“We read to know that we’re not alone.” These words are attributed to C.S. Lewis, but it seems they are just from Shadowlands, a movie about him. While there is something attractive about this quotation, I’m glad that Lewis didn’t actually say it. Reading can indeed be a wonderful way of communing with others, especially those of past generations, but I think there are better ways of knowing we’re not alone.

One of them is reading aloud together. And summer can be a great time to do it.

There is something about entering a story together at the same time. The very fact that others are listening as you listen—or read—adds a whole new layer to the story. Their experience is part of my experience of the story, and somehow the whole thing becomes our experience.

There are many contexts for people to read aloud together. It is worth thinking more about how to encourage teenagers and young adults to read aloud among themselves. It is a sobering sign of our times that such a thing might seem a bridge too far.

But we can focus on what is in our power. If you have young children, seize the time! Often children will be happy to do whatever parents are happy to do. There are great books suited to every age group: perhaps a Robert Louis Stevenson story, King Arthur legends, or a classic fairy tale. For newlyweds and empty-nesters, what a rich experience lies in wait: perhaps a Shakespeare play, a Walter Macken short story, a novel by Jane Austen or Wendell Berry. The possibilities are almost endless. Families with older children will require more effort to get everyone together, but the effort will be well rewarded.

It takes practice, and patience. (“Are y’all going to quiet down and listen or not…?”) But summer is precisely the time to give it a try: perhaps once a week? Sunday afternoon or evening? Who knows, people may enjoy it so much that they ask for it serially each evening.

With so many centrifugal forces at work in our home, pulling us away from the center and from one another, at least here is a centripetal force we can unleash, pulling us toward the center and toward one another: summer reading aloud together.~ ~ ~

This is a re-posting of one of a five part series What To Do This Summer from a few years ago.

ALSO, THREE SHORT VIDEOS ON READING ALOUD: HERE is the PLAYLIST to help you make it happen in your home this summer.

John Cuddeback

Husband, father, and professor of Philosophy. LifeCraft springs from one conviction: there is an ancient wisdom about how to live the good life in our homes, with our families; and it is worth our time to hearken to it. Let’s rediscover it together. Learn more.