Winter. A great time to sit with your coffee in front of the fireplace, snuggled under a warm afghan, reading a new book or an old favorite. Just make sure you don’t forget yourself, reading for hours, forgetting that the horses need to be fed or dinner needs to be made.

Reading literature has become a passion for me. I really love it. I wish more people had the love of reading a good book as I do. Reading is the entrance to a world of new thoughts. It enhances your way of thinking. To share a love of books is to share a love of learning. Books need to be a part of everyone’s life. There are countless things you can learn from books.

I acquired my love of reading and literature very young. I loved being able to read about people’s lives and learn from them. I loved getting lost in their world and putting myself in their shoes. I think that books give a very interesting look on life and many situations.

I also don’t think one can ever have enough books. We even have multiple copies of some of our books. We have more than one copy for a couple of reasons: 1) More than one person can read it at the same time. 2) You can give your extra copy of your children’s favorites to them when they leave to have their own home. 3) It is easier to do a study on one book when you have enough for everyone. We were very blessed to have been able to purchase quite a few of our books from the library. They had them for sale for $.50 each because they were upgrading to newer books and disposed of the older, better classics. It is unfortunate that our world has degraded so much that we no longer have a sense of what is good and wholesome.

We have so many books our walls are lined with bookshelves and are filled up. I love to walk into a house and see full bookshelves. It tells me that there is a love of books. I agree with Cicero who said, “A room without books is like a body without a soul.”

I don’t know about you, but I love the old books. The ones with the cloth covers and the yellowed pages. I love the shape of them. I love how they are so thick, yet small enough that you can hold them in one hand. It reminds me of the olden days when children used to tie their books together with their belts and head to school. It is so nostalgic to me. I love thinking of those times. I also prefer hardcover books. They have that nostalgia to them. I can’t bend it as easily and therefore it won’t get ruined by me squeezing it as I get into the story. Although softcovers do allow easy accessibility for keeping the pages apart.

Reading definitely enhances your vocabulary. Because I have read so many books and of so many different genres, I have a very good vocabulary. I have learned so many new words by reading literature. I have a ’sophisticated’ way of using my words, if you will. I was once told that I talk strange (for a teenager) because of the words I use and how I use them. I would rather be told I had a strange way of talking, then talk like other people my age, with the “like whoa, man, like that is like so like cool, dude.”

To have a love of literature and reading is to have a love of words and their meanings. When I read a book and there is a word I don’t know, I love to get out our 1828 Webster’s Dictionary and look it up. It thrills me to find a new word and its meaning. I love books that have the meaning of words at the bottom of the pages. It is neat to read it and then go back and read it knowing what it means to the story.

Another great reason for homeschooled children to read literature is that it can be counted as schooling. You can incorporate many of your other subjects into reading literature. If your child doesn’t care for textbooks, give them a book to read. If you are studying the 1800’s, get out David Copperfield, if you are studying Romans, get out The Robe. You can learn a lot about the culture, customs, and events going on at those times from reading literature about the times you are studying. Those are just some of the great ideas that you can come up with using literature.

There are so many great books that you can read. If you aren’t an avid reader and are kinda lost as to what you would want to read, there are multiple literary clubs online that you can join.

One is the HSB Literary Club. We just finished discussing The Hedge of Thorns. What a wonderful book that was!! That book cannot be recommended enough, I think. We will start discussing The Inheritance after the beginning of the year. I sure would love to see you there. Also, you do not have to have an HSB blog account to join in the discussion.

There is also the Society of Avid Young Readers. They are currently reading A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. They are reading a book a week, so if you want to read the above, better hurry over there.

So what are you reading?? What do you prefer-Fiction or Non-fiction?? Classic or Newer books?? I would love to know.

I am reading a couple of works right now. I recently finished up The Dark Foundations by Chris Walley and The Hedge of Thorns by John Hatchard. I am now reading Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens. I also plan to get The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis.

If you are looking for a great place to purchase some wholesome books, there is The Old Schoolhouse Store, which carries the Lamplighter books. Those are some of the best books. They have wonderful inspiring stories that also have very important lessons and virtues in the storyline.

Something I found that was quite neat is GoogleBooks. Some of the books you can actually read as a whole online. I did this when I was waiting for my Walley book to come in. Of course, nothing beats having the hardcover in your hands, but it was great that I could start to read it while I was waiting for it.

Also, Mom found these 2 websites Munsey’s & Books By Henty that you can download books from. The second one is only G.A. Henty books, but we found G.A. Henty, Charles Dickens and Jane Austen on the Munsey’s site.

There are so many books that you will never be able to read them all, I know. But instilling a love of reading in your child will help them immensely in life.

If you are not sure about what books you want your children to read, there are several lists that have age-appropriate books. AmblesideOnline has lists for children divided up to school grades. I also have posted a list of books I have read. Now, its not all the books I have ever read because that would be way too long, but it a list of ones I wrote down as I read them and it is mostly Classics. I would be happy to tell you when I read what books and if they would be a good read for your child. I know I am no expert, but if I have read it I could probably give a good idea about the book and its storyline.

I hope this has encouraged you to read more books and to let your child learn to love reading. Books are a gift that keep on giving.

Prayers and Blessings as always,

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