BY EMILY EVANS
My love of reading and words began as a very young child. My father was an English major at Princeton and then spent his forty-six year career as an English teacher and college counselor at his alma mater, later mine as well. He read to me every night — as far back as I can remember —after teeth were brushed and I was tucked in bed. He shared his love of words, books and reading by reading to me, having me join him in the evenings to work on the crossword puzzle and on outings together to book shops. Our family of four spent a month in Maine every summer in a cabin on a lake, and reading was a nightly ritual after a busy day of water-skiing, boating and fishing.
Fast forward through my high school and college years, I finally started reading for pleasure again after college when I was working and just married. I started collecting children’s books when I was pregnant with our first child. I could not wait to read to our children as my dad had read to me. Thankfully, all three of our children share my same love of books and reading. They always knew that I would never say no to a book request if we were in a store! The tooth fairy usually brought them a book, and Santa always brought a basket full of new books on Christmas morning. Most of their birthday party favors were a book based on the theme of their party or had a character in the book with their name. My dad continued his tradition of reading with my children before bed whenever we visited with them. And like with me, my dad always took my children on bookstore outings.
While our family grew from one to three children, my husband and I maintained demanding jobs. Kid's activities multiplied per child. It seemed like seven days a week, as I was most often exhausted, reading became a vacation pastime only. Then, three years ago, I entered a new season. I stopped working full-time to focus on my family and my monogramming hobby. I joined a neighborhood book club and was back in my reading groove! Last August, I was fortunate to start teaching at The Little School in Franklin, so I am in my element getting to share my love of children's books again each day — since my children are too old! I am especially proud of my toddler class and watching their love of reading develop!
As my passion for reading grows, I have enjoyed reading different genres. I choose my books by following Goodreads, "bookstagram" and authors on social media. I am in the Williamson County Public Library several times a week, borrowing books and buying donated books to support the Friends of the Library. If I love one book by a particular author, I tend to then get hooked on the author! Some of my favorite authors are Elin Hilderbrand, Mary Kay Andrews, Patti Callahan Henry, Colleen Hoover, Lisa Genova and William Kent Krueger. The following is a list of ten of my top favorite books that I highly recommend as you look ahead to your spring break reads. They were difficult to narrow down and choose, and they are not in any particular order! I adore recommending books and sharing my love of reading, so please follow me on Instagram: @letsreadtherainbow
EMILY EVANS
@LETSREADTHERAINBOW
Emily Evans lives in Franklin with her husband and their three children. She teaches at The Little School and, in addition to reading, she loves walking, working out, monogramming, baking and spending time with her family. Follow Emily at @letsreadtherainbow on Instagram as she reads and recommends books.
