Aside from traveling/mission trips, working full-time at school, and working on ministry paperwork, I have been doing a lot of reading. I LOVE books! Since I was a child, they have been my best friends. My love affair with books began when my mother would take me to the public library to the children's room, and I would beg her to get Kiki books which were picture books about a little girl by Charlotte Steiner (Kiki Dances, Kiki Skates, Kiki loves Music). I loved Kiki, but my mom got kind of tired of reading them! My mom liked to read, too, so she was my role model.
Then she enrolled me in a book club when I was in 3rd grade and I can remember looking forward to getting a new Happy Hollister mystery book each month! She always allowed me to buy books from the Scholastic book club fliers that we received from school, so by the time I was in high school, I had quite a library of my own. Books were my friends. When we lived out in the country where I had no close friends, I had my books. I loved going to the Bookmobile that came to my school in 3rd & 4th grades to find new books to read, or to my school library in 5th & 6th grade where I discovered Laura Ingalls Wilder's books.
In high school, I worked in my high school library before and after classes. I wanted to be a librarian, but didn't want to go to school for another 5 years. I wanted to get married and have children, but college was my way out of a dysfunctional home life, so off to college I went studying child development/elementary ed. I quickly learned the first semester that I could not read for fun like I had done in high school. When I graduated from college, I thought again about becoming a librarian (getting my masters) but at that time, both the education and library fields were saturated, so I did not pursue it.
I could not find a teaching job, but I did find a job working part time at a city public library for a couple years and also worked as a substitute teacher at a rural school which led to a full time job teaching for a year.
We then moved due to my husband's job and I was able to become a children's librarian in a small public library until our son was born. So, as you can see, books have always had a special place in my life.
Still, I am a book junkie! Of all the things I own, getting rid of my books would be the hardest..... but I am getting better. I know of a couple of church libraries I can give them to after I have read and have shared them with teachers at my school who like inspirational books.
I am so enjoying my Kindle and find I have been able to get many books I am interested in for free, but still.... the feel of a book in my hands - there is nothing that can match it!
looking forward to my next adventure in reading ~
J-ME
