A few days ago a Facebook friend indicated she had read eight books in one month. I think that is admirable. She also walks, takes care of her husband and children, takes care of the house, provides lunches, cooks the meals, and all the other duties bestowed upon her as a wife and mother. Yet I hear others say that they have no time to read. If I am not mistaken, I think it has something to do with desire!
I love to read. I probably read an average of five or six books a month. May not sound much but some are over 400 pages long. I assume it helps my brain, and at my age it needs all the help I can give it. But reading for me is more than that. I find it enlarges my thinking, it challenges my intellectual and theological understanding and expands my education. We should never stop learning because we will never know everything. In fact, as you have probably discovered, the more we learn the less we seem we know, because there is always so much more to learn.
There are books which simply entertain and are humorous. They are good for us because laughter is a great medicine. However, I find that books which cause me to think and question and provide a window on the world, its people, its science and discoveries, are invaluable. They help me to grow.
For writers, reading is essential. One well known writer stated, ‘If you have no time to read, then you have no time to write!” But I believe reading is essential for all of us, whether or not we want to write. Today we have no excuse. You have heard it said, “Of the making of books there is no end.” So whatever type of writing attracts you, there are books available at low prices, electronically and in print.
So be entertained, be challenged, look into a new field and expand your mind. Put off the television, put on some music and get lost in a good book. Carry a book with you wherever you go. There are many wasted moments in the day. Let the waiting rooms of the nation become the reading rooms of our souls!
