From down on a bed, to up in a tree, every reader has a favorite place to read.  My mother and my nephew are just two of the avid readers in our family.  My favorite place is a rocking chair; my aunt sits up in a hard-back chair at the kitchen table. Mom likes to read in bed before she goes to sleep.

My daughter reads a snippet at a time (between mothering duties) on the front porch. When she was younger, she read in a big field next to our house. My nephew reads in a tree or on the couch.  I almost always have a book in my truck, to read whenever I have to wait for something or someone.

Mom, my oldest sis and I read on vacation, but I’m not sure about the others. My youngest sis has a bulging bookshelf waiting for the day she is done with college and work. The house I raised my children in had no walls in the large main room; I divided areas with book shelves filled to capacity. I have since weeded them down to about 12 small boxes. They patiently wait for a space in my daughter’s home (in between the children).  My oldest sis saves up her favorite author’s newest books for her and Captain Honey’s long vacation in Costa Rica every year. That takes some serious will power.

There are not many male readers in the family, but a few. All of my best girlfriends are readers; none of my boyfriends or husbands were. Sometimes I think about all the people who don’t have the means, ability or opportunity to read. Then I wonder how those who do have the means, ability and opportunity to read, can choose not to.  It would be like having wings to fly, but choosing to walk everywhere. If I were Queen, everyone would read and everyone would keep a journal. The world would be a better place, I’m sure of it.

What about your family? How do books and reading fit into your lives? Share your family’s book and reading stories and photos in an email to me and I will post them next Monday. 1writeplace dot wordpress at gmail dot com   If not, feel free to leave a comment instead.

Meanwhile, check out Marilyn Armstrong’s blog post on the subject here, which inspired me to write this post.

Thank you,

Patti