With the Spring Reading Thing fresh on my mind, I have been thinking about reading. Not just about what I will read, but about my process of reading. I don’t want to overthink this but I have come to realize, more than ever before, what I read and how I read it is different, regardless of WHEN I read it.
When I read for information, the act of reading is secondary to the information that I obtain. There seems to be more of an interpretation element to that type of reading. Just think about it…street signs, bank statements, receipts, notes from school, price tags…all things that we read everyday without thinking about the reading. In a sense, we take that reading for granted because we do it so automatically.
When I study or research something, I read with a pen and paper. There might be thoughts that I need to record or phrases that I need to capture. There might be an idea for an article or a blog post or a chapter that I have to record before I go to something else. There might be a web site or a job lead that I need to remember so that I can come back to it later. In this sense, reading is work…or it might lead me to write something, which is my work. I always have a READ FOR WORK pile (articles, newsletters, newspapers, job descriptions, etc.) and a separate READ pile. They are not labeled and anyone else would not know that they are not the same – just stuff to be read. To me, those piles are totally different animals and not always friendly ones.
As a writer, I sometimes feel I have lost my ability to read for pleasure. Because I enjoy the elements of written communication AND because I look at all written communication for ideas and examples, I struggle to turn that part of my brain off and just enjoy reading for its own sake. Honestly, I don’t know if that is a choice that I am capable of making. After all, if I am a writer because the ability and the passion for writing is actually ingrained in my physical being, is it possible for me to only be a reader sometimes? That is not to say that I want to be a disengaged or passive reader. Sometimes I would just enjoy being a writer that has escaped into reading – not evaluating or experimenting – just reading. What a difference that would make!
8 Remember to dedicate the Sabbath day: 9 You are to labor six days and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. You must not do any work—you, your son or daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the foreigner who is within your gates. 11 For the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and everything in them in six days; then He rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and declared it holy.
Ex 20:8-11 (HCSB)
Here is one formula for creating a day of rest…
READ for enjoyment. Read the Bible; read the newspaper; read the magazine and book that you have been saving for your “vacation”. Just read what you WANT to read and leave the rest until another day.
EAT for nourishment. Don’t just think of your physical nourishment, but think of your spiritual and psychological nourishment also. Gather with your family and eat together. Talk and share during this time, especially if it is rare that you are eating together at all.
SLEEP for satisfaction. Give yourself permission to nap in the afternoon or go to bed really early, just because you want to!
THANK GOD for obedience. There is nothing in our lives that comes to us apart from God. Think about all the blessings you have in your life, today – right this moment, and thank God for them. He desires our praise and thanksgiving and you will be blessed just by the act of doing it.
Think about your books for a minute. How many books do you think you have? How many books do you think your children have? Do you have bookshelves that are overflowing and closets that are storing books you don’t use anymore? Now, think about your local libraries. Do they have enough books? What about the libraries in your children’s schools? Are they well-stocked?
Throughout my life, I have been incredibly blessed to have access to all the books that I needed to be a successful student. More than that, I have had (and still have) more books in my home than I could ever count. Consequently, my skill for reading has been developed and my love for reading has grown and been nourished. How blessed I am!
But what about people that cannot afford to purchase books for their homes? What about people that don’t need books because they cannot read? What about the people that would like to read more but cannot find enough books to read?
Yesterday, I had a chance to participate in an event that will make a difference in the lives of people that want to read and learn but lack adequate resources to do so. The Children’s Literacy Guild of Alabama distributed over 375 boxes of new and gently used books to librarians from 13 different school systems in the Black Belt of Alabama. There was no charge to the schools and their only responsibility was to pick them up!
I have no question that there are libraries, schools, and families all over this nation that want and need books…ANY books they can get their hands on! Do yourself a favor, go through your books and find some that you can live without. Then, FIND someone that can use them and give them away. If you do, you will plant seeds that will allow someone else’s love for reading to grow!
Here are a few places needing books. Start here if you don’t have someone close by …
Hurricane Katrina Library Relief
Friends of Libraries U.S.A
Gulf Coast Libraries After Katrina
DonorsChoose.org
Dolly Parton Imagination Library
Reading Is Fundamental
One more thing, send me your stories of how you share your books. I would love to know what needs are out there and how little gifts might meet them!
