For My Love Of Reading

“A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. The man who never reads lives only one”- George RR Martin

I grew up reading and living many lives. My parents provided me with more books than I knew what to do with and thanks to my parents and my teachers who promoted a love of literacy and learning from an early age, I have always felt drawn to books. From an early age I would stare at the pictures before words and then once I was able to read more easily, the words on pages. I became enthralled and couldn’t understand when my classmates throughout my school years didn’t get as excited as me when we were assigned reading. My ideal day would be to spend hours wandering through the aisles of libraries and bookstores, staring at the spines and covers of books, picking them up to read the book jackets, and occasionally flipping through the pages to glance at the words decorating them.  I’m addicted to that new book smell and my hands crave the feeling of a book and the turning of a page. When most girls are asked what they want in life, they might answer a big closet or a handsome man, I just want a library full of books in my house.

When asked what my favorite thing to do is, I answer, “to curl up in a blanket and read with hot tea or coffee”. Although I have always loved reading, life would get in the way and many times in high school and college my time had to be prioritized elsewhere. I would still pick up a book when it was possible, but I rarely had time. And often my reading would then consist of scholarly articles, or books I did not particularly want to read. My life was full of “real people” and I was very grateful for the life I was living, but I always wished I had more time to delve into other worlds, the worlds that were inhabited by characters and situations just as rich, but very different from my own.

When I got to Ethiopia I discovered my love of literature again, as I seemed to gain back the time I had lost in high school and college. Suddenly I found myself with more than enough time to read and explore those worlds I thought I had lost. Although I will always love actual copies of books, technology is helpful when it comes to access I would not have had otherwise. Technology gave me the ability to read and share books with other volunteers, and to read in places like buses that I would not have been able to do with an actual book.

I have always loved fiction books, but with access to a large library of digital books and with more than enough time on my hands, I have been able to expand my love of literature to different genres I would otherwise have not explored. Although my reading habit has grown here, I don’t know if it did much for my social life and integration during my Peace Corps service. I very well could have been off exploring my site, talking with locals, or spending time at school. Instead, many times I preferred to reach into my books as a retreat. I am not sure whether that is a positive coping mechanism, but it worked for me.

While serving in Ethiopia (well, to date at least—and I have 87 more days in country as of this writing) I have read 153 books. They have ranged from “Freakonomics” to “Harry Potter”, “A Long Walk To Freedom” to “Anna Karenina”, “No Country For Old Men” to “The Little Prince”. Some I have reread although I have read them before- such as “Harry Potter”, “To Kill A Mockingbird”, and “Lord of the Flies”. Some I read because they are considered classics, and I thought I should read them to see what all the fuss was about- such as “Schindler’s List”, “Anna Karenina”, and “Moby Dick”. I have read a lot of books by the same author- such as Maya Angelou, the Anne of Green Gables series, Ernest Hemingway, and Jane Austen. I have read nonfiction books about other parts of the world- such as “The Village of Waiting”, “Emma’s War”, and “Dead Aid”. Those books are just the beginning.

I never realized how grateful I was to not only grow-up with a love of reading, but also with the ability to read and to access books. I don’t know the exact numbers, but I’m aware that the literacy rate in America is low and in Ethiopia is even lower. Many children due to lack of good education and a lack of resources are not able to enjoy the simple pleasure of sitting down with an entertaining book and being able to delve into the richness of the story.

I have come to fall in love with characters and settings. I have come to despise characters and situations. I have traveled along with and lived side-by-side famous heroes and heroines. I have developed a mind that pictures what is happening like a movie as my eyes are reading the words on the page. I am that person that won’t put a book down no matter how tired I might be if I’m so entranced I forget what is going on around me. I draw parallels in my life to those that I read. Although Hollywood is getting better with providing strong female characters for girls to look up to, I have found that there are many more heroines for girls to imagine themselves being in books. Literature is a great resource for female empowerment.

“I live in 2 worlds. One is a world of books. I have been a resident of Faulkner’s Yauknapatafa county, hunted the white whale aboard the Pequod, fought alongside Napoleon, sailed a raft with Huck and Jim, committed absurdities with Ignacious J. Reilly, rode a sad train with Anna Karenina, and strolled down swan’s way. It’s a rewarding world. But my second one is by far superior. My second one is populated with characters slightly less eccentric but supremely real. Made of flesh and bone, full of love, who are my ultimate inspiration for everything. Richard and Emily Gilmore are kind, decent, unfailingly generous people. They are my twin pillars without whom I could not stand. I am proud to be their grandchild. But my ultimate inspiration comes from my best friend, the dazzling woman from whom I received my name and my life’s blood, Lorelai Gilmore. My mother never gave me any idea that I couldn’t do whatever I wanted to do or be whomever I wanted to be. She filled our house with love and fun and books and music, unflagging in her efforts to give me role models from Jane Austen to Eudora Weltey to Patti Smith. As she guided me through these incredible 18 years I don’t know if she ever realized that the person I most wanted to be was her.”—Gilmore Girls

The above words were spoken by Rory Gilmore during her valedictorian speech in “Gilmore Girls”. She is a character not unlike myself who finds joy in fictional characters and loves to delve into different worlds. If you take out the names she provides and put in my grandparents and parents names, this speech very much mirrors my own thoughts. My grandparents and parents provided me with role models in music, movies, and books. However, the people that inspire me the most are them. My life outside of the pages of books is much more rewarding- however I like the escape of words and images that are not applicable to my own life.

My life might be lived to the fullest, but books only help me live it more. I am lucky that I have always been able to retreat into the pages of books. I am lucky that I have learned life lessons through words both read and heard. I am lucky to have had the opportunity to grow up with that love. I am lucky that I have been given the opportunity to spread that love to other children in the classroom. And I am lucky to know children and adults just as committed to books and literature as I am.

“The more you read, the more things you know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go”- Dr Seuss

I know that reading might be difficult for you. Maybe you have never loved reading like I have. Maybe you don’t have access to many books. Or maybe you just prioritize your time differently, you never seem to have enough of it, and when you lay down at the end of the day you always seem to crash before you get more than a sentence in. Life happens and circumstances can be difficult, I understand. But I give you a challenge: Search for a book you think you will enjoy and actually take the time to read it. It might take you awhile to find that perfect book or author, it might take you awhile to get through it, and you might feel stressed if you give yourself a deadline. But I bet that once you finish that book you will feel accomplished and happy and hopefully you will feel rewarded. Reading is a way to escape your current life. It’s a gift given to us that helps us learn and grow as humans, so take that gift and use it. Dr. Seuss says it perfectly. Read to explore and learn, live another life and explore new worlds—I bet it will be worth it.