Books: Never Leave Home Without Them
In yesterday's blog post, I discussed my work with the This I Believe project. As promised, here is my own This I Believe essay, entitled, "Books: Never Leave Home Without Them."

Ever since I can
remember, I’ve had a fascination with books.
I was fortunate to have parents who read to me on a regular basis.
Bedtime each night meant reading a chapter or two from the current book Mom and
I were reading together—the Little House on the Prairie series and the Anne of
Green Gables series were some of my favorites. One of my favorite stories my
mom has told me about my childhood was how even as a toddler I was enthralled
by books—after unwrapping one at Christmas I would immediately sit down to read
and ignore any and all other presents from that moment on.
Our weekly library
day at school was my absolute favorite day of the week, and one of my favorite
events of the year was the Battle of the Books—a team trivia competition based
off of a selection of children’s and young adult books held at my elementary
school. I had fantastic teachers who
encouraged me to read, and one of my favorite memories from fourth grade was
“Read In” Day: an entire day devoted to reading in which we could bring
blankets, pillows, a backpack full of books, and read all day long.
I was a voracious
reader throughout elementary, middle, and high school. Reading for pleasure
became more difficult in college with all the required textbook reading for
classes, but once I graduated from college I dove right back into reading. I
currently set reading goals, write book reviews for my blog, and get immense
joy from an evening spent enjoying a book and a cup of coffee. I cannot go a single
day without reading—if I do not get to read I become anxious and agitated. The
simple act of reading on my lunch break or in the evening is calming and
reduces my stress level instantly. The mere sight of a large bookshelf or
library has the same calming effect. I can spend hours in a bookstore, browsing
the shelves.
I believe the written
word is one of the most powerful tools in our society, whether it be in the
form of fiction, nonfiction, short stories or poetry . Books allow us to learn about other cultures,
ideas, and places, to understand our history, to allow us to relax and escape
from the world, and to help us understand we are not alone. Reading allows us
to become well rounded, open minded and tolerant individuals. Through reading, we can experience a different
time and place without leaving home.
In every book I read, I try to make a personal
connection to a character or idea in the book. I try to learn something from
the book, even if it’s a fictional story.
Through these personal connections, I understand that my feelings are
others’ feelings, and my struggles are other’s struggles. I know that as long
as I have a book with me I will never be truly alone. I never, ever, leave home
without a book in my possession. That way, I know I’ll always have somewhere to
go to learn, to escape, to relax, and to find joy. Just like those “Read-In”
days in elementary school, I always carry a “backpack” (now a purse) full of
books, in case I have a few minutes of time to escape into a world believe in:
the world of books.
Lori, this is fantastic, and probably my favorite post of yours. I share the same passion and love of reading, as you know. There is nothing better for stress than sitting down with a good book! I have loved to read since I was a kid, and only hope my daughter grows up with that same love of books (which so far, so good!). I love that your school had Read In days! I really wish we had had those - I would have been in heaven!!
ReplyDeleteSuch a wonderful post! Definitely going to share this. :)
Thank you Brandie!!
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