Raise your hand if you have ever denied yourself the pleasure of reading. How easy is it to hold off on settling into a comfy chair, book (or Kindle, or e-reader, or iPad, or iPhone…) in hand for an hour or two of delicious diving into a world apart from reality?

There is always something “more important” to do: wash the dishes, put away the clothes, walk the dog, take the children to the pediatrician, cook dinner … go to work! To sit down and indulge in reading purely for pleasure is a self-inflicted taboo for so many. It takes a rainy or snowbound day to lift that penance from our souls and grant ourselves the right to read. How sad is that?

The time to instill a love of reading and the idea that reading is not just a third, fourth, or fifth option of the day, is when a child is young.

Luckily for all of us, this Saturday, February 1, is Take Your Child To The Library Day. According to the Connecticut Library Consortium, this is “an international initiative that encourages families everywhere to take their children to their local library. Launched in 2011 in Connecticut by librarians Nadine Lipman (Waterford Public Library, retired) and Caitlin Augusta (Stratford Library) with artist Nancy Elizabeth Wallace, TYCLD raises community awareness about the importance of the library in the life of a child, and promotes library services and programs for children and families.”

The C.H. Booth Library has special events scheduled for February 1, to entice families and children into the library — if you are not already familiar with this facility. From 11:30 am to 1:30 pm that Saturday, the library will host drop-in activities in the Maker Space in the young adult area on the second floor. Children and their parents are welcome to stop by and build with Strawbees or Legos, play a board game, or make a button to take home. Then at 2 pm, the Discovery Museum will present another good reason to visit the library. “Don’t Try This At Home,” is a science demonstration of interest to kids of all ages.

Our local library offers a wealth of activities centered around reading for young people and adults, not just on Take Your Child To The Library Day. Special story times, visits from authors and illustrators, and summer reading programs — not to mention music, clubs, and crafts — invite youngsters and adults into the facility for fun experiences. Learning to connect a library with new adventures, and access to thousands of age-appropriate reading materials, sets children on the path to embracing reading and imagination their whole lives long. Devoted adult readers will attest to that.

Who does not envy the ability of a child to lose him/herself in a story? Who is not charmed by the whimsical tales and pictures that talented illustrators craft to entertain and teach their readers?

Reading for pleasure is not a task to be relegated to the bottom of the pile. There is no waste of time in finding moments of relief throughout the work day in the form of a book, magazine, or publication.

Put your hand down, put a book in it, and give in to the temptation of reading.

And don’t forget to Take Your Child To The Library on Saturday, even if it is just the child within.