I’ve been intending to write a post on books for some time now and today seemed an appropriate day, with World Book Day taking place last Thursday. In my humble opinion, books are the most important learning tool we have. I learned way more from them than any teacher I ever encountered. I loved them as a kid – a lifelong love which will never leave me. Growing up, I was fortunate enough that my mum and dad always made sure I had books – clearly they saw the importance of them too. I have particularly fond memories of the Scholastic and Puffin book clubs at school – the excitement of taking the Scholastic catalogue home and choosing wonderful new titles to buy is a vivid memory. I was also fortunate enough to have two fantastic libraries close to me. Horwich Library (the town where I grew up and still live) was a building full of wonder and joy – I used to spend hours there. A little further afield (or so it seemed at the time, despite only being five miles down the road), Bolton Library was even better. A huge, sprawling building crammed with shelf after shelf of books. The children’s section back then was almost as big as the whole of Horwich library. I used to visit frequently – most commonly, my dad would take me and wait patiently (though I didn’t appreciate this back then…) as I took in every single title (or so it seemed at the time). I loved those times and fondly remember my excitement when the number of books children were allowed to borrow increased from six to ten. I took the maximum number every time and was never happier.
The thing I most loved about books was that they opened up worlds and fired my imagination. Whether fiction or non-fiction, I was always learning something. The colourful and picture-packed atlases taught me just how wide and varied this planet of ours is. The wonderful Willard Price ‘Adventure’ books, such as Amazon Adventure, Whale Adventure, and Safari Adventure (to name but a few) did the same but via vividly imagined stories, rather than straight-ahead facts and figures. Perhaps my favourite section in the library, the area devoted to myths, legends and the supernatural, always had me hooked. My absolute favourites were the classic Hamlyn books by Daniel Farson, specifically The Hamlyn Book of Ghosts in Fact and Fiction, The Hamlyn Book of Horror, and The Hamlyn Book of Monsters. I was addicted to them and couldn’t get enough of those books and others of a similar nature. I have no doubt that it is my interest in these titles (plus my fascination with the Stephen King and James Herbert books which my dad owned) which embedded a lifelong love of horror and the supernatural in me.
I didn’t fully understand the truly important qualities of books until I reached adolescence / adulthood. Only then did I appreciate that they provide different perspectives and viewpoints to consider, encourage empathy and open-mindedness, and help us to become critical thinkers. All of which is seemingly more important than ever these days…
The biggest struggle for me recently has been finding the time to read. Perhaps a bit of a cliché but all too often, life gets in the way. My favourite time to read, when I go to bed at night, is getting increasingly more difficult the older I get, primarily as I’m usually asleep soon after my head hits the pillow. The amount of books I read annually over the past 3-4 years has been way lower than I aimed for. To resolve that, I now have dedicated reading slots each day. Certainly a little at lunch-time (if the work schedule allows it) and a decent slot early evening tends to work well. Additionally, I still try to read at bedtime (though that’s an uphill battle!) and, when I’m working in the office, I always read on the train. Another thing which helps, and this won’t come as a surprise to anyone who has read other blogs of mine, is ditching the phone more often. I challenge myself on a frequent basis, asking which is the better use of my time – aimless, random scrolling or reading a book. The answer is pretty obvious…
So, in addition to encouraging everyone to read, those early years are clearly vitally important. If you are fortunate to have children in your life, whether your own, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, godchildren or others, please do try to read with them, or at least to encourage them to read. There isn’t a need to try to look all intellectual and walk around with one of the classics either (though that isn’t a bad thing if it is your bag). Read anything. Teach your kids to read anything. My favourite authors are Stephen King and Roald Dahl. Hardly highbrow stuff, though that doesn’t matter a jot. Reading must be enjoyable so find whatever works for you. There are books on just about every subject – there will be something out there for you. I’ll always remember something an old Physics teacher – Mr Gough – randomly told our class one day. I can’t recall the exact context though I vividly remember him telling us to read; read anything and everything. Read books, magazines, newspapers, leaflets, information posters – anything at all. His reasoning was that reading can only be beneficial and we shouldn’t pigeonhole ourselves to one particular genre or theme. Those words have always stuck with me.
Anyway, time to end my sermon on the beauty and importance of books and reading! I’ll end this post with a few book-related quotes which I love:
- Books make your mind sharper. Life more exciting. Spirits higher. Stress levels lower. Heart more compassionate.
- People often say that football and boxing are the ways out of the working class and they are your ticket out of that kind of life. If you happen to want to leave it. But, for me, the library is the key. That is where the escape tunnel is. All of the knowledge in the world is there. The great brains of the world are at your fingertips. (Billy Connolly)
- Always keep a book with you, in case of emergencies… like social gatherings…
- Civilised nations build libraries; lands that have lost their soul close them down. (Toby Forward)
- A library in the middle of a community is a cross between an emergency exit, a life-raft and a festival. They are cathedrals of the mind; hospitals of the soul; theme parks of the imagination. On a cold rainy island, they are the only sheltered public spaces where you are not a consumer, but a citizen instead. (Caitlin Moran)
- A friendly reminder that there’s no right or wrong way to enjoy a book. Read it, listen to it, feel the paper, use a Kindle, buy it, borrow it, devour it the day it’s released, let it cure until it’s ready like a good prosciutto. No right or wrong way. (Jonathan Edward Durham)
- I fully intend to read all the books I’ve purchased and am on schedule to do it by my 592nd birthday.
- I had no money growing up. My dad was a labourer and my mum did everything to make ends meet. Men worked hard. Women worked miracles. But education was free. As was the local library. I knew books were my passport to a better life. Happy World Book Day. (Ricky Gervais).
- Just in case things get boring, I’m bringing a book…
Best wishes and take care.
Mick
