National Book Month is upon us, which means another good excuse to read. What I keep wondering is, why do we need all of these excused to read? It seems like every month has either a weeklong, daylong or month-long observance related to reading somehow or another. Can’t we just read because we want to in the first place? I’m not knocking any opportunity to read—if it works, let it work, and I’ll definitely use any excuse to read than to do anything else!

But it’s almost as if we’re being conditioned to hate books. With so many reading observances, “Reading is Fun!” posers plastered around schools and libraries, and book reports assigned, it’s no wonder that kids often turn to TV instead of a page-turner. And it’s not like we have a “Watch As Much TV As Possible!” Week to encourage them to do that particular activity.

I was reading some research the other day about some home schooling parents—as well as Waldorf private school teachers—who opt to teach reading at a later date. The research indicated that, while the kids didn’t learn to read until they were around ten or eleven years of age, they didn’t have delays; instead, they quickly surpassed kids who had been learning to read for their whole lives, and actually enjoyed reading much more than the other kids.

Whether this research is sound or not, I’m not sure. I’d like to do more on it because it makes a valid point: if you’re forced to do something for that long, you do eventually end up hating it. There are plenty of children who love books—I don’t know any kids who don’t enjoy being read to—but what about those who don’t? Do they become the teens and adults who sun the latest bestseller for the latest blockbuster in later years?

I think teaching a love of books is more important than teaching the rightness or wrongness of reading in early ages and stages. Parents shouldn’t force kids to sit down and listen to a story, but allow it to naturally happen. Maybe including a daily story time is the answer—something that follows a child’s natural daily rhythms, and something that he or she can look forward to each day. Including kids in selecting books should also included.

Fellow book lovers, did your parents read to you? Did you learn to read at an early age or later? I’d love to hear more theories and experiences and find out what really causes bookworms to be born—as well as what makes people hate reading.