Julius LeBlanc Stewart / Bearded Roman via The Atlantic
A few days ago, I stumbled on an article called In Praise of the Lost, Intimate Art of Reading Aloud, a sweet and delightful little piece. The author writes about how reading books aloud can be such a personal, bonding activity, and that it need not be limited to parents reading to children. She writes about how wonderful it is for two adults to read to each other, too, and particularly, how it can bring closeness into your relationship.
My husband and I are big advocates of this lost art. We read the Bible aloud in the evenings, and we just started reading G.K. Chesterton's Orthodoxy together. In fact, even before we were in the same physical location we experienced great books together. One Christmas, we decided to give each other a copy of the same book, and when we were apart, we would read it and talk it over each night on the phone. It wasn't reading aloud but it was the next best thing. We chose The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis, which had the added bonus of giving us the chance to talk about and deepen our faith together.
In writing this I've just realized that all of our reading together has been centered around faith and philosophy. We've learned and gained so much by talking over these rich works together, and I know we'll continue to do so. But now I'm feeling inspired to dive into a novel, next. I love the author's description of how she and her lover took turns picking their favorites.
What do you think? Do you read aloud with your significant other? What would you pick to read first? (I think, like the author, I would have to introduce my husband to Pride and Prejudice--but then, he may insist on War and Peace! I vetoed it once before when he suggested it, out of intimidation, but it might be a fun challenge.)
What a great way to share a book!
ReplyDeleteI love this post...and I try to read aloud with my husband as much as I can. I am sure having kids will increase that as well.
ReplyDeleteI think that we actually started to read W&P together at one point... I made it to around page 800 before I got lost. Maybe next time :)
ReplyDeleteI think maybe you started it without me--I was too daunted :) But yes, maybe next time....
DeleteKate, do read War and Peace, it is a very good book and the comments on events by Tolstoy are things you just want to write down. Anna Karenina is another fine read.
DeleteI have read Anna Karenina, and absolutely loved it. Thanks for the encouragement to read War and Peace. I think it's now on our "list"!
DeleteI can totally see how reading out loud can be a great bonding experience for two people... even two adults. Maybe something to do with how the other person portrays the words with their voice to give it more significance and meaning??
ReplyDeleteDo you and your husband read devotions the same time every evening, like before or after dinner or before bedtime? Or, just whenever? I'm curious because we started doing that while ago but fell out of it, probably because it wasn't routine enough and we have a little one. Reading out loud together IS such a great thing to do together!
ReplyDeleteWe try to read in the evenings before bed each night, but to be honest, we don't always stick to it either. We've been reading a Daily Bible and finding the Old Testament pretty tough, so we decided to take a "break" by reading Chesterton. We'll get back to the Bible after that. But I do think aiming for a certain time every day definitely helps. For us it's before bed, but for you, since you have a child, maybe another time will work! Let me know if you try to get into it again :)
DeleteI really love this idea. My parents read to me for years and years and to be honest, I miss it. But reading The Screwtape Letters with my boyfriend sounds perfect.
ReplyDeleteThe Screwtape Letters is such a wonderful book to share because it's so so rich and full of wisdom and insight. Amazing to discover that with another person.
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