I read a lot of books to our baby. I always have. Joey did too. She loved reading to Indy and I think that’s part of the reason that Indiana loves books so much now.
When she wakes up in the morning and I go upstairs and pick her up from the crib and put her in my arms... the first thing Indy does is say ‘book’ and then she points to the little stack of books beneath her lamp. A few of her favorites are The Gruffalo, Pouch, and Bedtime Prayers.
And she has dozens and dozens of books already. Downstairs beside the couch, Indy has a whole bookshelf full. She will pick out the one she wants and climb up on my lamp and we’ll read together.
She loves me to read them to her and even more often now... she wants to read them to me.
I love listening to Indy “read” to me. She gets so excited and animated... using her little arms and hands and lots of expressions on her face to accompany the ‘words’ she is saying.
Though I may not understand what she’s saying... I understand how important it is to her to tell me the story. For me to give her all my attention and just listen.
Like Indiana, I have dozens of books on shelves in the house and my own little pile of them on the nightstand beside my bed. Some are my books and some are my wife’s. A few of them I’ve read and want to keep close... most I haven’t read yet, but I want to.
I am not a great reader. I wish I was, but I’m not. I struggle with it. Mostly with finding the time to sit down and let myself get lost in the story the author is telling. In the evenings, when I climb into bed, is when I do most of my reading. But life is so full and most of the time I’m so tired, that a page or two in... I fall asleep.
But there is one book I read recently that I didn’t fall asleep reading...
Mine.
A few weeks ago I got the chance to record the audiobook version of This Live I Live. Like the hardcover version, it too comes out on February 14th, Valentines day. Most of the time I’m told, publisher’s bring in professional talent to read an author’s book, but fortunately the folks at HarperCollins let me read mine. They not only let me tell our story, they let me actually tell our story.
It took four days to read it all. Four days of recording, from morning til night. To read it and get right. But it’s finished, and I am so thankful to not only be the author of the book, but also the one reading it.
Matt and his team at Harper Collins sent me this yesterday. It’s an audioclip of me reading the first 20 minutes or so of the book. You can learn more about the audiobook here.
It’s strange to hear yourself reading. Especially to hear yourself reading your own story. But it’s also really special. I’m proud of it. Proud to get to tell this story.
And if she were here, I know Joey would be too. Really proud.
But unfortunately, she’s not.
Instead, there is a little one upstairs who is starting to call my name. Ready for me to come pick her up, so she can put her little hands together and sign and say “book”... and point out the one she wants to me to read to her this morning.
Actually, the one that she wants to read to me.
She’s a storyteller too.
