Cheesy Ode to Books

Last week was our April break. The dorms closed on Saturday at noon and reopened today at noon. I wanted to spend the week on a beach in Mexico, drinking cold drinks, reapplying sunscreen and reading in between sun-soaked naps. That sort of happened. Except, instead of Mexico it was Maine and instead of a beach it was the woods or the dorm. But I did nap and read a lot. I finished six books this week. I forgot how much I love reading. I know, how could I forget this? I’d read five books in March and I’m up to nine in April. This feels luxurious. Indulgent. I’m a better person when I’m reading.

Henry’s loved reading since he was born. Even without a book, we’d recite stories to him like lullabies. He finds solutions in books. Stomachache? Eat a nice green leaf. Dinosaurs chasing you? Blow a dinosaur horn. He memorizes quotes to make his trains say later: “Honk, honk, comin’ through. I’ve big important things to do.” His new favorite reading material is Ladybug magazine and he loves even the poems. The other day he told me he was going to have a “red day” and asked to wear his red t-shirt. He’ll rediscover books from his bookshelf and climb into my lap during the day. And we always read three books before his nap and another three at night. Go Dog, Go! and Are you my Mother? just snuck back into the rotation. Sometimes, we just make up funny voices for the characters.

There are some girls here who are required to go to the cafeteria during study hall because of low grades. No electronics allowed. They complain they can’t do anything without their computers. Read a book, I tell them. This is never a popular suggestion. I try to remember if I read in high school. My favorite teacher, Ms. Eagan, from 3^rd grade used to read us Roald Dahl books, made a million times more exciting with her Irish accent. Then she’d give us an hour of free reading time every day where we could sit anywhere and read anything and I huddled under my desk (because, why not?) and inhaled Babysitter’s Club books and later, RL Stine. Somewhere around freshman year of high school I discovered Barbara Kingsolver and words changed.

I hope Henry finds his Kingsolver. I hope every one of the girls finds hers. Whether that’s 50 Shades of Grey or To Kill a Mockingbird. Some author that makes them reread a sentence five times because they can’t believe how accurate and simple and tender it is. An author who cradles nuance and leads you through a more stunning version of every day. Because a week of reading is no beach in Mexico, but the escape is just as entrancing.