THE PASSION FOR READING

A PASSION FOR READING...

The other night, after coming home from visiting our favorite place---"Fully Booked" my baby Lizzie came to us, bragging that she could already read her new book. She just turned 6, and this was not your typical 3-letter word book, this was not a beginner’s book, in short....the book is Disney's Wall-E as done by "Little Golden Books". We were all surprised, because I had just finished reading that book to her about 30-45 minutes ago. So she started reading the book to us, needing our assistance every now and then....We were astonished that she could read words like "spaceship" and "arrived", then she said, that while I was reading to her, she was looking at the words and memorizing the long words...so that if she sees them again, she can recognize them....we were all so proud of her.

Then Niccolo says, now he understands why he would often see Lizzie staring at a book silently and turning the pages...she was teaching herself to read.

I am happy and proud to say that all my kids love reading, and they got this passion from me.

My mom started this whole passion for me. She read "Lady Bird" books for me about fairy tales, and then comic books, first with "Classics Illustrated", introducing me to ......"Treasure Island", "20,000 Leagues Under The Sea", "Mutiny on The Bounty", "The War of The Worlds", The Food of The Gods", "Les Miserables", "The Hunchback of Notre Dame", “Moby Dick”, "Wild Bill Hickok", "The Ox-Bow Incident", "Frankenstein", and other classics.....then I was introduced to the "Man Of Steel" (Superman) and "Caped Crusader" (Batman), he is now more commonly referred to as the "Dark Knight", and "Scarlet Speedster" (The Flash).

Then I tried "The Hardy Boys", but I didn't like it that much and I tried "Perry Mason" which I loved......that's how I started with pocket books.

I try to read every genre, and several authors....from Anne Rice to Dean Koontz, from Patricia Cornwell to Mary Higgins Clark, from Scott Turrow to John Grisham, from David Baldacci to Dan Brown and from John Le Carre to James Patterson, the James Bond novels, those by Ian Fleming, then by John Gardner, then by Sebastian Faulks, then very recently by Jefferey Deaver. Although I must admit that James Patterson, esp. his Alex Cross novels have always been my favorites.

I still read comic books, once in a while, when they come on sale, because they are pretty expensive.

After my wife's miraculous healing, I have also developed a liking for inspirational books. They are the best books to read when one is down, when one is seeking help or enlightenment, or when one is happy and thankful!

I have done what my mother did for me…..every time I had money to spare, I’d buy a book for my kids, the I ‘d read to them at night. I started with Nicole, then I did it with Niccolo and now I continue to do it with Lizzie. It’s a passage of some kind for my kids.

Now my children have all developed this same passion. They are all voracious readers...from magazines, to comic books to pocket books....I wish they will pass this on to their future children.

This passion is not only inherited, it is infectious as well, because my wife has also developed this love for reading ….now, she is unable to sleep without reading.

To all parents….this is the best hobby ever….it’s not so expensive…. A lot of my inspirational books and pocket books come from “Book Sale”…when we really like something, we buy at “Fully Booked” and “National Book Store”, or wait for them to have a “sale”.

My father always complains that the 2nd floor of the house looks like a mini book store.

I know kids now a days, would prefer the computer games, but you can never go wrong with books. It increases one’s knowledge, it widens one’s vocabulary and gives the reader confidence…..and if the right books are read…..it inspires the reader and may make him a better person.

Every once in a while, when Nicole and Niccolo sees me reading to Lizzie, they would also lie down beside us and listen…..Our passion for reading is surpassed only by our passion for one another!