What's your Book?

I have written posts about books before, and here I am again. Quite odd for someone that rarely reads a book. I think when it comes to reading there are two questions: "do you like to read" and "do you read". The answer for me would be, I like to read but I don't read. I would never be one of those people that has a book on the go all of the time, or maybe even more than one book. There are a variety of reasons that I do not class myself as a reader. I am not a sitter; you have to be able to relax in order to remember what you are reading. When I do read, I deeply immerse myself into a book. I have such a vivid imagination, I become the person I am reading about. I have to be in the right space to read.   

When I say to people, "do you read?", people know exactly what I mean. It is like a universal language. I always question them on what they read. The answers are interesting. Many people say, "I read anything", others say, "I like books of mystery" or "books of history". I personally like non-fiction mainly biographies. I love books with a message from life lessons. I have certainly read my share of self-help books; they were helpful at that time. 

I just admire people that read. Those people that reach out on Facebook for book suggestions are clearly avid readers. I have a very short list to offer, they include: "Where the Crawdads Sing", "Erin's Story" and "Crossroads". That's it, not a big list. I enjoyed "From the Ashes" and "Valley of the Birdtail". Basically, I enjoy any book I take the time to read. I am going to take on, "Killers of the Flower Moon" when the right space and time arrives. 

With all of the technology out today, I love that children enjoy reading. Parents read to them, and they are soon holding their own books and reading. Their homes are full of books. What a great habit for them to go to bed and read before going to sleep. So many adults have that practice as well and I think what a perfect way to settle for the night.   

I recently attended a baby shower. That little babe already has a library of books. I was told by a retired teacher, that research proves that homes with books increases the child's IQ. We had a short discussion on what about the disadvantaged and poor. There are children with high IQ's come from those homes, let's just imagine how much more they could have learned if they had been exposed to books. 

I just heard a quote that I love, "don't read a bad book, there are too many good ones to read". What great advice. I can't even imagine the information that those who read all of the time must know about the world and life. I know by preparing for blogs, I read lots of information on google. I find by reading and writing about it I have better retention of the information. I think I could honestly say, "my computer is my book". It is like immersing myself in short stories, which works best for me. I like to think in retirement, I have found something that has certainly broadened my knowledge base. Google searches keep me current and aware. I need that.