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What a nice surprise I received recently when Cym Lowell bestowed the Versatile Blogger Award on me! In conjunction with receiving the award, recipients are asked to reveal seven things about themselves.

Seven Things About Me

1. I have always loved to read and growing up, I had wonderful role models vis a vis reading.

As a first grader, just learning to read, I won the award for most books read during the school year: 147. Each day I brought a different book home, read it aloud to my parents, and returned the book the next day, along with a verification signed by my mother, indicating that I actually read the book. The teacher, Mrs. Campbell, grew suspicious that I was perhaps not really reading all the books I was checking out. She sent a note home to my mother questioning the validity of her representations on the forms. That was a huge mistake. My mother sent back a polite, but sternly worded letter confirming that her signature on the forms signified that I had indeed read the book in question, and she did not appreciate having her veracity questioned. She suggested that if Mrs. Campbell did not believe I could actually read as well and quickly as my pattern of checking out books and returning them indicated, Mrs. Campbell should have me read aloud to her so that she could see for herself how I was progressing. I remember being called over to her desk, sitting beside Mrs. Campbell, and reading to her. That day I brought a note home to my mother setting forth Mrs. Campbell’s profuse apology. I still have that note. That was a very early lesson about integrity, morality, the value of one’s word, humility, and forgiveness.

In the summer months, I participated in the reading programs presented in the children’s section of the Lodi Library by the wonderful librarian there, Mrs. Smith. She always had a clever way to interest us in reading. I particularly remember one year where she issued all of the participants passports and we collected a stamp every time we read a book. We were given small notebooks in which we wrote a brief report about each book we read. And at the end of the summer, she awarded prizes to the children who read the most. When I was eleven years old, I won the award and had my photo in the Lodi News-Sentinel.

2. I read only e-books.

3. I only read one book at a time, but I am always listening to another one via Audible while driving.

4. I love to read for long, sustained stretches of time, so on the weekends, I often read late into the night, especially if I want to finish a book, and sleep late the next morning.

5. I prefer to read fiction and, primarily, women’s literature.

6. I had to train myself to enjoy audio book since I am a visual learner. It was an interesting experience. I listened for several hours in my car during a business trip and was surprised that I was able to concentrate on the story, particularly when I was stuck in traffic.

7. I worked very diligently to instill a love of reading in both of my children, with varying results over time. The oldest reads nonstop. The youngest is an excellent reader and read for pleasure all the time when he was younger. I wish I could get back all the money I spent on Goosebumps books! But when he got to high school, he became more enamored with video games and now reads only rarely. Hopefully, that will change.

Bloggers Upon Whom I am Bestowing the Versatile Blogger Award

  1. Trish at Hey Lady! Whatcha Reading?
  2. Becca at Bookstack
  3. Matt at A Guy’s Moleskine Notebook
  4. Nely at All About {N}
  5. Darlene at Peeking Between the Pages
  6. Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea
  7. Tina at Tutu’s Two Cents
  8. Tasha at A Trillian Books
  9. Jamie at The Book Junkie’s Bookshelf
  10. Dollycas at Dollycas’s Thoughts
  11. Chrissy at Chrissy’s World of Books
  12. Sheila at Book Journey
  13. Lori at Lori’s Reading Corner
  14. Gilion at Rose City Reader

9 Comments

  1. Thank you so much for this award and for thinking of my blog…. I have to say I don’t have a kindle yet either or any form of one… I still am like you love to hold the book in my hand and flip the pages… what i really enjoy is seeing my favorite titles displaying on my bookshelf in an electronic reader there just on a screen….

    Have a wonderful night and thanks for the award.

  2. Thanks for the award, that’s a great way to end the day. Its nice to know that people enjoy the work that we all put into our blogs πŸ˜›

  3. Thanks for passing along this award to me!

    This is a fun one, because I like to read about other bloggers — especially their reading habits.

    Glad you enjoyed your first audiobook. I love them. And Campbell Scott is a really good reader. I found that my ability to concentrate on the book improved rapidly the more I listened to them.

  4. Thanks so much for the award! It’s been so long since I’ve received an award that it took me by surprise and made my day!

    That’s so interesting about your boys and the various results you’ve had with instilling in them a love of reading. My husband used to be an avid reader and isn’t so much anymore; he seems similar to your youngest, in that he enjoys video games more now. I’m going to try to install a love of reading in my son as well, so we’ll see what happens!

  5. Congrats on getting the award and for passing it on to me. I haven’t received one in ages so it really brightened my day! I loved reading the 7 things about you. I do have an eReader but I still love a book I can hold in my hands too.

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