Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Book Re-readers unite!

OK, I know you're out there! There are readers of this blog who re-read books. Faith and Family Live blog has a post for you.
I did, before I had three blogs and three kids. . . and it was one of the best ways of learning grammar and literary style. I grew up when teaching grammar was out of style (is it back yet? I homeschool, so I'm out of touch with public educational trends).
From learning the difference between subject and predicate in second grade to my monumental struggles to understand indirect object in seventh grade French (it would have been easier to learn in English first, NON?) I had NO grammar in grammar school. I even got a Masters in Teaching English as a Second Language without a single course in grammar. Oh, I paid for a grammar course, and bought a $100 grammar book, but the professor was bored by teaching grammar and preferred to chat during class time. I was shortchanged on grammar.
But, like my Irish gran who wasn't able to get as much formal education as she would have liked,
I read, and I read, and I read. CS Lewis, Alcott, Austen, Laura Ingalls Wilder, James Herriott, and when I was 13 I read 1037 page "Gone with the Wind" in a record 3 days, while my worried mother brought meals to my room. It was actually due for re-release in my local movie theatre, and besides, I was enthralled by the story.
These and many other wonderful authors taught me grammar and literary style. Plus, living through a great story more than once is one of life's great pleasures.
If you like my writing, now you know my secret; READ READ and RE-READ great writers!

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