To thank the guy whose gf thought he shouldn't be reading to his DS(12)

[WhitePhantom]

Following a thread a while back where a guy's gf was annoyed about him reading to his DS, aged 12, I got thinking about how much I used to enjoy reading to the kids.

So I suggested to DD(13) that I read Lord of the Rings to her. I've read the book before, but I read far too fast to take it in properly, and we have watched the films together, but she has never read the book.

So now when she goes to bed I lie on the bed with her and read a few pages to her every night. We're both loving it, and it'll probably take us a year or more to get through it.

I can't remember the name of the poster who got me started on this, but just want to say thanks to him! (and his gf )

I know @messolini9, it's heinous. He does have other good qualities though, I promise

I do a good bit of driving with work so will def have to set up an account with Audible and get someone (sexy ) to read to me! And I'll check out BorrowBox - thanks @NoSquirrels!

I used to read the Just William books to my boys. They are brilliant.

DS is 13. Last year, we were arguing a lot about the amount of time he was spending on phone and xbox and I reminded him how much he used to read for pleasure and how sad it made me that he hardly read at all these days.

He said he was finding it harder to 'get stuck into a book' so I suggested reading to him. We don't do it every night but we both love it! I have been reading Lord of the Flies this week and it's my favourite part of the day.

And DD (14) and never a great reader, has started coming in to 'listen'. So double win.

This is a lovely idea. I might start reading again to my nearly 11 year old. Currently he reads to himself for 20/30 mins then I tuck him in and he turns on an Audible. He's quite an unsettled child (for reasons I know about) so this might be a good way to relax together.

I do admit I've been enjoying bed time being quicker (due to the unsettled stuff), but changing things a bit might benefit us both. We can just go up a bit earlier.

I'm actually wondering whether I should suggest reading to DD (14) as well. She takes ages to settle in the evening.

But then I'd have to read to both of them - they prefer my British accent to DH's American one, plus I do "voices" better, apparently!

I love reading to DD at bedtime. Hopefully she won't want to stop for a while yet!

To pp who haven't yet got Audible, I use Libby after seeing it advertised in my local library. It's brilliant. It's a lending library for audio books, linked to your normal library card. So it's free and you get to borrow the audiobooks (they automatically download to your phone) for 2 weeks each, renewable if they're not on hold for someone else. You can also get digital print books on there, but I only use it for the audio. We've got Terry Pratchett, J K Rowling, Stephen Fry, and 12 Years a Slave on the go at the moment. You get 5 books per library card at a time and can link multiple cards to it. I'm a proper Libby evangelist, it's amazing! [And it has saved me from destroying my phone in frustration over the BBC Sounds app]

You’re never too old to be read too, my boyfriend and I are reading the same book so he reads it to me, I’m 32!

I am currently reading the Diary of Ann Frank to my 12 yr old dd. She loves it and it allows me to explain certain terms and concepts to her. It feel like a great way to explore Judaism with her, especially on Shabbat.

Yes! I read to my nearly 12 year old DS and we both love it. I read all 7 HP books to him (with some other books in between for a break - Varjak Paw was a particular favourite). I thought that would be it when we finished them and I started reading them to DD who’s 9. We powered through the first 3 and I thought we should have a bit of a break before scary 4 so suggested to DS that I read the Philip Pullman ones to them both, DD couldn’t really make head nor tail of it (the first few chapters of the first book are pretty tough going!) but DS loved it and we both realised how much we’d missed spending that bit of time together. This thread makes me think we’re not weird which I think some of my friends might think

I take it in turns to read to 9 yo DD and 12 year old DS. The other night they read to themselves. Both are precocious readers and have loved reading and being read to since they were babies so they're perfectly capable of reading to themselves but we all love it so much that I can't imagine stopping.

I did read somewhere too that reading even to teens is really beneficial as it helps with cadence and understanding. I'll try to find the article.

I've just nearly finished reading the Dark is Rising Sequence to my 12yo ds. He loves being read to, and is happy for me to choose my favourite books, which is a good thing as his favourites to read to himself are usually about the engine of a Spitfire or something equally fascinating.

One of my fondest memories is my DNana reading to me. I used to lie on the floor of her room and she used to read me a book. She lived with us when she became to ill to live on her own.

When I left home at 18, we had a last book. I loved my DN and we read some fantastic books together.

And just like @Hidingtonothing, we're waiting impatiently for the third Nevermoor book :)

We've been reading The Wizards of Once, The House with Chicken Legs, The Star Spun Web and The Knights of the Borrowed Dark in the meantime.

I miss it. I read to my daughters - now teenaged and too old - every night and loved doing it. Apart from the horrible night when, in the final chapter of Tom's Midnight Garden, I burst into tears - and had to be consoled by the very kids I was trying to lull to sleep.

Trying to read Missee Lee from the Swallows and Amazons books without the horribly dated "velly velly solly" 'Chinese' accents was a sod too.

Growing up we always read to each other and listened to audiobooks on tapes in the car. Now I do the same with my kids. We are also reading the hobbit at the moment like a lot of people on this thread. My 6 year old loves audible. Sometimes if my sone asks to stay up late we turn off the tv and sit and read a book.

AskingQuestionsAllTheTime

Mary Stewart used to be one of my favourites authors - I haven't read her books for ages! I've got some, somewhere - I'll have to have a dig round.

Thank you fr minding me.

Cats are older than time itself flouncy - I'd love to hear your age-appropriate manner

Silly voices for politicians is certainly appropriate. Your reading aloud counts.

My Dad read the Hobbit to my sis and me when we were 12 and 10. He did all the different voices, and we loved it.

flouncy

So lovely to hear all the other parents reading to older DC. Mine are 12 and 9 and I still read to them (usually a few pages / a chapter of what they are reading at the time). Now they are older I do't feel guilty if we have to miss a night or 2, but I read to them more often than not.

DD1 is currently working through the Chaos Walking trilogy and she also loves some of the Terry Pratchett books (Tiffany Aching ones).

I love Audible at the moment at night when I am too tired to read - you are never too old to enjoy being read to!

I would have loved being read to as a child! Unfortunately my parents were of the opinion that as soon as I was fluent I should crack on by myself. I have audible and bloody love it! Even gets me doing more housework which can only be a good thing!

My DD is too little for books yet. But I'm still excited about reading to her in the future!

@flouncy DH never read a book in 18 years??????

Wish mine would wanna read all she wants is that bloody video thing cant remember name.of it. Shes 10