Katherine Christensen
“Reading books is an opportunity to try on the challenges of what it means to live a human life.”
-Sarah M. Zerwin in Point-less: An English Teacher’s Guide to More Meaningful Grading (p. 21)
Books were there when I was 3, and my parents would read books to me at bedtime. (Love You Forever by Robert Munsch)
Books were there when I was 4, and I learned how to read my first book. (Ten Apples Up on Top by Dr. Seuss)
Books were there when I was 7, and I was still hiding behind mom’s leg in the library staring at the shelves. (Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus by Barbara Park)
Books were there when I was 8, and I was able to pick out my own books, even though sometimes my mom had to steer me in the right direction. (Stink and the Incredible Super-Galactic Jawbreaker by Megan McDonald)
Books were there when I was 9, and my brother and I would swap books. (Captain Underpants by Dave Pilkey and Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney)
Books were there when I was 11, and things about my body started to change. (The Care and Keeping of You: The Body Book for Girls by American Girl)
Books were there when I was 14, and my friends and I would talk incessantly about every dystopian book we had our hands on. (The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins)
Books were there when I was 15, and I discovered I was a feminist. (Girls and Sex by Peggy Orenstein)
Books were there when I was 19, and I got my heart broken for the first time. (It’s Called a Breakup Because It’s Broken: The Smart Girl’s Break-Up Buddy by Greg Behrendt)
Books were there when I was 19, and I began struggling with Generalized Anxiety Disorder. (Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle by Emily Nagoski and Amelia Nagoski)
Books were there when I was 20, and I was isolated in my room because my parents had COVID. (The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood)
Books were there when I was 20, and my grandpa died. (Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason)
Books were there when I was 21, and I was thrown back into college life, still amidst a pandemic. (Olympus, Texas by Stacey Swann)
Books were there when I was 21, and I was diagnosed with Binge Eating Disorder. (Body Kindness: Transform Your Health from the Inside Out—and Never Say Diet Again by Rebecca Scritchfield)
Books were there for every moment of my life, whether it was seemingly fleeting or consciously monumental. Books were there.
Books will be there.