Lifestyle
The joy of reading
BY ERNA FEX
Spring 2011 |
This article appears in the Spring 2011 issue of Sudbury Living, available on newsstands now. “Leave me alone, I’m reading!” Books are essential even to my life. Reading is my relaxation, my sleeping medication, my escape into another life and world, my favourite pastime. Being engrossed in a book, sometimes well into the night, is not at all unusual for me. Learning to read in Grade One in Dutch in The Netherlands opened up amazing worlds to me. My parents often recounted how, as a child, I read every chance available. During the voyage to Canada aboard the immigrant ship De Volendam in 1951, someone stole my book. I was devastated as it was the only book I had been allowed to bring with me. Of course, I had to learn to read all over again, in English, when I attended school in Warren. Fortunately, this came easily to me, and soon I began to enjoy the fascinating world of books again. When my family was living in Creighton Mine, lacking electricity at first, a flashlight under the covers allowed me to delve into the library books from school. The discovery of libraries expanded my access to an enormous variety of books. I was a constant patron at the Creighton Mine Public Library located in the Inco Employees Club. The librarians came to know my tastes in reading and would alert me to new arrivals in the library. I appreciated their interest in my reading habits. Newspapers, pamphlets, anything and everything whether it had great literary value or not I perused it all. The Bells on Finland Street by Lyn Cook was a book I reread several times. It is set in Copper Cliff and is about Elina, a girl my age who desperately wants a pair of figure skates. Her family lacks the funds to purchase them for her. I related to that since there was no money for extras in my home, either. Becoming a teacher and instilling a love of reading in my students was a joyful challenge to me. Storytime was the perfect way to calm students after they returned from lunch. Realizing how much they enjoyed the tales gave me an excellent opportunity to introduce various genres of literature to the class to expand their reading experiences. Guiding them to choose books to read in their spare time helped me to become better acquainted with them. Reading for fun is the most important reason to pick up a book. Personally, my greatest pleasure is holding a book in my hand and excitedly turning the pages to discover what will happen next. This curiosity is what keeps me reading deep into the night. As Colleen McCullough writes about Meggie in The Thorn Birds, “Reading was the entrance into a world so fascinating she couldn’t get enough of it.” In my experiences as a volunteer, and later as a member of the Walden Public Library Board for more than 25 years, and as a member of the Northern Ontario Library Service Board for 13 years, I learned my passion for reading is shared by many. Voracious readers exist in the most remote areas of Ontario’s north. They too have received the gift of reading from a parent, grandparent or teacher, and are eternally grateful. I usually have several books on the go at any one time. My bedside table has a full basket of books close at hand. I never have enough book shelves to accommodate all the books I want. The gift of reading has been one of the most precious gifts I have been privileged to receive and I will appreciate it my entire life. Erna Fex is a retired teacher and a writer.
