Lamenting the Loss of Book Reading

Someone was going to throw out books without even looking to see if they belonged to anyone because they needed the space.  Just throw them out!
Someone else made the comment that she doesn't read books as much as she used because of being on the Internet.  I've noticed in my own life that the extra hour I used to read in the morning is now spent reading blogs, e-mail, news and Facebook.  I excuse this time as that is when I don't have to fight over computer time.  I don't have cable so I could read more, but always watch a DVD on the evenings I'm home.
I do like reading the monitor while I'm eating. When I was a kid, I read the cereal boxes and thought putting a story on the box would be the best thing.  I guess that is what a kindle is.  Some day I may try one.
The comic strip Dennis the Menace yesterday had Gina reading and the caption was, "Reading is fun.  It gives you someplace to go when you can't go anywhere."  I think that sums up reading for me.  How many books have taken me places I may never go otherwise.  I live the books even when I'm not reading them at that moment.  I remember reading Captive Princess, about Elizabeth I, feeling  as I wandered around my yard, that it was the garden at her castle, Hatfield.  Frank Perretti's novels about spiritual warfare I could only read during daylight.  I love words, but I really love the atmosphere of books, too.  Sometimes the simplest of writing immediately drops you into the story.  Laura Ingalls Wilder's books did that and still do as I revisited them later in life.  Netta Jackson and Betty Lewis  may not win prizes with prose, but the spiritual truths that come out of their stories stay with me.
Another sad day for me was when I was about 17 and realized I couldn't read in the car anymore without feeling nauseated.  Books on tape didn't quite fill that void.  Something about seeing the words left the impression in my mind.  I do like radio drama, which we listen to a lot.  Focus on the Family has quality material.   It is still a great gift for Katie- any Adventures in Odyssey CD's, Chronicles of Narnia, Bonhoeffer, Christmas Carol.
Yet, to me still, there is nothing like the feel of a book in my hands, laying in bed on a cold, snowy or rainy day, going to places I never been, meeting wonderful or not so wonderful people and having great adventures.  I also like to sit in the sun, and boy am I looking forward to that, reading a novel.  Sometimes, I hesitate to read an engaging book because I won't do anything else.  I don't hesitate long.  I love how books take me places and challenge my mind, my feelings, my ideas.
My husband told my girls when they first started to read on their own, as long as you have a book, you won't be bored.  They carry books with them everywhere.  Yet, we do look at this computer a lot, too.
My mother had a T-shirt that said, "Too many books, too little time."  So true.  Books piled that I'd love to read again and books on my list to read, as well as write.  Don't give up book reading.  Make time for a great adventure.