A Month of Gratitude, Day 1 - The Gift of Reading

Sunday, December 1, 2013
Worldwide, 775 million adults — approximately 12 percent of the world’s population — are considered functionally illiterate, with only basic or below-basic literacy levels in their native languages. Without the ability to effectively use the written and digital information in the world around them, these individuals are unable to help themselves, their families and those around them.

I cannot remember a time when I couldn't read, and read well. The idea that I would not be able to do so is completely foreign to me, and considering how many thousands of hours I've spent with my nose in a book, or a Kindle, or my iPad, I suspect my life would have been very different had I not spent so much time indulging my passion.

The ability (and desire) to read was just assumed in the house where I grew up, and no book was "off limits." So beginning in grade school, I read voraciously, and never really stopped. I average between 80 and 100 books a year, and after my daughter died and I was out on disability for my hysterectomy, I disappeared into fiction.

Today I'm grateful for the gift of reading, which enriches my life and broadens my horizons.

3 comments:

Random Michelle K said...

I literally cannot remember a time when I could not read.

Nor can I imagine a life without books.

I too am thankful for reading, and that I am able to pass along that love to so many small people. (I just spent $130 on books for Christmas gifts for the various kids in my life.)

Anne C. said...

I am definitely in the camp of could not imagine a world without reading. <3

Carol Elaine said...

I remember the first book I ever read: Red, Stop! Green, Go! by P.D. Eastman. Turned me into an avid reader, though I have been slowing down a bit these last few years. I never, ever want to give it up, though.