Confessions of a Lover of Books and Learning

iv>stores.
Many of us love to read. Some of us who love toThere’s also the used book option at
read the most are introverts, so I went to theamazon.com, as well as the plethora of free
source to find out what it’s all about.learning material on the Internet. You don’t
There’s a great readers’ survey onhave to spend a cent, and you don’t have
TheIntrovertzCoach ( ) and yes, Easy Readerto leave your house.
that I am, I participated. You're invited to, too!Some questions for you about books:
Here are two things that seem to be true of1.Do books uplift the spirit and allow a pleasant
people who have developed a love of reading:distraction?
·They were taught to read before they went to“When I am attacked by gloomy thoughts,
school, often by a parentnothing helps me so much as running to my
·Most couldn’t even count the number ofbooks. They quickly absorb me and banish the
books they’ve read in a lifetime. Oneclouds from my mind.” ~Michel de Montaigne
reader wrote, “Almost as many drinks of2.No matter what your stage or age, is there a
water as I’ve taken. Can’t begin tobook out there for you?
guess.” Hundreds and thousands seem to be”Books … are like lobster shells. We surround
the norm.ourselves with ‘em, then we grow out of
When a parent or loved one teaches you to read,‘em and leave ‘em behind, as evidence of
it’s associated with a loving atmosphere.our earlier stages of development.” ~Dorothy
Many people who love to read tell me that beingL. Sayers
read to was a regular part of their life as a child.3. Are books wonderfully user-friendly?
My father read to me and my sister every night,“Books are the quietest and most constant of
without fail. The books he chose even my motherfriends; they are the most accessible and wisest
had to object to at times — “Blackof counselors, and the most patient of teachers.
Arrow,” and “The Three Musketeers,” for~ Charles W. Eliot
instance, but it really didn’t matter to me. I4. If you’re living without books, are you
loved hearing my father’s voice, and Imissing out on something?
picked up his obvious love of literature. He”I cannot live without books.” ~ Thomas
approached each reading session with enthusiasm,Jefferson
more in the nonverbals than in anything he said,5.Do you value books more than other material
but certainly I could tell it was something he reallypossessions?
looked forward to.”Knowing I lov’d my books, he
He would pick up the clearly-beloved book, andfurnish’d me
settle back in the chair, sigh and assume aFrom mine own library with volumes that
posture of — ahhh, at last. What aI prize above my dukedome.” ~Shakespeare
wonderful way to transmit a love of learning.6.Does reading books bring refinement?
When I was ready to go to college, and was kind”You despise books; you whose loves are
of dubious, he told me I’d like it a lot moreabsorbed in the vanities of ambition, the pursuit of
than high school. He said “The kids are nicer,pleasure or indolence; but remember that all the
and the level of learning is much more enjoyable.known world, excepting only savage nations, is
You won’t have to memorize much.”governed by books. ~ Voltaire
Those pat phrases — “reading broadens7.Are those who don’t study history
you” and “learning enriches your life,”forced to repeat it?
were lived in my household. Yes, my father”Without words, without writing and without
worked. Yes, he did things around the house. Yes,books there would be no history, there could be
when he settled in to read us a book at night itno concept of humanity. ~Herman Hesse
seemed the part of the day he most looked8.Do books expose you to good people you
forward to.might not otherwise meet?
Lifelong learning appears to be one of the qualities”The reading of all good books is indeed like a
that builds our Resilience. Research by Al Siebert,conversation with the noblest of men of past
Ph.D., has found that people who live longer,centuries who were the authors of them, nay a
healthier, happier lives have incorporated learning incarefully studied conversation, in which they
every stage of their life instead of abandoningreveal to us none but the best of their
“learning” after college.thoughts.” ~ Rene Descartes
One reason I love reading is that it’s9.Are books a part of the Information Age?
always available. When you’re stuck in a“The rules have changed. True power is held
traffic jam, or waiting for a late-running soccerby the person who possesses the largest
practice to end, or getting a prescription filled atbookshelf, not gun cabinet or wallet.” ~Anthony
the pharmacy, or stuck at work with nothing toJ. D’Angelo
do, you can always get on the internet and read,10.Do books broaden your horizons?
or pull out a book.”It is books that are a key to the wide world;
Reading and learning are available under mostif you can’t do anything else, read all that
conditions. There were years (before theyou can.” ~Jane Hamilton
Internet) when I couldn’t afford books andHere’s to the joys of reading, to hyacinths
I would go to the public library. There were alsofor the soul!
used book fairs, and now there are used book