Charlotte Higgins makes a powerful point (The National Year of Reading celebrates the ‘joy’ of books. But let’s not forget they can also be deeply troubling, too, 28 February). As she argues, reading can do much more than bring pleasure. It can help us share sorrow, endure pain, satisfy (at least temporarily) curiosity, prompt inventiveness, escape fear, enlarge our worlds, understand ourselves and others, and share in others’ pain and pleasure. It can also help us control ourselves. It can make us less self-centred. And it can certainly enlarge our vocabulary.
But first, there must be delight. Pleasure is nearly always the way in: tales that entrance you, through the same words on each rereading. Phrases that echo in your mind, such as: “Rolled their terrible eyes” (Maurice Sendak); “We’re going on a bear hunt” (Michael Rosen); and “Green eggs and ham” (Dr Seuss). Many of these crucial lessons come from early experiences of being read aloud to as a child. This instils the idea that reading opens up a box of delights.
