My mom loved to read. She loved all kinds of books. Childrens' books, mysteries, adventures, chick flicks and most others. Growing up she would read to us kids all of the time. I always remember having books in the house. She would buy them for us, read them to us, and do all she could to get us to like them. My older sister loved books from the start. She loved to hear the stories, loved to look at the pictures, and when she was old enough she loved to read them herself. And for awhile it looked like she was going to be the only other book lover in the family. For you see, as a kid, I didn't love to read, in fact, I didn't even like reading. I didn't mind listening to stories, but I would rather watch a movie instead. And as far as the pictures went, well I would rather draw my own, and when it came down to it, I just didn't like to read them. My younger brother was never much of a reader either. He couldn't sit still long enough to make it through a book so there wasn't much hope for getting him to like it, let a lone love it.
But one day the book bug bit me. It didn't happen until the summer before I entered Junior High. I had started to get a little more into books at the end of my elementary years but I still hadn't found a love for them yet. I would read a childrens' book every now and then, but mostly for the pictures. It still hadn't occurred to that you could get lost in the words yet. But somehow books had started to grow on me. I had started to find an interest int hem and was even curious about them. My mom bought me a couple of books from the book fairs at school and my grandma gave me two for my birthday. At first they just sat on my shelves. I still didn't have the desire to spend the time it took to read them. Then one summer day I picked one up and started to read the first page. The first page lead to the second and then to the third and pretty soon I realized that I had read the whole first chapter. But, that is not what surprised me. What surprised me was that I then wanted to read the second. I was curious to see what was going to happen.
Over the next week I made my way through the book. I would read a chapter here and there and found that I was reading a bigger chunk each time I opened the book. It wasn't long until I was finished and realized that I enjoyed it. Over the rest of the summer and into junior high, I found that I was reading more and more and that I was enjoying it. I was finding that I could get lost in a book and the characters of the story. I was finding that books could be a great adventure. And before long I realized that I not only liked reading, but that I loved it. And as I have gotten older and the more books I have read, the bigger that loves grows. I know find that I love all kinds of books. Childrens books,murder mysteries, adventures, chick flicks, some history, and many others.
That first book that I really remember reading on my own, that one that really started it all, is called The Skull of Truth. It was one of the ones that my mom got me from the book fair at school when I was finishing 6th grade. It is one that intrigued me enough to continuing reading beyond the first few pages. And It is one that I still own today. It sits on my shelf whee it waits to be read again. Where it waits for someone to come along and open it's pages so that it can take them on an adventure. But it doesn't sit alone. For over the years I have found a great love for books and have purchased many. I have received many has gifts as well and they now all sit on the shelves waiting there turn to be read. For that is one thing that I love most about books, you don't just get lost in them once, but you get lost in them every time you open there pages. Every time you read their words the stories come to life and the adventures begin. And getting lost in their worlds is something I enjoy doing often.
So when my friend came across this short film she new I would love it. She sent me the link and I watched it the next morning and simply smiled. You fellow books lovers will understand why, and if you aren't a book lover, . . . well, you just might enjoy it anyway. And who knows, maybe it will inspire you to pick up a book of your own and see if you too can get lost in the world of a book.
The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore (2011)
