By David W. Keeber |
Sedona Public Library
Sedona, AZ - When you read, are you a
“one-at-a-timer” or a “scatter shot reader?” Do
you sit in one favorite chair to read, or do you
have a book with you wherever you go and read
wherever you are? Do you stick with one genre or
are your tastes eclectic? Is reading how you
escape from life or what you do to engage with
the world by gathering information? Readers come
in all styles, types, and habits. But, whatever
way you read, you probably recognize that were
it not for reading, life would be much poorer
for the lack.
A friend of mine refers to the television as the
haunted fish tank and at times, it seems such an
apt title - not much to see but the same old
stuff and very little to get out of the
experience. For myself, I watch TV almost out of
necessity and would prefer the experience of
reading, whether the written page or information
I find on the Internet. Of course, the Internet
has its own dangers, but if you know how to find
pages that offer accurate and timely
information, you can avoid much of the same sort
of mind rot you find on the television.
National Public Radio has a frequent contributor
named Nancy Pearl, librarian, action figure and
book “luster.” She touts books, some whose theme
is travel. Her descriptions can tickle the fancy
of any avid reader, and hopefully, set
nonreaders on the path to becoming hooked on the
book. Monthly, we receive a publication called
Book Page, a book review paper in tabloid
format. You can see the readers poring over the
pages of each new edition as soon as it comes
in. The New York Times Book Review, their Best
Seller List, and a host of other sources provide
opinions and insights into one book or another,
all in an effort to get you to read whatever it
is they are hawking. The din and clamor of those
that love books is almost so deafening as to
make reading impossible.
What is this fascination for the words of
others? Why are readers so intent on their
immersion into the worlds, real or otherwise,
within the printed pages? Is there a cure for
this, or is a cure even needed?
I believe it comes from the primeval experience
of hearing stories around the fire, when an
elder would attempt to explain the world around
the listener with the mythic tales of a tribe’s
forebears. Or maybe it is simply a matter of our
trying to recall the wonderful moments in our
youth when a parent would read to us and we
would disappear into the stories they would
impart. Of course, there are probably plenty of
other theories for why people read – as many as
there are readers, I daresay.
My home is becoming a clutter of books, piled
willy-nilly on shelves, bedside tables, coffee
tables, and counters. In my world, all
horizontal surfaces are there simply to stock
with books. My wife wonders why I don’t just use
my library card, rather than bringing home more
to add to the heaps. In spite of my doing just
that, the stacks continue to grow – thank
goodness I am a woodworker and am now building
more bookcases! Cold comfort to my wife who
fears an avalanche!
Both of my sons read, and if I only impart that
skill to them, I can consider myself a good
father, at least in my own mind! I have gone to
homes that don’t have books lying around and
those places creep me out. I am starting to see
that same reaction in my boys – more evidence of
good parenting, eh?
In the end, for readers reading is second
nature. For non-readers, it is an exercise that
simply escapes them. I am not even sure that you
can turn an inveterate non-reader into an avid
reader – it seems that it is something you are
trained to from an early age. Certainly, many of
my library colleagues will disagree, but I have
my suspicions. It is a real concern on the part
of librarians that the future may bring fewer
readers and libraries as we know them will
disappear. I doubt it, myself. Just look at a
true reader. One might suspect that even after
they die, they will find a way to have a small
light and a book in the grave with them. Imagine
the overdue fines, though!
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