For Librarians

How Do You Make Time to Read?

 

I have a confession to make: I’m a bad reader. Let’s be honest: I’m a lousy reader.

I’m the kind of reader that lets all kinds of interruptions stop me from finishing a book. There is my schedule, my kids’ schedule – my writing projects that always seem to take precedence over an evening curled up in bed with a great book. And there is my writer brain that doesn’t seem to turn off when I’m reading supposedly for pleasure. There is the unwillingness to suspend my disbelief like I did when I was young, a general impatience for the story to get where it should be, then exasperation when it does and I think I’ve seen it all before. Is this adulthood? Lack of sleep? Lack of time? Is this maturing writer syndrome? Whatever it is, I feel like I should be reading, and enjoying reading a lot more.

This summer I read six books. For me, six is a pretty good number. I read two on the plane, to and from ALA. The other four I read at my parents’ when I had no place to drive my kids, no major cooking or housework to complete – nothing to do really but kick up my legs for a few weeks.

But let’s compare this to the number of books my fourth-grader read. That would be 26.

6 and 26. Luckily, I’m not trying to be her. Otherwise, I would feel like a pile of doo-doo.

But I did study her reading habits over the summer, to find out how she read so much. She didn’t have a completely free summer. She had a morning camp that ran for 6 weeks, But her afternoons were open until the end of July, and then for the whole of August, nothing at all. She read the Percy Jackson series, the Sisters Grimm series, several standalones, and even a few ARCS that I brought back from ALA, or that she received through a fantastic children’s reading program at a bookstore in Boston. Some came from the bookstore, but most came home from the library. She was not a picky reader, but she read what interested her, and during the summer, she completed every book she started.

Then I looked at my own reading patterns, during the summer, and during the school year (because even if I’m not a student, my day-to-day life is determined by the academic and extra-curricular schedule of my kids).

This is what I came to realize about reading:

1. It’s important to have uninterrupted time. For my daughter, this time was vast – enough that she could keep reading until she finished a book, which was generally in about 2 days. It was harder for me to find this same kind of uninterrupted time. If I did, it was generally when my kids were asleep or out playing with friends, cousins, etc. The best time honestly, was at night, when everyone was asleep. For this I actually preferred my iPad, because I could read in the dark (which okay, might be horrible for my eyes), but which gave me the closest sensation that I was completely alone with my reading.

2. Even when you’re busy, you can still make time for reading. You need to carve out a time to read, and keep that time only for that. It might be at night before you go to sleep. It might be on your morning commute. Or maybe it is at your kid’s soccer game. Where ever it is, it should be consistent and guarded against other obligations.

3. Reading is a mental exercise. Just like your body can go out of shape, your reading muscles can atrophy over time, too. The best way to build up those reading muscles is to keep reading. It gets easier to read when you develop the habit of reading.

4. Sometimes liking a book means having to get to the end. While I don’t advocate finishing everything I read, I do also find that certain books require a greater amount of time to build trust. In a way, when you decide to read a book, you are trusting the author to take you somewhere you want to be. One of the books I read this summer became extremely satisfying by the time I got to the end – but it was an end I couldn’t have seen coming (or enjoyed) when I reached the halfway mark.

5. Reading a little more means writing a little less. I don’t know how to get around this fact, at least as it stands in my life. Because as a writer and mom and family member, there are only so many hours in a day to get things accomplished. Sometimes a fabulous book means giving up an evening dedicated to writing. Sometimes it means putting that fabulous book on hold while you finish your draft. It’s a delicate balance. For me, it does help to be between writing projects. So for the time being, reading is a great way to transition from one project to another, to refill the well, and allow myself to enter someone else’s imagined world for a change.

Now that school has started for my kids and me, I’m sure our reading habits will change. But at least I’ve got 6 books tucked inside my brain, and I feel so much better because of it.

So how about you? Where do you read? When do you read? How do you fit reading into your life?

 

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Sheela Chari is the author of VANISHED (Disney Hyperion), the latest Al Roker Book Pick. You can watch her live on the Today Show in October, or visit her online at www.sheelachari.com

For Teachers/Librarians Update

Summer is a great time to clean up – in your classroom or library, at home, and especially here at the Mixed-Up Files!  We’ve been busy updating the For Teachers/Librarians page to help you make middle-grade books an even more effective and engaging part of your classroom and library/media center!

You’ll notice that, like all thorough cleaners, we’ve tried to reorganize and streamline the information.  We hope you find that the alphabetized list of categories helps you scroll quickly to the topic you’re looking for.  We’ve also updated all of the links and added some new ones!

Please help us continue to grow by adding your requests/suggestions in the comments section below!

Here’s an overview of the specific additions you’ll now find on the page (marked on the For Teachers/Librarians page with New!):

AUTHOR VISITS

  • MUF Blog Posts on author visits: We’ve collected all that we’ve had to say about author visits in one place.

AUTHOR WEBSITES with discussion/activity guides

  • Additional links to middle-grade authors who offer helpful classroom activities and discussion guides on their websites:  Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi, Judy Blume, Jack Gantos, Jean Craighead George, Will Hobbs, Deborah Hopkinson, Gary Paulsen, Rodman Philbrick, Gary D. Schmidt, Jerry Spinelli, and Jane Yolen

BLOGS

  • American Indians in Children’s Literature: Debbie Reese helps teachers and librarians find resources and consider issues related to the representation of American Indians in children’s books.
  • The Reading Tub: Extensive collection of middle grade and YA book review blogs (previously under General Resources)

BOOK CLUBS

  • MUF Blog Posts on Book Clubs:  Collected MUF posts related to starting and sustaining book clubs for middle-graders.
  • Book Clubs for Kids from PBS Parents:  Great resources for teachers and parents.
  • Literature Circles Resource Center: Resources and information on book clubs and literature circles from the College of Education at Seattle University.

BOOK LISTS

GENERAL RESOURCES

We hope you find some gems that will make your classroom or library the sizzling spot for middle-grade readers and writers!  We urge you to offer your own suggestions in the comments section below.  And finally, a hearty thanks to our MUF colleagues who developed this wonderful resource page in the first place!

 

Bruce Eschler and Katherine Schlick Noe took off their writer hats and put on their well-worn teacher beanies to update this page.  Bruce teaches junior high school students most of the year, writes speculative fiction for kids as much he can, and is hoping he’ll soon be done with his pesky doctoral program. He has occasionally been spotted at www.bruceeschler.com. Katherine teaches beginning and experienced teachers at Seattle University. Her debut novel, Something to Hold, was published by Clarion Books in 2011. Visit her at http://katherineschlicknoe.com.