To read, perchance to dream ...

So ... whatcha reading? Better yet ... how are you reading it?

Are you a gadget junkie? Did you rush out and get an eReader as soon as the first one rolled out of that factory far, far away? What kind is it? A Kindle? Which version? A Nook? An iPad? A Kindle app on some other device?

Or maybe you're all hipster and old school. You actually picked up a volume made from GASP!! paper. You breathe in that luscious smell of new book ... or even old book. The sweet dusty, musty richness of an old tome that weaves its spell around your senses and takes you on journey of the imagination. 

Better yet you went to the LIBRARY!! You borrowed a book, or six, for FREE!! You have in your possession the one most valuable thing a person in this country can have. It is a ticket to faraway lands, to rich literature, to ancient cultures, to current yet different cultures and learning from all over the world. It opens doors, increases knowledge, sets the mind free to dream and think and yes, evolve. Whether it is learning new skills, or walking on far planets, solving mysteries alongside Miss Marple a library card is a ticket out of wherever you are. Ah books! 

As a child I could not WAIT until I was old enough to get my own library card. On of the happiest days of my life was when I got that pretty blue card (yellow cards were for the grown ups) with my name on it. I took part in every summer reading program, collected all the little toys and things they gave us for each book we read. I was THRILLED the day I was old enough to graduate to the yellow card and check out more than one book at a time. Books opened worlds. Books let me walk with dinosaurs, soar among the stars, taught me about physics, history and literature and everything in between. Books let me dream. Books set me free from the world of asthma and allergies and general geekdom (even though an excess of reading identified me as a geek). From the safety of the arms of the weeping willow tree high above the yard I could go anywhere and do anything.

I have an eReader. Okay it is a Kindle app on my Galaxy Tablet but it is an eReader. I do like it for when I travel and it does save me money on the books for my Book Club (digital is cheaper than traditional). But ... I like the smell of "real" books. I like the heft and feel and warmth of "real" books. I like going to the library and wandering among the stacks and wrinkling my nose at the Dewey Decimal System's way of organizing them. I like how the spines get worn and the pages yellow over time, seeing smudges on the pages of the books I loved as a child, even the occasional grass stain (I took books everywhere). I like walking into second hand book stores and breathing the deep the smells of time. The joy of finding an old book of poetry in that second hand shop (something I collect) by some obscure poet (maybe even self published) and seeing the name of a former owner inscribed on the inside cover. A book travels through time, figuratively and literally. A book is priceless.

It is easier to read a "real" book on a sunny day on a blanket on the grass. A "real" book doesn't make my eyes feel tired late at night. You can wrap a "real" book up, write something tender and wonderful on the inside cover and give a precious gift .... But then again I don't need a flashlight to read in the dark on an eReader. How cool would that have been in my childhood to have had an eReader under the covers?

So many pros and cons for each medium. And you know what? I really don't care how you read. How you teach your kids to read ... so long as you DO read and pass that joy along to your children. However please consider introducing them to "real" books. 

"You cannot open a book without learning something" -- Confucious