Habitual Reading

One of my assigned readings for Young Adult literature was about literature circles.  It talked about the trends surrounding literature circles and what made them popular.  Besides Oprah starting book circles on her show an publishers beginning to include discussion topics in the back of books, one section was about teachers reading themselves. I had never thought about how important it is for teachers to read themselves because it just seems like a give. Of course teachers read! They're English teachers, how could they not? But then I looked at my own reading habits even as a student and realized that I do not read on my own any more.  I only read for class assignments.  It has been a long time since I have browsed through the library and chosen a book that simply looked interesting or that had been recommended to me by a friend.  I don't think I even talk about what books are good to read anymore because I am so busy thinking about what I have to do. I realized that when I become a teacher with a full time job, a house to take care of, a family, and probably children to chaffeur around, I will feel like I have even less time to read than I do now. 

So over spring break, I have decided to do some serious reading and continue to make a habit of always having a book on hand, even if I can only sit down to read it once a week.  Although, one reason I gave up "fun reading" was because I have a difficult time putting a book down and if I'm reading a really good book, I will have a hard time putting it down and getting all of my actual work done first.  This became highly evident last week when I was reading Divergent, a book assigned for Young Adult, and stayed up past midnight (which is highly unusual for me) and reading the whole book in 2 days even though I still had a week to read the first half.  But it was a fantastic book and I could not stop reading until it was over, no matter what other pressing assignments I had going on. But perhaps this will be a lesson in self-control as well as a good habit for a future English teacher. If I am not reading and not even seeking out a good book, as can I expect my students to constantly be on the look out for a good book as well? Or to be willing to read a book that is recommended to them? I LOVED it when my English teacher would read a book that I recommended to her and I enjoyed talking about the book with her.  I would like to be ready to have the same relationship with my students.