Reading reading reading

The books have aligned in our house right now, and all of us are reading voraciously! I always love reading, but 16 hours a day in bed has helped me devour 200+ pages a day, and an average of at least 2 books a week (I like big books.) I got James an e-reader for his birthday, and he has discovered an author he absolutely loves. He always said he loved reading, but always preferred movies. Now, most nights, he first asks me what I want to do, but adds the caveat that "if you want we can just read in bed together."

Over the past couple of months we started reading chapter books with the boys, and they are hooked. We started with the classic "Charlotte's Web." After that I introduced them to the "Wayside School" series, and finally, on the recommendation of a friend with three boys, "Captain Underpants." Colin can't get enough. You should have seen how excited the boys were at Christmas every time they opened a chapter book. Every night we read a chapter to Colin before bed, and often during the day he'll show up with his book and ask for another chapter. Caleb is often napping or already in bed at night, but if we're reading during the day, he's right there beside you.

Even Benjamin is loving the idea of reading. He has a couple of favourite picture books that he loves to go through and name the pictures. He also loves to hear the rhyming rhythms of poem books. But he also gets the idea of "grown up" books. If he finds one of my books lying around, he loves to open it and "read" aloud, flipping page to page.

I can't wait to find a place in our home to create a reading nook in. Once we're out of the toddler toy stage (another 3 years) I might be able to carve out some space in the play room. Or if we go ahead with a house extension, we might be able to make one of the upstairs rooms into a library. Yes, I love the e-reader, but the atmosphere of books on shelves is something I will always love and crave.