The Reading Promise by Alice Ozma for Father’s Day
June 8, 2011
Just in time for Father’s Day there’s a new read on the shelf recounting a special bookish bond between a father and his daughter.
Finding comfort in their bedtime reading ritual during a difficult time in their family, Alice Ozma and her father begin what they call “The Streak” – a mission for the librarian father to read to his nine year old daughter for 100 consecutive nights. While celebrating their 100 night achievement over a pancake breakfast, Alice puts forth a challenge to now strive for 1000 consecutive nights. And off they go. Some 3,218 nights of reading later, and upon her departure for university, the Reading Promise naturally comes to an end. You can imagine that after almost 9 years the list of books read is a long one; a survey of the titles is included at the back of the book. Alice, not surprisingly a successful English major, recounts in the memoir the significance books and reading have had in her life. I am sure anyone reading of her experience would be inspired to pursue a similar project, even if not quite as ambitious.
From the website: “The Reading Streak changed their lives so profoundly, Alice has made a commitment to spread the word about reading and the importance of making a reading promise. The reading promise is simply a promise to read to yourself, read to someone else, and protect and defend reading in your community.”
Now there’s a commitment we can get behind!
Have you ever made a Reading Promise or challenged yourself to a particular reading goal?
