WHY I READ BOOKS
My library in Thousand Oaks, CA. did a remodel last year. And as they rearranged their shelves and made better use of their space, they set aside many many books, paper and hard cover, for sale. I’m talking $1.00 for a paperback published in 2003. Fifty cents for older hard-bounds.
My recent purchase was a novel by Alice McDermott entitled CHILD OF MY HEART. I have read much of her work, but this one was totally new to me and as I read, I underlined passages and made notes in the margins—so that now when doing my own work, I can go back and look at the thoughts HER WORK stimulated in me.
Because I’m a writer, and when I have THE book IN MY HAND, I can easily write in it, flip back through pages, make it my very own. On a device like Kindle, you can do some of the same, but my method seems more “at the ready” and when I’m finished reading, I can put THE BOOK on my reading shelf.
GETTING CARRIED AWAY…In a book.
Of course, there are many other reasons why I read books: to get lost, to cry or laugh with human beings that come alive on the page. My book choices come from many places: a friend who has recently published. A review in Time, the newspaper. The words of a friend. Or the simple need to get away from what is going on in my own world, to get lost in the loves, needs and triumphs of someone else.
WHAT TO READ
I often read non-fiction too, especially if it’s of a medical nature where I can continue to understand advances in science and research and review the very language used to discuss these topics. As an RN, no longer practicing, but who relished learning this new and amazing vocabulary, I have lost a lot of it. Reading helps me remember, step back into that world, reclaim it on some level.
READING: A NECESSITY IN OUR AGE
There are many newer ways to stay informed and to enjoy literature. Yes, I always have a book to listen to—in my car. There were years when I drove back and forth from Des Moines to Chicago to visit my wonderful and aging mother. Listening to books sustained me. I remember coming back to Des Moines and listening for a second read to Marilynne Robinson’s HOME. One passage became so intense that I had to grip the wheel, fight back tears. It wasn’t just Robinson’s words, the lives of her characters. It was catharsis for my own family, for the impending death of my mother.
Reading and connecting with the deep thoughts and experiences of other human beings can help us deal with our own challenges and sorrows.
It can also open our eyes to truth. But that’s a topic for another time. Each one of us must be responsible for truth—reading to find it and then reporting it. In a time when lies are held out as truth, being a careful reader is more important than ever. THE TRUTH WILL SET YOU FREE.
But you must know where to find it and how to embrace it.
Thanks for, well, READING!!
Photo Credit: thanks to illustrator Guada, for the perfect illustration for this post.
