Adventures On The Page

I am an avid reader. I was read to as a small child and encouraged to read by both my parents. The school I went to in kindergarten and first grade was teaching students to read in kindergarten and in first grade we were reading from the third grade reading book we used in the school I attended in third grade.

I did not go to a special school. It was the public school in a small town in Nebraska. All the children who attended school learned the same things I did. Children are like sponges and will absorb whatever is offered.

So I learned very early that books are a form of entertainment. You can learn about life from some books. Some books teach you how to behave.

Some books tell about historical events or people. I really enjoy knowing why things happened in the past. I cannot help but wonder if we paid a little more to the mistakes of the past maybe, just maybe, we would know how to avoid them now.

There are books that look to the future. The various authors speculate about the way life will be.

Fantasy books have fanciful worlds full of fairies and ogres and other mythological creatures. Or the worlds are different from this one and the people in the books deal with problems we do not have. Or maybe you are on a trip in outer space or inner space.

If you have something you need to fix you can get a book that will explain how. It can help diagnose the problem and tell you what parts and tools you will need to make it good as new.

You must get the idea by now. A book is the equivalent of a trip to another place. It is a valuable tool. It is an education. It is a friend.

You can get completely lost in the story. My son likes to tell of the time he was reading one of the Wheel of Time books. He was reading about some of the good guys escaping from some of the bad guys. Suddenly from nowhere was a bolt of lightning that blinded and deafened the enemy. The lightning was so surprising and loud that my son actually jumped. The story felt real to him.

Many books are very well written. I think that when I read Silence of the Lambs I was so impressed with the artistry of the words. I felt that there was not one unnecessary or wasted word in the whole book.

I have read so many books about the American Revolution and about the Civil War. Some are biographies and some are historical accounts. Sometimes they contradict other books I have read. But I have a real feeling for the way things were. I feel like I have a truer understanding of the reasons both wars were fought. I understand why people from either side felt the way they did. And I have come to admire many people from both sides of the conflicts.

I encourage everyone to read. You can choose something light if you like. There is something soothing about reading a nice little story. My youngest sister was not much of a reader and decided she should be. She began with romance novels because they were easy to read and not too long. Now she reads a lot.

Go get yourself a book. Find a nice comfortable quiet place. Have something to sip on as you read. Go to a place you have long wished to visit. Enjoy yourself.