For the Love of Reading

http://interioralchemy.tumblr.com/page/10#

On the cover of a recent Oprah magazine, she is reclining against a wall, mauve and green foliage in the background evoking lazy summer days, on her lap an open book. I tried to imagine the book replaced with a Kindle or some version of an e-book. Not quite the same.

At a recent gathering of fellow writers, we bemoaned the demise of the book. One person in the group mentioned that a friend had recently moved and given away all her books since she was now into electronic reading. We were horrified...giving away all your books?! Sacrilegious! I cannot imagine not having bookshelves laden with books in my home.

But it seems we are the cross-over generation - the ones who can embrace the change brought about by technology but still appreciate the benefits and delights of holding a book, turning the pages. You can’t miss something you never had, or you never knew.

On all our travels around the world we have always come back dragging heavy suitcases filled with books which we simply had to have...On our recent trip to Italy I knew that my daughter had finally relaxed when I saw her curling up on the bed with a book she had been meaning to read for probably a year.

I remember my son for all of his prep school life walking around book tucked under his arm, ready to whip it out if he had a free moment. His school had encouraged this love of reading we had instilled   into both of them from a young age. Sadly, I don’t see him reading much recently. He seems to be spending more and more time on the computer. However, he still has a bookshelf of favourite books which he won’t pass on and I think that it won't be long before he is inspired to pick up a book again.

On the other hand, I don’t mind what they read as long as they read...