Yesterday afternoon I went to see the movie Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. It was well done and true to the story. To be very honest I was prepared not to like the movie as I did not much care for the book. I found it dark and disturbing. The movie, however, did not bother me and I did enjoy it.
The Harry Potter phenomenon is interesting. Now that she has completed the series and given us the entire story I must say that, while some may claim that it is not great literature and others may criticize it for religious reasons (Of course they are dead wrong and don't understand the meaning behind the story - Look deeper folks.) it has performed a great service for this generation of readers. It has turned them on to reading.
They won't let it on the New York Times Best seller list and that is just ridiculous. It is (they say) a children's book. Well, they let other children's books on the list and besides I know a lot of adults who couldn't wait to get their hands on it.It should have been allowed on. It sold 8.3 million copies in the 24 hours after it was released.
The bookstores made a big thing about not selling the book until the right time and held big parties starting at midnight for those who wanted to get their copies before anyone else. I, being a reasonable person, reserved my copy and then spent a day and a half reading it. I would have finished it sooner but wasn't able to spend the entire week-end reading it.
Back when I was teaching I used to get so busy that I didn't have time to read novels or other books. So, every once in awhile, I would just put everything on the shelf and read. The entire day or sometimes the entire week-end. I loved it.
Reading is perhaps, my greatest pleasure. I enjoy most types of literature. I went through a phase when I read a lot of science fiction and then mysteries/ sometimes I just read novels. Yes, once in awhile I read a book for improvement. I also have read a lot on Masonry.
I grew up in a reading family. I watched my mother read, my grandmother read my aunts all read. I was given books at an early age and of course, there was access to a lot of comic books (now called graphic novels) which would hold my attention so well I would not hear anyone call me to supper and they would have to scream to get through to me. I will always be grateful for the love of reading which was instilled in me at an early age.
For me reading is a pleasure and anytime I can share a book with someone I get pleasure from that sharing. I especially enjoyed sharing books with my students. We build in at least fifteen minutes a day for the teachers to read to their students and we also built in a structured time for students to read their own choice literature.
That was another enjoyable thing about teaching I had an excuse to read great children's books - silently with the students and aloud to them. It was great and the greatest thing was when I would see a student "turn on" to reading. Most students who got to fifth and sixth grade had basic reading skills (not all but most) and they could read. Not all of them would read. I remember one of my students Austin P. who had never read a book before he came to my classroom. I had some pretty good science fiction (adult) mixed in with the other books and he began by reading these Piers Anthony Xanth novels. He was hooked and by the end of the year I had to physically take his book away in order to get him to come to math class. I watched him progress through High School and he was a reader until he graduated. in fact, I would bet that he is still a reader.
I used to give an award to students who read 100 books during the course of a year. they were designated "Century Readers" and received a special certificate and privileges. I even had students who read in excess of 200 books. Part of the reading program required them to meet with me and answer open ended questions about their books. I didn't do that every year but it was a way of checking on them and what they were reading. They read more and grew more in reading under my program than they would have by reading stories (watered down) from their basic readers designed by the books companies for the masses.
I think that my favorite book to read to the students was "The Hobbit" and for about the last ten years of my teaching I read that book to the students as the first book of the year. I had many other favorites and If I were to list them all this entry would be too long. Perhaps I shall list them (or some of them anyway) for a future entry.
Now I am going to close this entry and go back to my book. Remember you are loved, Love someone, Hugs! jcs
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