Today is "library day." Since Punkinhead was two, we have made a weekly trip to our local library. It started on Wednesdays, but was moved to Thursdays to accommodate other extracurriculars. I will not tell you how long ago Punkin was two, but suffice it to say that we have been to hundreds of "library days." She and I have had the pleasure of reading a mountain of books that we could not possibly have consumed had we been required to purchase them.
I am astonished at how few people take advantage of this treasure trove. Instead of a stop at the library for a bagful of books, everyone (and I mean everyone) I know is at home in front of the teevee. Heck, I'm not reading Homer here. Or Plutarch. Or even Shakespeare. Just some popular fiction and an occasional biography/history. Even if what you're reading is the equivalent of cotton candy, it still engages your brain more than the latest episode of the Sopranos. And let's face it, we really -as a nation- need to engage our brains a little more than we have in the past six years.
2 comments:
I agree. When I was teaching college freshmen a couple of years ago, it was difficult to make allusions to literature. Red Badge of Courage? Wuthering Heights? Anyone? The classics seem to be disappearing from the standard high school curriculum. Sad.
BTW, my freshman Western Civ professor used The Source as our primary text. Excellent book.
I'm just sorry that the "books" section of the profile is so short. It cut off at least 8 titles that I really love. Plus I had to self-edit quite a few.
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