we were encountering another problem--trying to find suitable reading material.  Our family has all but stopped using the library to check out books.  Most of the classics are being removed from library shelves and their replacements are most often twaddle (at best) or witchcraft (at worst).  I've amassed quite a library for us to use at home (mostly through yard sales and thrift stores), but Paul was reading so much I couldn't keep enough books on hand to satisfy him.

We went ahead and purchased the Nook and we are so glad we did.  Matt downloaded tons of free or nearly free classic books onto the Nook before we gave it to Paul.  We don't have to worry about quantity or quality.  We just let Paul read away.

When no one in the family can find Paul, we know he must be somewhere reading his Nook.  We purposely bought him the most basic model--the one without a back light and without internet access.  Even with these preventative features, Paul has been known to employ a good old fashioned flash light to assist him in forbidden late night reading.

So far, Paul has read thirty five of G. A. Henty's books.  Henty wrote historical fiction from a Christian world view.  When I recently asked Paul what Henty book was his favorite, he quickly named off half a dozen titles and then went on to say, "But, I also liked this one and that one and that one."  By Conduct and Courage is at the top of his list, but as I said, to pin down a true favorite is an impossible task.  The boy loves to read.  Since neither his father nor I loved reading at Paul's age, we're tickled he's enjoying it so much.  Now, if only we could figure out a way to cultivate such a love for math in the boy.