It's Friday, time for the next post in the 2018 challenge. As soon as I saw the list of topics, I knew that unlike the earlier challenge, I was not going to do all those this year. And this topic was one I immediately dismissed.
If I picked a religious book as one that influenced my life, I risked being labeled a fanatic--or a heretic, depending on the book and the reader's leanings.
I could chose a book on craft, then I'd have to duck the rotten produce thrown my way when the book was not his or her favorite. So I won't go with the Golden Rule or the Rule of Three.
I am an author and used to make my living with words. Before that I was a reader. This post won't be about a book of literature or poetry, nor one of heroism at which I cry and salute the fallen hero at the end. It was probably inevitable that I went into a technical field. It used to be joked that I learned my letters and numbers by updating manuals. At the time I was not even in school, but I knew three words Add / Change / Delete.
So I've chosen as a book that influenced that part of my life.
The Dick and Jane books were written by William S. Gray and Zerna Sharp and published by Scott Foresman. They were used to teach children to read from the 1930s through to the 1970s in the United States. So how did Fun with Dick and Jane influence my life? It was a reader, and like the predecessors in the classification, was a book by which I learned to read. And that skill translated to the ability to write.
What book influenced your life? Leave a comment below and visit the other posts in the challenge. ~till next time, Helen
Not all links are created equal. Here's a change: A Book That Influenced (Ullmer)
Dick and Jane bored me after a while, lol....I started reading in kindergarten, and by the 2nd grade was reading books in the 4th and 5th grade level, thanks to an understanding teacher!
ReplyDeleteI was actually reading before I started school and you're right the rhyming does get old very quick. Thank goodness for the library where they didn't check your school grade to let you check out books. You're lucky you had a good teacher who didn't hold you back. I wish everyone has one. thanks for stopping by
DeleteGreat minds think alike. I also selected a book that helped me learn to read.
ReplyDeleteI've never read these books, or seen them. I wonder if my mother in law has any. Having early reader books are wonderful and they typically are the books that make the first impact on your life.
ReplyDeleteAlthough the Dick and Jane books supposedly had versions to read all through elementary school, I only remember the first one. Then they changed how they taught reading so a whole generation didn't get enjoy the early readers of my generation and the ones that came before. thanks for stopping by.
DeleteI, too, learned to read with Dick and Jane... and Spot. Mustn't forget Spot. (They had a dog. I was so envious!)
ReplyDeleteWe wanted to name our first dog spot. Then because he was a collie, Lassie. But the parents nixed the idea. So he was Bumps. thanks for stopping by.
DeleteI loved Dick and Jane LOl
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