I suspect my son-in-law married Anna for her science fiction collection. He tells me it’s not so. Does your family count science fiction among classic books? Maybe not. But our family loves all books and we’re pretty relaxed about the genres.
“It was his first excuse to come up to the house and start building a friendship with me,” Anna says. He told her, “I’ll borrow some books.” Now, if that isn’t a match made in heaven when you can share your books!
Anna was reading science fiction and speculative fiction before I ever knew speculative fiction was a real thing. Of course, technically speculative fiction is NOT real. Hahaha. Sorry, please excuse my nerdy humor.
Literacy Series
Speaking of word nerds, Anna and I waited a long time to do a whole series on reading. All focused on inspiring your kids to love reading as much as we do.
Plus, I love it when Anna talks about marriage and her hubby on air. Their story, began over books, sounds like a romance novel, much like my parents’ death-defying love story.
How do we inspire the next generation with a love of reading? How can classic books be our best tools? Don’t miss what this gifted educator, artist, and mommy shares about what she does with her own kiddos. Find more podcasts at Fireside Talk Radio.
Sharing Worlds Across Generations
“Because Drew and I shared a love of books we had shared worlds. We had been to the same places even though we’d never left the living rooms with those books,” Anna reports.
So here’s a motivating incentive for hooking your kids on reading early: you might get in-laws who are book nerds, too!
Now she says that reading allowed her to connect with her grandparents in very special ways, too.
“I shared a vocabulary across generations and across time and now I guess across dimensions,” she says, referencing the fact that all her grandparents exist in heaven now. “Do you consider heaven a different dimension?”
Anna’s comparison of heaven to a different dimension really struck my heart. So many people we love are already in heaven. Time travel books, the Bible, and some of the classics we love really do stretch our imagination. Our love of the classics—in all genres—allows our family to be very open-minded and committed to self-learning.
Antidote to Free-floating Self-righteousness
Free-floating self-righteousness shows up in all extremes of American culture today. From dogmatism to political correctness, we all suffer when we check our brains at the door. Never in my lifetime has it been so crucial to pass along wisdom in families.
Classic books challenge our children (and us) to think outside the prescribed cultural boxes. They help us teach our children to be independent thinkers with disciplined imaginations.
When did we get so myopic in our American perspective that we can’t imagine other people’s perspectives? For example, one of my favorite fun-to-read books lately, The Jindentors, offers classic insight on loving your own culture while respecting and learning from others.
How, then, does wisdom get passed from one generation to the next?
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