Book Floods vs Book Deserts: A Two Part Blog
Part One: My Own Book Flood
Over and over again I have heard access to books matter, all students need to have books at their fingertips. But it goes deeper than that.
I grew up as an avid reader. My mom read to me everyday. I read to my sisters and brother. Weekly trips to the public library was a way of life. Surrounded by an abundance of books gave me the freedom to read what I wanted to read. I must have read Where the Red Fern Grows 12 times, I read and reread Tuck Everlasting. I don’t ever recall anyone telling me I couldn’t read a book for any reason. I never heard “You can’t read that, you already read it.” Or “You can’t read that, it’s too easy.” Or “You can’t read that, it’s too hard for you.” not once.
When my mother wasn’t reading to us, she was reading herself. To this day she has stacks of books at the ready. We now share books with each other, often excited to hear what the other thought.
I now know I grew up in a “Book Flood.” I had an abundance of books as well as the freedom to read what I wanted. Perhaps that is why I am the first on my father’s side of the family to earn a high school diploma, a Bachelor’s degree and a Master’s. (Three of the four of us kids accomplished this goal.)
Not every child has that advantage.
Romeo Lit Coach 
I have fond memories of visiting the library each week, checking out a stack of mysteries, including Nancy Drew books. The librarian would say, “That’s a lot of books.” I would beam.
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This makes me think of my own freedom to read what I wanted. I hope I give that freedom to my students.
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I had books, not quite a flood. My most cherished gifts were books (and a tape recorder for practicing when I was on the speech team in high school). Your writing about your book flood feels so warm and living.
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An amazing advantage for you. When my mom passed I donated enough books to create a library in her church from her personal collection. My aunts gave me books also. Definitely a book flood. Still is one in my personal collection. ❤️
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I too grew up with books. We just purchased another bookcase for our current flood… can’t wait to see where part two takes us.
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I, too, was raised in a book flood. My mom was a reader, my grandma and great-grandmas were readers, my grandpa was a reader. I grew up going to the library. I also grew up in a flood of magazines and cookbooks. My people all got different magazines and would share them amongst themselves. After the dishes were done at family dinners, my aunts and grandmas would sit around reading cookbooks having lively discussions about food.
This was a great trip down memory lane for me. Thanks for sharing!
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