My Reading Life

I rolled over in bed this morning around 4:00 when I heard the baby crying through the monitor.  Dragging myself out of bed, I shuffled into his room, changed his diaper, and laid him back down in his crib.  I checked on his older brother and then made my way back to my own snuggly bed.  Once there I remembered I was so close to finishing My Reading Life by Pat Conroy and reached down to unplug my Nook.  My eyes quickly adjusted and I was quickly engaged again in the book without even a peep from my husband.

I love my reading own reading life.  I cherish it even.  I can't imagine my own life without books or all the friends I share books with (especially all my Twitter friends, a special shout-out to my tweeps!).  Reading is just part of who I am and extends into every part of my life.
Last night, on my way home from literacy night at one of my schools where I taught a poem and a song in sign language to students, I chatted with my mom about how she was doing while babysitting my kids.  She reported that the baby was a sleep and Peanut and her had just read Sam and the Tigers: A Retelling of 'Little Black Sambo by Julius Lester.  She commented that Jordan knew all about the tigers and all the characters who are all named Sam.  She was marveling at his understanding of the book when she asked him how he knew all about it and I heard his little voice in the background say, "My mommy taught me that."  Talk about a proud mom moment.
I can seriously go on and on and on and on about how important reading is and how much I love reading but really my point in writing this post is to share how much I enjoyed reading My Reading Life and how worthwhile it is to read.  This isn't a professional book but it is the story of a lifelong reader and writer and that's what I hope to encourage my students to be.  I believe as professionals we owe it to our students to be as knowledgeable about readers and writers in general to be able to share, model, and provide experiences that help them realize the greatness of a reading life.
I tweeted some of my favorite parts of the book and would love to hear what stood out to you if you read this book or about what shaped your own reading life.  (And, can you bear to even imagine your life without books? *shudder*)