Sometimes I have to stop and realize how incredibly fortunate I am to be living now, and to have grown up in a time and place where reading was always encouraged, and books always available. The two events I wrote about in the previous post are only possible for me because of these factors.
I am so grateful that, as a child, I was read to often and from when I was very young, that our mom read us a bedtime story each night before we went to sleep. Each week she took my brother and me to the library in town, a beautiful 1780’s Dutch stone house, where, after careful browsing, we emerged victorious with stacks of books in our arms. Once at home, we dove into our treasures. We had bookcases in our rooms, and it was a common sight to see our parents reading in the evening, long after the TV had become a living room fixture.
It’s easy to forget what an abundance of riches this truly is. We search the internet, e-mail, write and visit blogs and social media, and read books in a variety of 3-dimensional and electronic media with nary a thought. But that is not, and has not been, the case for many people in this world.
Awhile back, a fellow blogger shared this sentiment and gave me a link to a story by an author whose name I had not heard since I was in high school, Richrad Wright. He grew up in the deep South and in 1944, when he was 36, wrote the book Black Boy. A particular chapter is titled The Library Card, and in first person relates Wright’s discovery of the vast reading material and knowledge to be had and to which he had no access because of his color. The books he longed to read only became available surreptitiously through the use of one trusted white man’s library card, and this depended upon Wright’s maintaining his attitude of ignorance and subservience to those around him.
For me, The Library Card eloquently makes the point of how blessed we are to be free to read, to learn, and to explore at will. There are people all around the world, including right here in our own country, predominantly children and women, who do not have access to books, nor can they, nor in some places, are they allowed or encouraged, to read.
There are plenty of ways we can bring books and reading to those who need and would benefit, but it has to start with this – the realization of how wonderful a gift we already have and frequently take for granted … a light that shines into the darkness, a transport to other worlds, an endless source of inspiration. Lucky, lucky us.
See you at the book sale.
Still A Dreamer 
Having just finished reading 1000 pages, I realize that humans are not designed to read and hold a book! Either neck, thumb, or tendon issues arise any time I attempt to settle into a great read. Boo!
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I think this may only be so as we grow older and our body parts are a bit weaker, but 1,000 pages – especially in a hardbound – is a big book, too! I’m just glad the books I want to read are here for me in whatever format! (Though I believe I will always prefer a 3-D book.)
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Books and public libraries – two of the greatest inventions of all time. Thanks for this very interesting post, Jeanne.
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Always a pleasure! I reined myself in at the book sale, BTW, and only came home with 12 books – all novels.($7.25) It’s so easy to come home with dozens that you truly want to read. I wish I could magically transport all the people I know that would love to stroll those aisles to the book sale and home. 🙂
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I’d be one of them! Congrats on the self-discipline. (smile)
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When I get that kind of magic, I’ll be banking on it, Cynthia!
Jeanne
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I so remember my first reading of this–20 years before it was turned into a children’s book.
It wasn’t ‘nice’ learning that others were denied books because of the color of their skin. I was shocked by that idea.
I knew about being denied access to books on a values level: parental contempt for reading, writing and education in general. The public library was entirely out of my reach. The school library was not. And there were finds at the flea market for a dime–on a good day when I had a dollar in change to spend.
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That had to be really tough – a curious, intelligent child with unsupportive parents who disdained learning. Wow. Makes me extra grateful for my Mom and Dad who, even though they did not have any extensive education, still valued all the benefits of reading and learning. And yet – you clearly have plenty of knowledge because you are such a big reader. Cheers to you!
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PS. To clarify–we were NOT economically poor.
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We like to think that with decent financial situations comes an appreciation of education, but it’s not necessarily so, (as you know.) The socially/economically deprived can become brilliant and accomplished and the rich can remain boors.
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