I was very lucky to have grown up in a household in which everybody loved to read. I can recall my sister teaching me reading way before I ever learned it in school, and I’m sure that’s one of the things that sealed my life long love of books.

Books open up a world of possibilities and open up your mind. It amazes me that there are loads of people around who wouldn’t consider reading one.

Today we have information of every kind at our fingertips, quick and easy. No need to go to the library and research. Just Google it. I’m sure there is a generation of people who have never considered life without Google. So much is handed to us through a computer screen or through some kind of electronic device.

I occasionally read a book on an electronic device and it’s OK. You don’t have to have shelves of real books and it’s back lit and all that but I still like books. I like that they’re objects, in much the same way that I liked records. I like feeling the heft of a novel if it’s a thick one. I like smelling the ink. I like flipping through it before starting the book, checking out the blurb about the author, often waiting for me on the last page.

I like that books aren’t always easy and that reading is active, and I love when I’m drawn in and there’s a whole new world in front of me. I also love that the world a book helps me create isn’t quite the same as the one you create from the same words.

Most of you know we have a book box in front of our home. It’s like a private club for those of us who know the secret pleasures of books. Some people walk by it without even noticing it’s there. Others have a look out of curiosity and carry on. Then there are those special folks who take a couple books with them and come back another day with books to share with others. The other day somebody came by with 6 or 7 books. There wasn’t a lot of room but this person managed to get them all in. I love how it slowly changes. I have a look almost every day. Hey, that one is new. And that one? That one about fly fishing, a youngster is reading it, how about that?