So, more ponderings from me this morning on life, the universe, everything and of course books! Anyone that has been following these meanderings of mine will know that my life has changed recently in a huge way. Now a few weeks have passed we, in our house, are very much settling into our new family unit and routine. One silver lining from all my clouds has been the fact that my wonderful daughter Melissa has moved back in with me – and with her came a young man named Jamie. A wonderful young man and just the type you would want for your daughter, he had one tiny flaw. He was not a reader. You know I understand these people exist, those that have not yet discovered the wonder of books but in actual fact I havent met many! And yet here he was. Mel and I often have our head stuck in a novel, ignoring the world around us – my two small children adore being read to and often demand stories at the most annoying of times – enter Jamie, who understood full well that Mel loved her books but perhaps didnt quite realise what a family affair it was. Well he does now! He made the mistake of mentioning casually that he wouldnt mind getting his reading head on – and of course both Mel and I were absolutely delighted. So. What did we start him off with? Having no clue what genre he might like or what might appeal generally we went with the obvious – the recent book that everyone in this house has read, loved and then insisted that everyone they met ever also reads it – The Humans by Matt Haig. You can find my review for this book hanging around this site of course AND my blogpost about how it affected me during my traumatic time – but for Jamie it was simply the book we gave him. What happened I hear you cry – did he love it? Did he actually read it? YES is the answer. He did indeed read it and enjoy it. Now, both Mel and I are offering the occasional recommendation for what else he may like, but generally Jamie will be deciding for himself. Yes he wants to read more books. And I have no doubt that given some time it will be all of us with our head stuck in a novel ignoring the world around us. So there you go. My family reads. All of them do. And now I realise, some of our “extended” family – those friends who are around, who pretty much live here anyway, could also do with a little push in the direction of the wonderful world of books. Look out Stewart – when was the last time YOU picked one up? Happy Reading folks!
