Mom's First Book Suggestion

It was somewhere around 1998. I was interested in sports and playing outside or watching superhero cartoons and playing games. Reading was always a requirement in school, and we had a decent library at school and at home. My mom was trying to get me to read a book that had recently come out in paperback. It was something about a Sorcerer’s Stone, but near teenage boys are hardly concerned with what their mother thinks, especially about books. Eventually I needed some “reading points” for reading class at school. So, I went back to that paperback sitting in my headboard bookcase. I was engrossed immediately, and luckily enough, a second book in the series had recently come out as well. My life has benefited greatly from that one book suggestion.

Reading is associated with hosts of benefits, but more importantly, a boy and his mom sharing an interest in books fosters a lifelong relationship. “What have you read lately” is almost always a good conversation starter. “What should we get Mom for Mother’s Day or Christmas or her birthday?” That question is often followed up with a gift card to a bookstore. She also jokes once in a while that I will be the one going through her books some day when she has moved or passed on.

Mom has taught me to always have a book along wherever I go. Even better, she opened my eyes to the fantasy realms of Harry Potter, which lead me to so many other things. Most importantly, it jumpstarted a love a reading and ignited a fire that cannot be put out. Reading constantly teaches me more. It gives me more understanding, more knowledge, and more things in common with more people. In other words, the gift my mom gave me will keep on giving my whole life.

In Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, there is a quote that reads:

“There are some things you can’t share without ending up liking each other, and knocking out a twelve-foot mountain troll is one of them.”

I would change that a bit. There are some things you can’t share without ending up liking each other, and your own personal library is one of them.

Here are some other important lessons I learned from that first book by JK Rowling that really captured my imagination and created a love of reading in me:

“It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends.”

“To the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure.”

“Fear of a name increases fear of the thing itself.”

“‘Ah, music,’ he said, wiping his eyes. ‘A magic beyond all we do here!’”

“As much money and life as you could want! The two things most human beings would choose above all – the trouble is, humans do have a knack of choosing precisely those things that are worst for them.”

And lastly:

“Your mother died to save you. If there is one thing Voldemort cannot understand, it is love. Love as powerful as your mother’s for you leaves its own mark. To have been loved so deeply, even though the person who loved us is gone, will give us some protection forever.”

My mother’s love of reading has saved me. Maybe not from death or some bad days, but teaching me to read has given me so much and affected so much of who I am. People often say I look like my dad, but what they often do not know is that I read like my mom. It is something I truly hope to pass on to my children.