#10 For love of reading

My last post was about libraries – this one is about books specifically.

Growing up I remember trips to the library when my brother and I would pick out crazy amounts of children’s books, bring them home, and devour them. I read so much as a child that there was no chance I would stop as an adult. While I don’t read as much as I’d like to these days (seriously, if I could find a way to make money on it I’d like to just read and write all day…mostly read), I still read more than most.

I generally prefer literary novels and classics, but I also love hard-boiled detective fiction (Chandler and Hammett, for example) and some sci-fi/fantasy stuff (Gaiman, for one). I pick up some nonfiction as well, although not as much as I probably should. I enjoy reading about cooking and kitchen science/chemistry and have acquired a taste for fashion. Other than books I read blogs of all sorts and a lot of news articles with a fair number of op/eds mixed in.

I’ve taken my love of books for granted off and on for my entire life. I talk to people who don’t know who, say, Anne Boleyn is and I’m flabbergasted. The truth is I take that type of knowledge for granted. Of course I know who Anne Boleyn is – her story and her daughter’s story are probably two of the most-written about in historical fiction. Of course I think you should know who she is regardless because of the role she and her family played in history regarding marriage, religion, and the rulers of England, but I have an advantage because I’ve read so many fictionalized accounts of the historical figures of the era.

In high school people used to ask me how I did so well in my classes, and I’d respond immediately with, “I read the book.” It always seemed like they were looking for some easy answer – like maybe I knew some special way to know everything without ever having to work to learn it. Reading came easily to me probably because I learned to love it early in life.

Reading is important beyond description. It is one of the easiest ways to acquire knowledge, to be right about thing, to teach yourself to think more deeply. The more you read, the more you understand in life, school, work or what have you. I don’t always take my love of reading for granted, but I do far more often than I should.

(I can count, I swear…)

#9 The Library

I am several days behind. I wrote a post in my head for Sunday, but didn’t have a chance to type it out. And by “didn’t have a chance” I mean I didn’t want to sit down at my computer – instead I spent the day relaxing. I stopped at the library on Saturday. It got me thinking about the role libraries and books have played in my life.

Not too long ago there was an op/ed in the paper from a woman claiming the library saved her life (not literally). She had been  a book purchaser all her life – going to book stores and buying what looked interesting and reading it later. When she lost her job and remained unemployed in the recession she realized she no longer had the disposable income to spend on books. That is when she started going to the library.

I read this and thought, “I would have been going to the library that whole time.”

I love the library and the role it has played in my life. I think I assume everybody knows how great public libraries are. Access to hundreds of thousands of books and databases all free to the public? What could be more fantastic?

Libraries open up so many worlds to us – from the classics to spy novels to how-to books, and you never have to consider what your income is when you go to most public libraries. There is no obligation with a library book other than to treat it respectfully. I am a cautious book buyer – when I buy a book it is either at a fantastic price, as a gift for someone else, or it is a book I already love. When I go to the library I am adventurous and willing to pick up and try just about any book. Books I would never purchase come into my hands at the library. I’ve discovered any number of wonderful stories because of the library.

I wish everyone would appreciate and make use of their public libraries. They are a fantastic resource that I hope never disappears.

I love the library!

Public libraries are full of invaluable resources. Visit one. Maybe consider supporting one financially or with volunteer time.

I love when others realize how wonderful libraries are.

The Multifarious Mix: June 11

Healthy cheesecake? *brain breaks* Going to have to try this. Especially since I have a lot of cottage cheese that needs to be used asap.

One reason I love where I live: movies in the park. Almost every single day? I fully intend to make the most of this summer.

I made kimchi the other night. It’s fermenting right now. Will be ready for the fridge tomorrow. I used two recipes to get an idea of exactly what to do. Hopefully it turns out well (and doesn’t taste fishy like the last batch I tried to make).

A post on 101 Books and a subsequent comment by Naomi from the Tea Time Reader inspired me to look up the statistics for my county library. 🙂

I’m not usually big on the pictures-with-text memes, but I liked this one. This one, too.

I love dogs, and apparently I love dog-related blogs. To try and balance out all the cat-mania that appears on the internet, I’m sharing with you this funny tail-chasing story.

Huh, I never think of gangs when I think of Coon Rapids. I don’t know much about Coon Rapids, though. Except that the name of their city makes it sound a little redneck.

I shudder to think of an impromptu prayer lasting for 15 minutes. And in a bar, no less. I have a hard enough time at holidays when they let the youngest cousin say grace and she goes on and on and on for 5 minutes.

If faith is the only reason you have to live your life, I feel very sorry for you. I have many, many reasons (and none of them has anything to do with the supernatural).

Because handing out Bibles will… um… oh, right, accomplish nothing. Have fun with that! Yay Pride Festival!

“Perverted” penguins? Sounds like some of the penguins were confused (sex with dead penguins, sex with injured penguins). Some just weren’t having heterosexual sex. The sad part is that some crushed or killed baby penguins by trying to have sex with them. Poor penguins. Silly biologist.