My next post at Romancing the Blog is up: http://www.romancingtheblog.com/blog/index.php?p=205
In it I talk about what my family thinks of romance novels. However, the first commenter I got included something about how there are people in their family who aren’t readers, and that caught my attention. It’s entirely possible that I can blame my “book problem” on my family environment — they’re all book addicts to varying degrees. I could ramble more on this, but I’m too tired from going out to see the Serenity showing last night, and I have way too many emails that I should answer before the weekend.
Et in arcaedia, ego. 
Not Readers? Are there such people?
Actually, I do know folks like that, but it always amazes me. I come from a family that reads and reads with great variety. Myself, while I tend to read sci-fi / fantasy, with a strong dose of technical books, will read nearly everything I can get my eyes on. Heck, I even read ‘Family Circle’ and ‘Cosmo’ in the place where I get my haircut.
If there’s one gift my parents gave me, it was a near hunger to read. Put a piece of text in front of me and I’ll devour it (think of Number 5 from Short Circuit More Input!). Now, don’t get me wrong, I am choosy about what I read, but I also adhere to the ‘Something is better than nothing’ rule, as well. My entire family does, come to think of it.
Not Readers? Are there such people?
Sadly, yes. And they don’t ‘get’ us, either.
But, but… what do they do with themselves when they’re waiting for the doctor or the barber or…
I’m a reader. I married a reader. Our parents are readers. Our kids are readers… And we need more bookshelves.
Hmm, maybe I’m an exception here? I live in an environment where reading books isn’t exactly what would be considered the ‘best’ thing to do during spare time. Truth to be told, nobody in my family who influenced me while I was growing up reads at all. I could say that I introduced reading to my family, since all of my little brothers and sister picked up their love for reading (and drawing) from me.
Most people are affected by their family environment, but I don’t think I am. I grew up in Vietnam, and as far as I know, reading isn’t something encouraged by teachers such as it is here. Most bookstores that I went to didn’t have the variety of literatures; what most younger people read are Japanese manga. I’ve only started to get obsessed with reading when I came to the United States. If such thing can be believed, my parents actually get very annoyed with me if I spend too much time reading. They believe that it’s a waste of time, while I could be doing something else more useful. Times like those make me wish that I had the family environment most of my books-obsessed friends do.
You say “book problem” like that’s a bad thing. 😉
Interesting that you trace it back to your family, though–I can do exactly the same, only in the opposite direction. I may be the one of the few avid readers in my family, and I’m certainly the one with the biggest library!
Also, this is me envying you your viewing of Serenity from here, for lo, I am sadly deprived of Captain Mal until September.
I caught the habit of reading fiction from my mother, who taught me how ‘way early so I could read my own dern bedtime story. My father was dyslexic back before anybody knew what that was. He read, slowly and painfully, the daily newspaper, and what references he needed to excel at his two Reasons for Existing: gardening and carpentry. My sister does read fiction, but it takes her months to read a book, and — honestly? She’d rather be doing a crafty thing or something else with her hands.
I have personally been in houses that contained no visible books. It’s always a deeply scary experience.
I come from a family of readers, and most of my in-laws are also avid readers. Only a few people aren’t much into reading.
So how was Serenity? 🙂
I enjoyed it very much, though I must admit that I am not so rabid a fan as some. *g* A couple unexpected twists, including one that sent a gasp through the theater… I will be encouraging everyone to see it when it officially opens in September! (And I’ll see it again with all the effects and such put in.)