This is an interesting, if slightly unusual, question to ask. Passionate readers will tell you that any time is the best time to read a book.
Upon reflection though, there may well be optimum periods where an open book fits in quite nicely. Children in particular often need moments specially curated for reading, especially in an age where such varied stimuli compete for their attention.
A Rainy Day
A warm sunny day is the perfect opportunity for a little one to get out and create their own adventures and stories, but when it’s pouring outside why not get them lost in a good book? A rainy day need not feel gloomy, nor should it put a dampener on the imagination. Rather, it is just the time to recharge their creative batteries and fuel their minds with wonderful images, stories and adventures that come alive across the very pages they hold in their hands. Tales of other little boys and girls, and creatures and teachers, and mums and dads, the trips they make and the wonderful things they learn. Hear the rain as it falls outside, whilst your child sits in your arms, engrossed in another world.
Bedtime
I just can’t think of a better time to read than before going to sleep. Sat in bed, in fresh pajamas, clean after a bath and huddled in a blanket, it is truly something to look forward to. Watch them fall asleep to a story, and watch them pass into the custodianship of their dreams where, for the rest of the night, they will dwell, cradled by a beautiful mind as it spins a sturdy, intricate web of the day’s adventures and events.
Alone-time
Every child is different but when I was younger, being alone gave me the space to superimpose rainbows onto grey skies and intergalactic portals onto classroom doors. It is an undisputed fact of life that there are places you simply cannot escape to unless you are alone. I believe that is a lesson worth imparting from a very early age. Armed with a book, reading is the perfect way to spend time alone, to get to know oneself better, to become acquainted with your mind, with your heart, with who you are and what excites you. Reading alone, you reconnect with your soul, thereby defiantly taking the position that we need never feel alone, we need never feel lonely, because we already have inside us all the things we could possibly want.
Journeys
This always seems like a good idea in theory. Personally I over pack books for a journey, with all the right intentions to read them on a long journey. I have done this all my life, but I never get round to reading them. I am always far too excited for the journey to concentrate on a book, my point of focus becomes the destination and what awaits me there. However, I remain convinced that this is a perfect time to read, particularly if travelling by plane or train (cars seem to be more conducive to motion sickness, at least in my experience). It can make hours pass by in minutes, by capitalizing on feelings of excitement and anticipation which if appropriately directed can actually prove educational and inspirational.
These are just a few ideas; but in all honesty as a passionate reader I would end as I began by saying that any time is a good time to open a book. Building the appropriate architecture early on, introducing the foundation, the springboard from which a lifelong passion for reading can thrive, is the key. The end result is safety in the knowledge that whenever one feels lacking in inspiration, or curious about something, or bored, or lonely, or simply feeling anything at all, they’ll be able to find a book which continues their conversation. And that can happen at any time.
By Laith Zayadine.