By Mandy Feder
Nicole didn”t love to read. She didn”t mind it. But, she didn”t love it.
I couldn”t really understand that, mostly because I read everything for as long as I can remember.
I read my dad”s endocrinology books when I was in elementary school.
No, I do not know much of anything about that particular subject. I just liked the words.
During the same period of time, I read Kurt Vonnegut”s “Cat”s Cradle.” I recall that I liked it, but no solid details. I read it again when I was older and indeed, I did like it.
I wanted my daughter to love reading.
In third grade Nicole discovered the Goosebumps books and immediately took to them. I bought her the whole series.
During the school read-a-thon her teacher told me that she thought Nicole should read some “real” books.
I know that Goosebumps cannot be considered fine literature, but I wanted her to develop a habit of sitting down with a book instead of passively watching television.
I explained to her teacher that I thought I would do whatever it took to promote the habit of reading.
As it turns out, Nicole, now 24, loves to read. She graduated from Goosebumps to Stephen King and later broadened her horizons to include authors such as Hunter S. Thompson and Oscar Wilde.
She developed a passion for books and when her Rolling Stone magazine comes in the mail, her eyes remain fixed on it until she”s read it cover to cover.
Nicole”s boyfriend told one of their friends, “Don”t talk to her when she”s reading her Rolling Stone. She doesn”t hear anything you”re saying.”
He”s correct. I”ve tried and at best I get a courtesy, “Um huh.”
I recently had the pleasure to speak with Robin Fogel-Shrive, an English teacher at Lower Lake High School and the Program Director for the Lake County Big Read as a consultant.
It turns out she”s from the East Coast, too, and she loves to read.
She said her son Jack was a reluctant reader until he found a book that piqued his interest — Gregor the Overlander. His teacher, Mrs. Liotta, was reading it aloud to the class. It inspired him to read more by the same author.
I can”t wait to meet Robin in person at the Kelseyville Pear Festival on Sept. 24, where The Big Read kicks off.
Robin told me that The Big Read is a National Endowment for the Arts program that was created in response to the decline of reading in America.
Grantees receive a matching grant to design and promote interesting, fun and diverse events for the community in which to celebrate reading.
This is how it works: Each community chooses a program month and a reading selection for each funded year.
In Lake County, the literacy effort aimed at inspiring communities to pick up a good book and read focuses on the works of Edgar Allan Poe.
So cool. I love Poe. He influenced so many writers and popularized the mystery genre. He is also credited with bringing poetry to the general public.
At one time he was criticized for appealing to the masses.
According to a 2004 National Endowment for the Arts survey, “Reading at Risk: A Survey of Literary Reading in America,” a critical decline in reading for pleasure among American adults was identified.
The Big Read is designed to address the issue by bringing communities together to read, discuss and celebrate books and writers.
There are 76 communities nationwide participating in The Big Read. Literacy events are planned in Lake County through Oct. 30.
Reading promotes proper use of grammar and improves spelling. It develops the imagination.
Robin told me she thinks reading provides escape — in a healthy way. I agree.
Some of my favorite writers include Henry David Thoreau, Ernest Hemingway, Pablo Neruda, Harper Lee, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Sylvia Plath, Emily Dickinson, Patti Smith, Robert Frost, Maya Angelou, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Mark Twain and Gore Vidal.
My father recently recommended books written by Isabel Allende. She has written 19 books translated into 35 languages with more than 57 million copies sold. She has 12 international honorary doctorates and 50 awards in more than 15 countries.
I will be reading one of her books next.
So pick up a book. Read to your children. Have your children read with you.
Join in on the Big Read.
For more information email bigreadlakecounty@gmail.com or visit www.neabigread.org to view the program purpose and click on communities to see Lake County in a balloon with event listings.
Mandy Feder is the Record-Bee managing editor. She can be reached at mandyfeder@yahoo.com or 263-5636 ext. 32.
