FIR '11: How Do You Encourage Others to Read?

In what ways do you encourage others to read or support their reading habits? How do you share your love of reading with others?

I am such a lover of books that I do everything I can to encourage others to read, that's why I became a book blogger! I'm always talking about what book I'm currently reading, what books I have read, what books I absolutely love. I'm always willing to share a book of mine with a friend or family member. My sister loves chick lit so I'm always passing those books on to her when I am done with them. My stepfather likes a good controversial Christian book so I pass those on to him when I'm done. Everyone else I just pass one on when I think they'll like it.

I'm always encouraging my children's reading habits. At home they have a bookshelf full of books in English and French. Whenever I'm at the bookstore I hit up the bargain books shelves in the kids section so we can get more for our money. I also ask family members to give books as gifts instead of toys. I am so thankful our library is a 2 minute walk from our home so we go there often. And we always buy from the book fairs and Scholastic orders at school. I make sure that I read in front of my children often (easy to do since I love reading so much.) And of course, I read to them often.

My husband is a work in progress! For a while, he didn't read anything. Then I noted to him that libraries lend graphic novels. Then he started spending a lot of time in the libraries, even hitting up libraries in the towns outside of the city we live in. And then he got a tablet and now that thing is glued to his hand and he is constantly reading digital graphic novels.

Our family is always looking for ways to share our love of reading. Last year we donated 1/3 of our kids books to the local school. It is overcrowded, boasting a student population of 1900 in Kindergarten to Grade 5. About 95% of the kids come from families where English is not the first language. We decided that it would be good for us to help out the school by donating a bunch of our books to their Borrow a Book program for the Kindergarten kids to encourage reading in English at home.

Comments

  1. LindyLouMacNovember 30, 2011 at 11:00 AM

    Lots starting with being a school librarian, then a librarian when I left school, signing my daughters up to the library when they were just toddlers and now hopefully by writing a Book Review Blog. Although really the latter is for my own satisfaction. Oh and I almost forgot participating in Bookcrossing.
    Keep up the good work Shan.

    ReplyDelete
  2. ShanNovember 30, 2011 at 1:25 PM

    Thanks! I think school librarians are awesome, I had great ones all through school who really encouraged us to read and were so helpful.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Carol November 30, 2011 at 3:53 PM

    Such a lovely gesture donating books to a local school.

    My kids have always had a book as a treat rather than a toy. I don't feel like I am spoiling them then.
    All 3 of them had library shelves at home as soon as they were born and I would start collecting books for them.

    I used to be a teaching assistant and so had the lovely job of teaching children to read.

    carol

    ReplyDelete
  4. Joy Tamsin DavidDecember 4, 2011 at 6:26 PM

    I am forever looking for new ways to encourage my sons to read. I want them to take more after me than after their dad, LOL. He hasn't read one book in the entire time we've been married.

    I have tried lots of things, but the thing that encourages them the most is just stopping at Barnes and Noble to browse. I always let them pick one thing (and yes, this does get expensive). We usually curl up in a chair for an hour at the store flipping through things that interest us.

    A rule we have at our house is no tv/video games/computers on school nights. So when the kids are done with their homework they're allowed to go outside and play, or read (they're not into toys anymore).

    ReplyDelete

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