The Reading Promise

My Father and the Books We Shared

By: Alice Ozma, Jim Brozina - foreword

Narrated by: Alice Ozma

Length: 7 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's summary

When Alice Ozma was in fourth grade, she and her father decided to see if he could read aloud to her for 100 consecutive nights. On the hundreth night, they shared pancakes to celebrate, but it soon became evident that neither wanted to let go of their storytelling ritual. So they decided to continue what they called "The Streak". Alice's father read aloud to her every night without fail until the day she left for college.

Alice approaches her book as a series of vignettes about her relationship with her father and the life lessons learned from the books he read to her. Books included in the Streak were: Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, the Oz books by L. Frank Baum, Harry Potter by J. K. Rowling, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, and Shakespeare's plays.

©2011 Alice Ozma (P)2011 Hachette

Critic reviews

"Clearly fabulous for libraries everywhere... My Pick." ( Library Journal)

Not what I expected

This is more about the people and their interactions than about the books, or even why they made such a difficult committment. I found it to be an OK listen but I expected to hear more about love for literatue and each other when it really seems to be a habit that just evolved. I suppose I wanted something more romantic.

Inspirational

As a father of a young daughter this book touched home for me.
She’s almost 5 and we have been reading together since the day she was born.
I feel inspired to continue reading together, bake cookies on the weekends and discuss our favorite books.

I didn't want it to end!

A book that every book lover should listen to. Simply a beautiful story that is so well written.

A Love Story

I was immediately attracted to this book by its title and subject. It was, after all, a book about a parent reading to his child; something I loved doing with my children. After reading the mixed reviews I started the book wondering whether it would hold my attention. To be honest, there was a point at which I almost stopped. Alice goes into details about her life that didn't seem relevant. But I stuck with it and it grew on me to the point where I was sorry when it was over.
"The Reading Promise" is a coming-of-age story, but it's also a love story to a single dad, as well as a warning cry to all who value reading that it's time to make our voices heard in the schools before reading and books are removed to make room for technology.
Alice does a great job reading. If anyone wants proof that reading to your children is worth the time, read this book.

For anyone who loves books

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Definitely! It is one of the few books where the authors become narrators and do a wonderful job!

What did you like best about this story?

I enjoyed the story of the bond between Alice and her father, using books as a backdrop. It shows all the little things they did to show each other that they and their books mattered... for 3218 days! I cannot imagine how close these two are, as well as how books and literature matter.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes. It is short and light, but oh so important!

Any additional comments?

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. As a daughter whose father enjoyed reading to her - and later insisted on getting a library card and audiobooks, I could identify with many passages in this book. It is not a book about literature - though it's part of it - but a coming-of-age memoir with poignancy and meaning. I laughed, because I saw bits of myself and my father in this book.