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Rediscovering Reading

ENID BLYTON ENCHANTED WOOD FARAWAY TREEI used to be a big reader, I would power through 2 or 3 books a month, reading at night, on the bus, while WALKING to work.. and then I just.. stopped. I'm not sure if it coincided with being busier with work or (more likely) discovering Netlix but I just stopped reading. I'm now a big fan of audio books because I can be read to while I'm doing almost anything but I hadn't picked up a book and read it cover to cover in a long time.. until December.In the move (we bought a house with my parents - whole other post) I found a ton of old books and one in particular that my Mum read to me as a child, The Enchanted Wood. I remember attempting it with Ella and her not really being in to it but I thought it was worth another shot with Milo, for nostalgia's sake. I've never heard much (anything, actually) about The Enchanted Wood series but it was a really magical story for me and I hoped at least one of the kids might enjoy it. We read the first book over Christmas and are halfway through the second (The Faraway Tree) now. Every night we read a chapter and every night I can't believe that my luck that I don't have to read another picture book for the 50th time. I've so enjoyed re-reading the tales of my childhood as well as seeing the characters through new eyes and Ella has even started joining us for story time which is lovely and something that in 2017 I never would have imagined could happen voluntarily.In an age of iPads being normal bedtime behaviour and visual entertainment being so readily available (for kids and adults) reading feels almost foreign but in reading a book with the kids that I'm actually enjoying I'm rediscovering why I loved it in the first place. I was never not in the middle of a story and I want to encourage that in them as well as myself. It's been a long time so I'm going to ease in to it but if you have any suggestions, I'm all ears!

*FUN FACT*

My Mum reads quite a bit and last week she updated me frequently as she read The Girl On The Train.. or so she thought. She went to work and discussed the book with those who'd already read it (or watched the movie) only to discover that she'd actually read Girl On A Train. For anyone interested she said it was great, just not quite what she expected, haha