It probably not weird to you... but to me it's very new to be in two stages at once. I have one daughter who loves Your Personal Penguin and Hippos Go Berserk and another who's into Charles Dickens, Nancy Drew and Twilight (now I'll have to read it too and I don't like vampires..)
I think one of the best things my parents did for me was to introduce me to great books. My mom still loves children's books and she was always really good at finding wonderful picture books that captured the imagination. Some of the best art in the world is found in children's picture books. My dad used to read us poetry all the time... Kipling and Dickinson especially and we loved horse books so he read us all of those. He had the best voice for it. My parents are both really well read and they read really fast and get through more than twice the number of books I can, but I do love books and I still love to be read to. C is reading us The Hobbit.
It amazes me how early babies become interested in books.. before toys and TV if someone will read to them and how if they are not read to in early childhood how difficult it is to have a book capture their interest. I will never forget the most beautiful little foster daughter who came to stay with our neighbors. We all fell in love with her, but one of the many things that made me sad about her life was that she had not been read to before foster care and a book could not hold her attention.
I suppose people feel strongly about many things that I have never experienced. I always think that climbing mountains would be life changing and exhilarating. I'm sure a person could become addicted to it. A friend once suggested that I try snow-shoeing and I think I just might do that next winter. Something about walking on snow just sounds great. But to me, books are the greatest adventure. It's good to have a couple going at the same time. It's a great adventure to watch a new person embrace reading and to watch a good reader discover great books and so I am loving the opportunity to be in two stages at once.
