The Joy of Reading

 

I can't imagine life without reading.

And as much as I love reading the written word, that joy can extend itself to braille and audio for those who are blind or have limited eyesight. Even for those with perfect vision, their learning skills and preferred medium may be audio.

I started early. My mother taught me to read before I entered Kindergarten. I was reading information the teacher was writing that she didn't even intend for us - that caused some embarrassment.

By third grade, I was reading out loud to students during the reading time. The teacher learned that the class preferred me to her and that I could hold their attention better. So I read a book about Pocahontas and John Smith, and yes, it was the sanitized fictional version.

I skipped most children's books. The closest I came was the Doctor Dolittle series by Hugh Lofting and the Bobbsey Twins (a girl I liked was reading them, and it gave us a point in common).

By 4, I was reading and collecting comic books. By 8, I was reading science fiction magazines, including serialized novels like Robert Heinlein's The Moon is a Harsh Mistress.

By late elementary I was reading all kinds of things, including books that were being weeded out at the Junior High Library  One of those books was Mein Kempf by Adolph Hitler  And that's how I became a Nazi...NOT  I thought Hitler was insane and a dangerous jackass. You see, sometimes you have to trust the moral and ethical basis you give a young adult is strong enough to guide them through a free society.

By early high school, I had discovered dystopian novels like 1984 and Brave New World, and those influenced me. Like Hitler, I realized how off-course we could get when authoritarian forces took hold.

As I grew up, a cornucopia of books opened up to me, from Lord of the Rings to The Game of Thrones, from Stephen King to Sara Pinbrough, from John Steinbeck to Colson Whitehead,  from Joseph Heller to Margaret Atwood, from Philip K Dick to Harry Turtledove.

I usually have 25 to 60 books on cue to read. I have a random number program to determine what I read next. And even if it takes a while, they all get read.

I have a lot of books, but only a fraction of what I've ever had. Over the years, I've given away enough books to fill a library the size of Pierce County's.

As my intense desire to own books has diminished, I have tried to slowly read more books from the public library. I'm up to two or three a month, including the Murder They Read Book Club that I am in (at the public library, naturally).

Books are only one of the important public services the library provides, But it's important to me, and it means so much to those who find $30 to purchase a book out of reach. It provides that great joy of reading to so many, and it helps fulfill one of the main missions of our public schools and libraries - to help provide an educated populace capable of critical thinking and contributing to the foundational strength of our democracy.*

Today, your public library needs your love and support. Make sure everyone you meet knows that you support the local library and that they need to urge local government boards to STOP holding up support and fund the library TODAY.

The situation in the Okefenokee Library Region is dire. If local support is not secured, they could be shutting their doors on June 30th. No more library for avid readers like myself or for those who are using the library for so many other important, special things.**

Reading is a joy. Reading is fundamental. Reading keeps us free.

Support freedom. Support the need for open public spaces. Support your local library.

And ensure that it exists tomorrow.

*constitutional republic, representative democracy, yada yada. God, I hate having to keep repeating this.

**to be addressed in future blog articles. The Strait Line is now wholly devoted to supporting the public library until the current funding crisis is over.