‘How to Raise a Reader,’ and books for the adventurous

Is there a book that helped turn you into an adventurous reader?

I hosted my first-ever Adventurous Reading Retreat earlier this month. We nestled into a lakeside lodge and we read, and grazed, and sipped and talked our way through the weekend. But in between all of that grazing and sipping, there was some homework.

Each guest brought a poem and a book to read under the trees. On one of our early morning walks, I asked all the guests to reflect on the books that turned them into devoted and adventurous readers.

A book that kept coming up was Pamela Paul and Maria Russo’s “How to Raise a Reader.” It sparked a conversation about discovering the power and freedom, as kids, to try on different identities and to slip into new worlds.

The conversation would have delighted Paul, who is not only an author but books editor for the New York Times. I wish she’d been eavesdropping on us!