There is no shortage of tragedy splattered across the headlines these days. It can get overwhelming at times, can't it? Most days I don't bother to watch the evening news because I know all that will greet me is one depressing segment after another. I don't want to bury my head in the sand and ignore it all, but neither do I want to drown in a black hole of sadness. There was one headline in particular, however, that struck a peculiar chord of sadness within me: "The Death of Reading Is Threatening the Soul," by Philip Yancey in this week's Washington Post. Yancey laments our culture's growing inability to sit and read anything of length thanks to the internet and every other source of digital media which competes for our attention. Gone are the days when he would sit and read three books a week, he says. Gone are the days when reading and words and books are what nourished our souls and kept our imaginations alive.
Now, I'm in no way saying the death of a human being I read about in headlines is on the same playing field as the death of reading. Do not think me so callous or ridiculous, dear reader. Read this with the light-hearted tone I intend. But from a reader and lover of words, I found Yancey's article disheartening, only because I know it rings all too true in my own life, as I see myself less and less inclined to devour books like I did as a child or teenager.
My friend and co-worker, Jill, and I have established a habit in recent years of keeping a tally of random knowledge. Our inaugural year consisted of counting the number of Cheez-It boxes I consumed in 12 months. (The total was 26. I love Cheez-Its, in case you didn't know.) Jill has a particularly unusual natural hair color, which gets her a lot of compliments. So we kept a tally of the number of times she got complimented in a year. Also 26. This past year we decided to keep track of the number of books we read. We managed to read 66 books in 12 months between the two of us.
Maybe death isn't knocking on our doorstep just yet when it comes to reading.
I am convinced heaven is going to have a spectacular library based on the words of John 21:25, one of my favorite Bible verses, “Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.”
I love how John phrases that – “I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.” Written with just a touch of whimsy, a subtle child-like wonder to his expression.
I love how John phrases that – “I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.” Written with just a touch of whimsy, a subtle child-like wonder to his expression.
But until I get to heaven and can run my fingers along the spines of its countless books, I’ll settle for earth’s libraries, some of my very favorite places on this planet.
Case in point: can I make this one small, possibly pathetic (depending on whom you ask), confession? I have always loved libraries, even as a child, but my first memory actually crying over one was when I was in college. The local library near the university was undergoing renovations, which meant the entire collection of books had temporarily migrated to an empty store on the outskirts of town. The temporary place was depressing and I recall going there only once. The renovations finally wrapped up and the collection returned to its rightful place. I remember the very first time I set foot in the new library. I walked up the stairs and quietly stood in the open space of the second floor. I felt the tears gathering in my eyes. I couldn’t help myself, I was so overwhelmed. I slowly looked over the new shelves, the neatly ordered books, and smelled the air that is distinctly “library.”
Case in point: can I make this one small, possibly pathetic (depending on whom you ask), confession? I have always loved libraries, even as a child, but my first memory actually crying over one was when I was in college. The local library near the university was undergoing renovations, which meant the entire collection of books had temporarily migrated to an empty store on the outskirts of town. The temporary place was depressing and I recall going there only once. The renovations finally wrapped up and the collection returned to its rightful place. I remember the very first time I set foot in the new library. I walked up the stairs and quietly stood in the open space of the second floor. I felt the tears gathering in my eyes. I couldn’t help myself, I was so overwhelmed. I slowly looked over the new shelves, the neatly ordered books, and smelled the air that is distinctly “library.”
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| Yes, I own this t-shirt and wear it proudly. |
Bliss.
That is not the last time I have shed a teardrop or two over libraries. I did it this past fall when I walked into the Teton Public Library in Jackson, Wyoming. Same reaction. Walked in, took it all in and felt involuntary tears spring up again. I do it nearly every time I visit the Vanderbilt mansion in Asheville, North Carolina. The Biltmore library is like a scene straight out of Beauty and the Beast. You know, when the Beast flings open the doors of his cavernous library and Belle walks in to see floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, with ladders that lead to more shelves, and balconies that lead to more books. I daydream about having a library like that someday. (Although, that means I probably need to marry someone insanely wealthy. I do not know exactly what those odds are, but I'm keeping my hopes in check.)
Oh, and the Thompson Library on Ohio State University’s campus? There is a reason it is ranked one of the top college libraries in the nation. Their grand reading room - it just makes me want to stand in wonder. Make a visit when you can.
What can I say? I love words, so why would I not love the places and the people that are keepers of words? It is what stops me from moving into another apartment in another part of the city. Well, one of the reasons at least. I love where I live in general, but a huge selling point for me is that it is across the street from the public library. I probably go there at least once a week, either to return books, pick up new ones or check out movies, use the computer (I live sans internet at my apartment, thus why I go to the library to use theirs), and generally just enjoy the quiet hum that is the public library. And it's free - what's not to love?
That is not the last time I have shed a teardrop or two over libraries. I did it this past fall when I walked into the Teton Public Library in Jackson, Wyoming. Same reaction. Walked in, took it all in and felt involuntary tears spring up again. I do it nearly every time I visit the Vanderbilt mansion in Asheville, North Carolina. The Biltmore library is like a scene straight out of Beauty and the Beast. You know, when the Beast flings open the doors of his cavernous library and Belle walks in to see floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, with ladders that lead to more shelves, and balconies that lead to more books. I daydream about having a library like that someday. (Although, that means I probably need to marry someone insanely wealthy. I do not know exactly what those odds are, but I'm keeping my hopes in check.)
Oh, and the Thompson Library on Ohio State University’s campus? There is a reason it is ranked one of the top college libraries in the nation. Their grand reading room - it just makes me want to stand in wonder. Make a visit when you can.
What can I say? I love words, so why would I not love the places and the people that are keepers of words? It is what stops me from moving into another apartment in another part of the city. Well, one of the reasons at least. I love where I live in general, but a huge selling point for me is that it is across the street from the public library. I probably go there at least once a week, either to return books, pick up new ones or check out movies, use the computer (I live sans internet at my apartment, thus why I go to the library to use theirs), and generally just enjoy the quiet hum that is the public library. And it's free - what's not to love?
So, to all you book lovers and non-book lovers: read. And read some more. And read again and again and again until you feel like you're going to go cross-eyed. Read everything you can get your hands on. But read deeply and slowly. Read the classics. Read the things that stretch your brain and require you to do more than just skim. Fill your mind to the brim until it overflows. Park yourself in a chair or flat on your bed and linger over the pages for an hour or two, not just a minute or two. Hold the books in your hands. Not Kindles, not Nooks, not iPads, not whatever other e-reader there might be. Hold the real deal. Fight the urge to become victim to the decline of reading. Books are the treasure chests of the world, so do not relent until you have found the buried gold. And then when you do, start the hunt all over again.
And I won't judge you if you maybe shed a tear or two over a good story. Or a library.
