Don't Count On It

I've never been a big fan of numbers. Although (with extra effort) I got As in my high school math classes, I found the history of math to be more interesting than the actual math itself. Blame it on Miss Bailey, my 9th and 11th grade math teacher who never let anyone forget that Euclid was the father of geometry.

With so many making New Year's resolutions, I can't help noticing all the posts on social media asking people how many books they want to read this year or encouraging kids to read 1,000 books before kindergarten. I think it's great for those of all ages to include books and reading in their plans for the New Year. However, I have a problem with the counting part.

This is just the opinion of one perch librarian, but I think once you put a number to the books you read, you put unnecessary pressure on yourself. At first you may not give much thought to your goal of reading X number of books. However, over time, you're focusing more on achieving that number than you are on enjoying the books you're reading, which should be the ultimate objective. 

And especially concerning very young children, you want to make reading something fun, something they want to do in order to turn them into life-long readers. If you turn reading into a chore, kids will avoid them and likely have difficulty in school and beyond. Just relax and make daily bedtime or morning reading with your little ones part of a pleasant routine. The number of books read will take care of itself.

Remember--what really matters is enjoying the act of reading. Regardless of age, it's the quality of time spent with a book, not the quantity that's important.

Wishing you a year of pleasurable reading from the perch.