Wednesday, September 27, 2006

For the Love of Books

The longer I teach, the more I fall in love with books. Despite the various distractions of our day, not one can take the place of the written world. I believe that the most beautiful and dangerous place to go is into your mind and heart. Books are our guides that take us to the darkest places and lead us out into the brightest day known to man. No escape can rival what a good story provides.

One of my favorite things to remember about my mom is that she was a reader when I was little. She would get a book and devour it so quickly. It set such an amazing example for me and Erin. We would go to the library and get as many books as we were allowed. Trips to the mall were always accompanied with a stop in Walden or Dalton books.

Now, I am falling in love with the written word all over again. My time is not as free to dive in but when I do, my soul stirs. To this day, I find comfort in Barnes and Nobel when I need to relax. I will drive the 45 minutes to spend a few hours surrounded by adventures, romance, comedy, and mystery. I find refuge in books the way that some find it in a quite church.

This is from one of my new favorite children's books Inkheart. It is about the love of books and the worlds inside of them. Read the quote and then read the book:

“Is there anything in the world better than words on a page? Magic signs, the voices of the dead, building blocks to make wonderful worlds better than this one, comforters, companions in loneliness. Keeper of secrets, speakers of the truth...all in those glorious words.”

4 comments:

Jackie said...

That so exactly hits how I feel and one of the reasons I have always written. It is magic. And it is immortality (for good or bad) and it is a brand new fluffy quilt on a cold evening in front of the fire. does any of that make sense?

Jaci said...

another book person!! Jarred doesnt understand me but I am glad I have you and Jackie to share my love with!!!!!

jenn said...

i like to read but i don't love to read and it was never something that came easy for me. i'm glad you gilrs love to read. i wish it was easier for me, because i love being swept away to that time and place. I LOVE books on cassettes though!

Anonymous said...

It was almost as if half forgotten voices met her ears, & familiar faces were looking at her. Isn’t it odd how much fatter a book gets when you’ve read it several times?...As if something gets left between the pages every time you read it… feelings, thoughts, sounds, smells… and then when you look at the book again, many years later, you find yourself there, too…A slightly younger self, slightly different, as if the book had preserved you like a pressed flower, both strange & familiar. --Inkspell :) (luv u, lin)