It's crazy how early in life literature influences us human beings. While I don't remember specific titles, I do remember my mom reading to me when I was very young, even before I was a toddler. As I grew older, I recall reading book series like Amelia Bedelia, Little House on the Prairie, Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys, and The Boxcar Children. My mom read the Little House on the Prairie books to me and my brother, and we read Amelia Bedelia together, but the others I read on my own. Reading these books (and many others as well) helped me learn to really enjoy reading. While a particular text does not stand out to me as the most influential, this middle school time was my most memorable experience with literature. Reading so much also helped my spelling and writing skills.
As I grew older, however, and entered into high school, I began reading less and less. I was busier and eventually lost my enjoyment for casual reading. It wasn't that I didn't want to enjoy literature anymore, but other things became more important to me. I actually had a great English teacher in high school who made reading more interesting for me again, but I was only reading for school--"Romeo and Juliet," "To Kill a Mockingbird," "The Great Gatsby," and other classics. There is, however, one piece of literature that stands out to me. "Night" by Elie Wiesel impacted me with both its style and content. Wiesel's writing hit me with its poignant and unique style as it explains Wiesel's true story of the horrific events of Nazi Germany.
More recently (in the past couple years) I have wanted to begin reading again. Unfortunately, I have a hard time finishing reading one piece of literature (if I finish at all!...oops). That's something I need and want to work on. Anyways, the subjects I select have definitely changed. While in middle school and before I preferred novels and engaging stories, I now have a preference for informative books about issues relevant to me today. I like books that document and explain the behaviors of young adults. I like motivating and inspiring works about faith and spiritual growth. Some of these types of books which I have more recently (attempted) to read are "Just Do Something" by Jason DeYoung, "Don't Waste Your Life" by John Piper, and "Wide Awake" by Erwin McManus. One book on my to-read list (which is actually a novel) is "Redeeming Love" by Francine Rivers.
I liked Professor Corrigan's introductory article for this class because it enabled me to begin reading in the ways we should be reading. The article is meaningful because it explains how the class will work and how I can be involved in it. I am actually looking forward to viewing literature in a different way than I have for a lot of my life. Literature truly is everywhere around us and deals with any topic of life, so why not embrace it?
Hello Alyssa, Welcome to this course.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad that your interest in reading has been sparked and rekindled multiple times in your life. Perhaps this course can help rekindle your desire for fiction and poetry, since you've said you've been reading mostly non-fiction. At the very least, it will certainly give you an opportunity to finish some texts. :-)
I also remember my mother reading The Little House on the Prairie to me as well. So that's something we have in common.