Reading, Good Company and Reflection

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by Lisa

 

Education begins the gentleman, but reading, good company and reflection must finish him. John Locke

 

We live in a house full of books.  Stacks and shelves of printed pages line our walls, our phones and Kindles have digital titles for break time and the cars usually have an audio book ready to play.  Interestingly enough while we are all readers our preferences rarely cross and I’m pretty sure that someone who didn’t know us could tell after a quick walk around that three quite different people live here.

I prefer fiction, John enjoys design, art and architecture while Ryan has always been drawn to natural science.  He’s grown up with access to plenty of books and from the earliest days it’s been clear where his interest was.  He’ll happily listen to a great story and enjoys fiction and poetry at school but when he sits down with free time and a book of his choice it’s usually non-fiction.

His first picture books were all about animals and his early readers were filled with sea monsters, dragons and mythical beasts.  Soon books about astronomy, bones, archeology and medicine joined the stacks.

Each of these photos are from Ryan’s collection and many of them are books he’s chosen for himself at book stores and second-hand sales.  I’ve had to give up pretending I know all the answers to his constant questions about life, the universe and everything.  Now I just sit back and enjoy the discussions that come from each new chapter.

Posted as part of the Weekly Photo Challenge:  Reflecting

 

 

Published by

Lisa

33 thoughts on “Reading, Good Company and Reflection”

  1. I’m a huge bibliophile, use the library copiously, decorate with books (although not intentionally), and really need a dedicated library room so that I can unpack all the boxes with books in them. 🙂

    janet

    Liked by 1 person

  3. I don’t read enough fiction, but have the same story here… books overflowing our shelves. Thankfully my wife Francis got into kindle. It absolutely drives me crazy when I visit or stay with people who don’t have a book in site and hence I always travel with 2 or 3 books. One recent joy is my 8 year old grandaughters recent discovery and love of the written word… and, books! There’s hope!!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Hope indeed, Bruce! It’s so nice to hear your grandaughter loves her books too! My Kindle has definitely saved us from buying more bookshelves but I’ll admit sometimes I buy a Kindle and printed edition of the same book. 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  5. There’s so much to learn from books. Like Ryan, I prefer non-fiction too as I like learning about the world and finding inspiration for my own art. I used go read a lot of fiction as a kid but I moved a lot, so a lot of the books had to go 😔

    Like

  6. I can’t imagine a home without books. Like Janet, we decorate most rooms in the house with them, and still have another horde boxed up and stored at the in-laws. I love the idea of having a library, but I think I’d still want some books in other parts of the house. They’re too integral to my sense of “home” to keep all in one place.

    Liked by 1 person

      3. 🙂 that’s how I believe homes should be. We bought our first house partly on the basis of the owners’ bookshelves. We figured if they liked the same books as us, and had been happy in the house (they were moving into a larger, inherited, mortgage-free home in the same town) then we’d be happy there too. We were!

        Liked by 2 people

  9. I’ve always been surrounded by books and think to the future if we should ever downsize and need to significantly pare down. I’m so eclectic I’m not sure anyone would be able to pin down much about me simply through titles–perhaps that I’m unfocused? 😀 I love to explore bookshelves and see what others are reading. It’s true, though, that our Kindles are our secrets, I suppose!

    Liked by 1 person

  10. I enjoyed this view into your life. I am an avid reader too although I seem to dip into each one of your family favorites. Lately I’ve remained to consumed with the media to pick up a good book. Thanks for the gentle reminder that it’s time ❤️ 📚

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Ha, this post was a gentle reminder to myself that I need to return to books and spend less time absorbed by current events and media too. It’s a struggle for sure these days! Glad you liked the peek into our life. 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

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