Claudia Looi

Summer Reading List: The Memories of Reading

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If you could hold onto any moment in time of your childhood or the time spent with your children when they were little…what would it be?The process of minimizing had ‘forced’ me to go through old books and photo albums (back in the days when there were no digital photography). Today’s activity and pile of things to work through brought back memories of my children 13 years ago. A summer vacation spent in Bucks County Pennsylvania. They were 4 and 1 year olds and easily satisfied with their lollipop treats and playing at Sesame Place with Cookie Monster, Big Bird and Elmo.

We have 'Curious George' and his sister in purple looking at Cookie Monster's feet!

Many wonderful memories were created throughout the years especially during summer vacations when we took road trips and captured lots of photos and videos (remember those rolled films and huge VHS).Tucked away in every box and room, there are always the books. Now, it’s time to give them away…
For the past years we have accumulated hundreds of books and now, it’s time to part. Leaving us with memories of time spent together reading at bed time, story time and summer reading time…the thousands of hours of reading time together…what a great memory we have built together.Time has change…these kids are teens and have devices that they read on their own time. As much as we love books in hand, we have decided to go digital with our reading materials. That’s the easiest way to become portable and location independent.

Reading has been a huge part of our family life. The number one rule for any successful writer is to read a lot. Successful writer, Stephen King said, if you don’t have time to read, you don’t have time to write.

Books and reading are an important part of my life since I was in elementary school. They have enriched, inspired and brought me to places that I was able to dream of. Most of those dreams have become realities today.

Ironically, until the age of 12, I had only a handful of books. I remember borrowing books from the school library and copied every word that was in the book. In my little mind, I thought if I copied the book, I’ll have a copy of the book in hand.

That practice paid off handsomely. It helped me learn the English language much quicker and helped my imagination soar.

Are you a reader? Are you reading to your children?

Here are 7 books that are in my summer reading list:

The Confessions of St. Augustine
An old gentleman in New York City was cleaning out the church basement and gave me a few old books including this. It is the Cardinal Edition from Pocket Books. Cost 35 cents in 1951.

I’m finally going to read this book before giving it away. Pieces of paper are chipping from the pages because of extreme Florida heat in the garage.

The Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World
This book is written by one of the top bloggers in the world, Michael Hyatt.

The $100 Startup: Reinvent the Way You Make a Living, Do What You Love, and Create a New Future
Written by a man who has visited more than 175 nations, Chris Guillebeau. He shows how to lead a life of adventure, meaning and purpose and earning a good living at the same time.Turning Pro: Tap Your Inner Power and Create Your Life’s Work
By Stephen Pressfield. A follow-up to one of the best book I’ve ever read, The War of Art.

The Supernatural Ways of Royalty
By Kris Valotton and Bill Johnson. A quote from the book: Children never fight over who is going to be the garbage man. We learn that in church and it is killing us!

Love Works: Seven Timeless Principles for Effective Leaders
By Joel Manby. One point that I take away from this book is praise more than you admonish. Think in terms of a 3 to 1 ratio. Also may our praise be specific and exact. We must praise the right way and choose the right words.


The Magic of Thinking Big
By David J. Schwartz. More than 4 million copies were sold.What is on your summer reading list? I would love to hear from you. Please comment below.

Comments

  1. Olga Hermans says

    I am reading the Platform by Michael Hyatt right now....that means I started it and I have to go and pick it up again...I have to set myself to read; it is not something that comes easy for me. Thanks for the great list!

  2. Mary Marriner says

    Wow....Some of these sound great! I will have to search them out for a good read. I do think it is very sad that we are all going digital, though. There is just something about holding a book and turning the pages. You just can't beat it!

  3. Susan Mckenzie says

    At our family reunion this past week my brother was sorting through old boxes from the garage and out popped several comics and old children's books! Just seeing the covers brought back TONS of great memories. I remember reading book after book all summer long, as a child.

    I carried that love for reading into adulthood, and my BEST family memories are reading books with my kids, twice a day! We always had at least 3 open books at a time.

    Your story of writing whole books by hand... wow!!! I can just picture you doing that, knowing your intensity to learn and grow. That is inspiring, to say the least!

    I love St Augustine! I can't wait to hear more from you as you read through the summer!

  6. Jessica Stone says

    What a great list, Claudia... I'm going to have to grab some of those myself! I just finished "How to Win Friends and Influence People" for the first time (I know, I know!) and am reading John Maxwell's "Everyone Communicates, Few Connect." When I finish, I think I'm going back to winning friends! I think that one will be on the repeat list over and over and over again. I'm also almost finished with Dani Johnson's "Grooming the Next Generation For Success" ~ EXCELLENT book I am recommending to ALL parents!! Now, I guess I'll be adding some of the ones you listed 🙂

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