On Reading

So it's been a year since I started posting my reading list here (via del.icio.us). And it turns out that I've read 15 books in that year. Not as much as I'd like, but not too bad.

There was a time period when I commuted exclusively on the bus, and got over an hour each day of uninterrupted reading time. During that time I was reading about a book a week rather than my new average of a little over one a month.

There is such a pleasure in reading a good book. Reading is both entertaining and informative - It's amazing to me how many people don't enjoy reading. But I guess there are things that would amaze other people that I don't enjoy.

The only thing I keep comming back to is that as citizens, we have a certain responsibility to keep ourselves informed of the situations the world is facing - and reading is such an important part of this. If you think that you can get true in-depth informaiton on broadcast news or CNN, you are sadly mistaken.

I wish I knew what I could do to convince others of the importance and joy of reading, but I guess I'll just have to start with this blog post for now.

Sunshine on my ears can make me cry…

At one point this last weekend, Vicki sang John Denver’s “Sunshine on My Shoulders” for Katie. Katie really liked the song and quickly learned the words. She constantly wanted us to sing it to her.

I have a John Denver “Greatest Hits” CD, so I decided to pop it in the stereo and play it for her. She loved it. She loved it too, much really. It’s all she wants to hear now. I’ve even tried playing other John Denver songs, but apparently they don’t measure up.

So, this morning we had to listen to it before we left the house. When we left the house, we had to bring the CD with us and listen to it in the car. I had to explain that she couldn’t take the CD with her to daycare. She actually took that pretty well, but I had to promise to play it for her again tonight.

But the really amazing thing about this all is how it has shown me how much I really love Sunshine on my Shoulders and Little Girls.