I love books, often to excess. In the past nine days, I've bought seventeen. To be fair, some of these were not for myself, while others were reference. This being said, I don't just love buying books: I also love reading them.
We live in a very interesting time in history to be a reader: we have access to a lot of books for not a lot of money. I can go to Half Price Books and find shelves upon shelves of books for $1 or even $.50. I can go to Amazon and download several classics in Kindle format for free, or I can go to Barnes and Noble where they are often only $5. Even new releases are always on sale if you look hard enough.
Alexander the Great, on the other hand, owned two books. They were invaluable. Instead of keeping them locked up in his palace, he kept them in a gold chest, which was carried everywhere he went by four mounted horses. I'm quite happy books are no longer at this price point.
Furthermore, libraries keep offering more and more options. Many libraries even enable you to borrow books from other libraries. Interlibrary loans open up worlds of new possibilities for the reader.
We say we don't have time to read, but all that reveals is our priorities. I'm not saying reading should be your top priority: it certainly shouldn't. But we have time for what we make time for.
We have plenty of reasons why we don't read, but no excuses. Go read a book.
I love books, often to excess. In the past nine days, I've bought seventeen. To be fair, some of these were not for myself, while others were reference. This being said, I don't just love buying books: I also love reading them.
We live in a very interesting time in history to be a reader: we have access to a lot of books for not a lot of money. I can go to Half Price Books and find shelves upon shelves of books for $1 or even $.50. I can go to Amazon and download several classics in Kindle format for free, or I can go to Barnes and Noble where they are often only $5. Even new releases are always on sale if you look hard enough.
Alexander the Great, on the other hand, owned two books. They were invaluable. Instead of keeping them locked up in his palace, he kept them in a gold chest, which was carried everywhere he went by four mounted horses. I'm quite happy books are no longer at this price point.
Furthermore, libraries keep offering more and more options. Many libraries even enable you to borrow books from other libraries. Interlibrary loans open up worlds of new possibilities for the reader.
We say we don't have time to read, but all that reveals is our priorities. I'm not saying reading should be your top priority: it certainly shouldn't. But we have time for what we make time for.
We have plenty of reasons why we don't read, but no excuses. Go read a book.
On Reading Books, 1 of 2
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