A Little Family of Bibliophiles

Books have been an inseparable part of my life for as long as I can remember.

When I was little, all members of my family read to me every single day, because it was my favourite pastime during the time I spent at home.

I have a clear memory of my late grandfather, who always had patience for me and my demands that he read to me for hours at a time – he never once complained. I always knew where he’d left his reading glasses, I’d fetch them, pick out the chosen book from the pile, and sit down beside him with that full set of equipment and one clear request: “Grandpa, read.” And he did.

Mum also often told me how I was a real little nightmare at bedtime, because whenever someone read me a bedtime story, I wasn’t a moment closer to sleep – on the contrary, my attention would only sharpen. After every story, I’d ask Mum for “just one more.”

And so they read to me until the day I could do it myself – and I haven’t stopped since.

My Reading Habits

Every free moment that isn’t taken up by unavoidable obligations, I use for exactly this: reading. Since I’m also very interested in developing my professional knowledge, I have two reading categories – reading for the soul and reading for professional development.

The first group includes everything I want to read that has no direct connection to media theory – from classics and literary fiction, through modern bestsellers, all the way to epic fantasy (you wouldn’t believe how much I love witches and vampires).

Every, but absolutely every time I finish a book, I have an enormous problem – I don’t know what to read next. That might sound funny to you, but for me it really is a problem, especially when I have a “shortlist” of several books I’d want to read. I solve this problem simply – I follow my feeling.

I believe the book chooses me, not the other way around.

So however carefully I plan my “to read” list, it doesn’t plan me in the same way. And that’s actually how I choose what to read for the soul. That’s perhaps one of the reasons why, despite having a sizeable home library, I always have my library card on me too (and thank God for Amazon and their next-day delivery) – because I might suddenly want to read something I don’t have with me right at that moment.

Another important rule for me is to always, but always, have a book in my bag or backpack. My motto is: you never know when an unplanned opportunity to read will come along – better to always be prepared.

I believe that in moments of downtime (planned or not – waiting in queues, travelling by bus or train) it’s better to bury your head between the covers of a book than in a phone screen.

A Family of Bookworms

I can’t do myself an injustice by saying my family doesn’t love reading – quite the opposite (from whom could I have possibly learned it?). But when it comes to my young family, things have reached a somewhat higher level.

Well, following that old and trusty rule – birds of a feather – Marko and I were drawn to each other from the day we met, above all because we’re both incredible lovers of BOOKS.

How could you not want to spend your whole life with someone who, after just a few days of knowing you, gives you The Prague Cemetery by Umberto Eco as a gift? (I’ll write about my fascination with Eco another time, but you’ve already understood that Marko scored a perfect bull’s-eye with that choice.)

Kakva majka, takva i ćerka. 🙂

Like mother, like daughter. 🙂

All our love of books naturally had to pass on to Sofia too – partly through genes, partly through the fact that she’s been surrounded by books since the day she was born.

I read to her while she was still in my belly. Marko read to her out loud from the very first day of her life – still at the maternity hospital. Every “free” moment I had, I’d use to read aloud whatever interested me – and even as a very small baby she would listen, even when she didn’t yet understand anything clearly.

I don’t know exactly when she held her first book, because they were always just there. We never put them out of her reach. Maybe it’s precisely that – having both our books and hers always within arm’s reach – that’s the reason she never once tore a single one.

Since we’re a family of bibliophiles and book addicts, it goes without saying that we buy Sofia books – both in German and in Serbian. The sparkle in her eyes and the delight she shows at every new book she receives are simply indescribable. And don’t get me started on the number that arrive from relatives and friends in Serbia.

Marko and I often joke that Sofia at not-yet-two already has more books than the two of us had combined before we got married. (We’re exaggerating of course – but you get the idea.)

Now that she’s “big,” the most beautiful moments of each day are exactly those when Sofka disappears into her little room and reappears a few moments later with her “chosen one” for that moment, sits herself down in my lap and says “Mama, read.” And Mama reads. That bedtime reading is a given has long been understood, so I won’t labour the point.

Books are simply an inseparable part of our lives.

Books Are a Way of Life

The point of this whole story isn’t that I or my family are somehow smarter or superior to anyone else. On the contrary.

This text was born out of pure love for books and reading, in the hope that our enthusiasm will spread to others – that they too might want to dedicate a little more of their time to this wonderful hobby.

S-Mama