Reading revisited

The best way to fall asleep. (Photo by K)

While playing golf, my friend Dan asked what I would do with the rest of my day. After making the “If I have a beer, I will probably take a nap” confession, I said I’d probably work on my blog or read. “Reading never came easy to me, so I don’t read much,” Dan said, but he said it wistfully, not scornfully. It made me realize: where would I be without reading? Honestly, my hierarchy would probably be: breathing, sleeping, eating, and then reading or sports (it’s close!). O, how reading has enriched my life!

How do I love reading—let me count the ways: 1.) Growth—I was taught at an early age that reading fed your brain, and I never disbelieved it. In my wilder, hippie days, when I was doing many things I am not proud of, I still kept reading. It was a lifeline to sanity for me. 2.) Jail—when I was 21, I was incarcerated for possession of marijuana. I was sentenced to one year, though I ended up serving 77 days. I never would have made it without reading. 3.) Career—when my crisis came (“What am I going to do with my life to make money?”), two things rose up in my mind: writing and teaching. If I taught, it would have to be English—that was the only thing I halfway knew. Trying to write without reading would be like trying to play golf without equipment. Both ambitions hinged on reading. 4.) Intellectual freedom—a former student said to me, “I hate reading because when you read, you have to think.” I wish I had responded, “Yeah, but, when you read, you don’t have to think about yourself.” 5.) Information—my number one way to find out anything about anything. My mother used to throw out words (mawkish) just so we would have to look them up. Should have been on her gravestone: “Look it up.” (I brook an inner resentment against Siri and Alexa, though they are constantly weakening me.) 6.) Spiritual guide—though none of us know exactly what Kingdom life will be like, I believe we will still have individual conversations. After Jesus (of course) and the apostle Paul, I will seek out Frederick Buechner and Brian Doyle (my two favorite Christian writers). 7.) The Bible—not even going to write about it—a whole different way of reading—if reading feeds your brain, the Bible feeds your soul—you just have to make sure your heart is open—that’s the entry point. 8.) (Finally, like the end of the day) A soporific—a wonderful way to go to sleep.

Next to my back porch and a church sanctuary, the holiest place I know is the public library. (Actually, I’d probably put the library above the sanctuary.) I love our current one—no fines, you never have to return anything until someone else asks for it, you can check out as much as you like. It is here to serve us—what can be holier?

My father, when he retired, read The History of Civilization by Will Durant. It is twelve volumes, each one thicker than a doorstep. When he finished, he told me it was surely the equivalent of a four year liberal arts college education. I admired him so much for doing it. I even put it on my bucket list—sigh—turns out that I’m not that desirous of a liberal arts education.

Every Christmas I give my three children and their spouses a book. I try to be selective for the individual, but sometimes I will double or even triple up if it is something that particularly affected me. I keep a list so I don’t give anyone the same book twice. I don’t get much feedback, and I doubt if very many books have been read so far. But when I go to their houses, I will spot them on various bookshelves. It makes me smile—someday, who knows, their hearts may be touched by the book like mine was. A gift, but not from me.

My exhortation: whenever you can, however you can, encourage those you love to read.

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