It is what you read when you don't have to that determines what you will be when you can't help it. ~Oscar Wilde

When I was a kid, I read like crazy. I was, as adults would have said and probably did, an "avid" reader. Some of the books and characters I loved:

that endearing double set of twins, the Bobbseys.

another set of four siblings, the intrepid and resourceful Boxcar Children, who could have kept living in a train car in the woods the rest of their lives if they'd wanted to, but there were mysteries to solve!

Encyclopedia Brown. what a whiz, using math to solve mysteries.

the Babysitter Club, to which I liked to believe I belonged. remember the extra long "Super Specials" when they went on a special trip, and each chapter was narrated by a different character, with their name printed at the top of the chapter in their handwriting?

Nancy Drew.

Nancy's male counterparts, the Hardy boys.

a dream come true - the books that blurred the limits of the written page, as Nancy Drew and the two Hardy brothers stepped into the same story to solve a mystery together. To me this indicated that they really did live in the same universe, as I had always hoped they did. I wonder if Nancy ever ended up with one of the brothers or if she went back to Ned.

Apparently I had a thing for serial books; I never thought of it that way until now. And now that I think about it, I still like reading series; right now I'm working Susan Howatch's six Church of England novels. (they're better than they might sound.) but I swear that I also read books that weren't part of series when I was a kid. I also seemed to love books starring pioneer girls.

Little House on the Prairie. (ok, right, that's also a series.) These books probably shaped me and my ideals more than anything else. When Frontier House premiered on PBS, I practically drooled. I disdained that family from southern California on the show who would never appreciate the chance to live like a pioneer like I would have. they didn't do half bad, though, in the end.

Sarah Plain and Tall. not my favorite book but I had a lot in common with the main character (same first name, from Maine, so willing to try out pioneer life that she became a mail-order bride), so I felt I owed it to her to read her book. on the other hand, we weren't entirely alike. she was plain and tall. the second attribute didn't apply to me, and I hoped the first one didn't, either.

not exactly pioneer girls, but close enough. I remember checking out Little Women with great pride from the little library at Windham Christian Academy when I was maybe in 2nd grade. With great pride because I liked the way it shocked some adults, who didn't believe a girl my age could read such a long book. If I remember correctly, I returned it half-read. guess I was too young. I suspect I got bored because they were too genteel and not pioneer-y enough for my taste.

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There were hundreds of other books to which I lent my imagination, but those come to mind first. I remember hours on my checked white and blue bedspread reading in the light of the late afternoon sun (I had a north facing bedroom). I chose to spend my free time reading whenever I could. maybe I read seemingly endless book series (Babysitter Club books surpassed #130) because it meant I'd never run out of books I liked reading.

After that nostalgic look back, one might wonder what has become of this favorite pastime. The truth is my reading life is in a sad and sorry state. Other things (primarily the device on which I type this post) command my attention much more often than a book. My default time-spender is no longer a paperback but a laptop. I'm working to change that, though. I started with strategy #1 this past week: a good reading chair with a footstool to boot.

My next strategy may be a 2010 New Year's Resolution to read a book a week. Making an annual resolution has only worked for me once, but I think this is doable. I'm inspired in part by Julie of "Julie and Julia." If she can cook through Julie's book in a year, surely I can read one book a week. She had to slave over a hot stove in the kitchen; I've just got to sit here.

lego iam!

(I wanted to figure out how to say "let the reading begin," but because the subtleties of English-to-Latin translation are eluding me, for now I'll stick with this: "read now!")