Skip to main content

Read A Book

When people ask me what I do in my spare time, one of my answers is almost always “reading.”  Now, I know that does not sound like the most exciting answer.  It may not seem thrilling or especially active.  To me, though, reading is just as exciting as almost any other hobby.  For me, reading is a source of memories, a reminder of a part of my life.

I vividly recall, on sunny days, sitting on a blanket in my front yard, a book in my hands.  The sun at my back, I practically inhaled the stories.  On summer road trips, I whiled away the trip by reading.  It was not unusual for me to finish a book over the course of a trip.

When I had read all of the books I had, we would go to the library to find new options.  Some of my most constant childhood memories involve trips to the library.  During the summer, especially, my mother would take my brothers and me to the library.  We would walk through the doors and split up, my brothers and I heading in one direction, towards the children’s section, while my mother went in the other direction, to the novels and biographies, her favorites.  After a long time spent wandering the aisles, we would come back together, each of us with a stack of books in our hands.

To this day, when I am looking for something to do, I invariably will grab a book, even if it is one that I have read many times over.  I will pick it up again and read it as if it were brand new.  I never tire of scanning the pages, revisiting favorite stories and discovering new details.

As my friends have started having kids, my go-to gift for them has not been a toy or something from a registry.  It has been books.  Books I read as a child.  Books my friends read as children.  I want them to get the same enjoyment from reading that I got.  What better way to do that than by giving them a book.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Olympic Memories

Twenty years ago this week, I - along with my family - was sitting in my house watching the Opening Ceremonies of the Summer Olympics.  I have always loved watching the Olympics, but this time was different.  This time, the Games were not on some far-away continent.  These Games were in my own hometown!  In fact, just the night before, I had been in Olympic Stadium - now Turner Field - watching the dress rehearsal for what I was watching on tv.  Now, twenty years later, some of my most vivid memories remain: The seemingly always-crowded highways of Atlanta were practically desolate, providing a seldom-seen sight. Meeting the Frenchman who wondered if I had ever heard of the book about the Civil War written by an Atlanta woman named Margaret Mitchell. The dress rehearsal crowd cheering wildly during the parade of nations for the entry of the flag from (the nation of) Georgia. Attending the women's gymnastics podium trials, watching the Magnificent 7 prepa...

Playing Slots

             It is impossible to win on these machines, I thought.  Playing an airport slot machine is basically throwing away money, I was certain.  But, I had a long layover between flights and was looking for a way to pass the time.  I could see the neon glow of the Las Vegas Strip through the windows, but I did not have enough time to make that trip.  Despite my doubts, then, I sat down at a quarter machine near my gate and dropped in one dollar.  That was all that I would spend, I assured myself.  If nothing else, I would not be out much money.               I sat at the machine and, every few seconds, pressed the blinking button that sent the rolls spinning.  I would win. . . then lose. . . then win the small sum that I was playing.  When I looked and saw that I actually was ahead, I decided to q...

Quotes From the Road

I love to find great quotes. Quotes can make you laugh. They can make you think. They are a great way to express yourself using only a few words. Here are some of my travel-related favorites: The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page. ~ St. Augustine Thanks to the Interstate Highway System, it is now possible to travel across the country from coast to coast without seeing anything. ~ Charles Kuralt A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving. ~ Lao Tzu Most travel is best of all in the anticipation or the remembering; the reality has more to do with losing your luggage. ~ Regina Nadelson The traveler sees what he sees. The tourist sees what he has come to see. ~ G.K. Chesterton Like all great travellers, I have seen more than I remember, and remember more than I have seen. ~ Benjamin Disraeli I haven't been everywhere, but it's on my list. ~ Susan Sontag