I have two readers in my house. My husband and I. I have two people in my house. 100% of us are readers.
What happens when everyone in the household is a reader?
Books are everywhere. Shelves of books in the library nook, decorated and organized. A pile of books in the living room that need to go back to the library. A book on my nightstand, the one I was reading last night until my eyelids became heavy and my mind slow with sleep. There is a small pile of books on the shelf in the entry way, doubling as decor and extra storage of books. We always seem to be running out of shelf space. A recurring conversation is how to reorganize our house to fit more books and bookshelves.
We talk about books. After he comes home from work, “How was your day? What books did you read today?” At the dinner table, in the car on our way to a friends house, before we fall asleep. His job allows him to listen to audio books while he works. During busy times of the school year, he reads more than I do. Every day, there is something new to share. An interesting character, a strange plot twist, a theme that made us think about our lives. We complain about books we dislike and eagerly praise the books we love.
We don’t always read the same things. He likes high fantasy with politics and lots of characters. I like urban fantasy, a slower plot, and fewer characters. He likes comedy, I like old books. We learn about books from each other. There are a hundred lifetimes of books to read. I can’t read them all, but I can learn about them from my husband, and he from me.
All of the animals in our house have names that come from books. The nickname for my car comes from a story. The theme of our wedding was books.
Of course, we don’t spend all of our time reading. There are chores to be done and animals to take care of. We play games, hang out with family and friends, and spend time outside. Our outside lives and our stories interweave with each other. A pattern of doing and thinking, of the fantastic and the ordinary. I would not want one without the other.
Our lives are full of stories, the stories we tell and the stories we read. The only question is, what story is next?
Shaina Merrick
The Beauty of a Story 