The worth of a book is to be measured by what you can carry away from it. ~James Bryce
A good book should leave you... slightly exhausted at the end. You live several lives while reading it. ~William Styron
There is a great deal of difference between an eager man who wants to read a book and a tired man who wants a book to read. ~G.K. Chesterton
Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers. ~Charles W. Eliot
Always read something that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it. ~P.J. O'Rourke
The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read them. ~Mark Twain
A book is like a garden carried in the pocket. ~Chinese Proverb
My test of a good novel is dreading to begin the last chapter. ~Thomas Helm
TV. If kids are entertained by two letters, imagine the fun they'll have with twenty-six. Open your child's imagination. Open a book. ~Author Unknown
You can't get a cup of tea big enough or a book long enough to suit me. ~C. S. Lewis
I have always imagined that paradise will be a kind of library. ~Jorge Luis Borges
There are many little ways to enlarge your child's world. Love of books is the best of all. ~Jacqueline Kennedy
Cutting libraries during a recession is like cutting hospitals during a plague. ~ Eleanor Crumblehulme
Books educate us about art and politics and people and ideas. This happens in non-fiction and fiction. And in poetry, of course. So many of us have been moved to a deeper understanding of things -- or many things -- by taking in a few dark lines on the page. ~Author Elizabeth Berg
It's funny that we think of libraries as quiet demure places where we are shushed by dusty, bun-balancing, bespectacled women. The truth is libraries are raucous clubhouses for free speech, controversy and community. Librarians have stood up to the Patriot Act, sat down with noisy toddlers and reached out to illiterate adults. Libraries can never be shushed. ~Comedian and author Paula Poundstone
Okay, I think I've made a small point - haha. I love books. I am fascinated by the fact that you can learn SO much simply by sitting down for a couple hours and just focusing on the words that you are reading. And once you've learned how to read properly then it's not hard at all to read pretty much any book! There can be challenging books out there, but that's where growth appears. When you can pick up a difficult book, be able to pursue it to its darkest corners, and conquer the challenges of the pages...that is when you have truly won the "war" of learning.
Whenever I go into work, one of my favorite parts is getting to interact with the patrons there. Getting to watch kids as they eagerly search the shelves for books...helping older ladies as they look for books to pass the time or read with friends...finding wedding books for young couples...poetry, non-fic, fiction, DVDs reference...there is just SO much at the library! Isn't it amazing that we can go somewhere and check out music, movies, books, audio-books and so much more for free?? Libraries are a huge blessing and I'm not just saying that because I work there!
Since I've begun work there it's opened my eyes to see that there is so much "background" work that goes on behind many things...one of which is the library. Our patrons have no idea how much work goes into what we do. But it cannot possibly be just the library...we take so many things and so many people for granted. Work is hard...and some is harder then others. Especially when we remodeled the library this summer I came to see that a lot of hours of work can go into something and people could completely breeze over it...never even notice or could care less.
But each time I go to work I am consistently seeing that pretty much any teenager could care less. They come in and are really disrespectful. Now are there exceptions? Of course! I'm not saying that every teenager who steps into the library is a punk. I'm not saying that at all. I do, however, feel that a lot of our generation has lost the great reverence and awe that should be associated with books and knowledge like that.
Which then takes me into my next subject area: intelligence and knowledge. It's so true that what you surround yourself is what you will be shaped by. Whether it's friends, books, music, movies, or media in general...it will form you either for the best or the worst. So what is shaping you? The wisest and most successful men and women of our country have said that the base of their knowledge has come from the reading of books (majority also included the Bible).
So there you have it...I could spend hours and hours writing about books and the great influence that they have upon us...but I'll wrap up now. Just the thought that what our country reads shapes us...well, first of all we don't read pretty much anything now and when we do it's hardly anything that is even remotely decent. I suppose it can be no surprise the way that our country has become so "dumbed down".
What a world it would be if we returned to reading such good books like the lovely classics...or even the best book of all time: the Scriptures. How wonderful and intelligent we could be! Anyways...those are just some random thoughts from today...you can probably tell that yes, I did go to work today :) Hope you all have a lovely night!
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment