Building a better world, one book at a time
KAMLOOPS — Canada Reads 2018 has wrapped up. The winning book is Forgiveness by Mark Sakamoto, defended by Jeanne Beker. I am looking forward to reading it; the rest that were in the ‘battle of the books’ too. The stack of books I am reading now is high enough to make me rethink the previous sentence. But that is the trouble (and the wonder) of books: once you get the bug, you won’t be rid of it easily.
I grew up with bookshelves that covered entire walls, two rows of books on each. I found answers, laughter, heartbreak, and inspiration as I turned the pages. I got to know people better because I read the books they recommended. I found solace in books many a time when life caught my fingers in the door.
If children are lucky, they start life with books around them, being read to, their minds following characters and stories, their busy minds coming up with a ‘why?’ for anything that does not make sense to them. There is a lot that doesn’t, because that is how humans start. Small and curious in a big world that has a lot of surprises and a lot of answers. For which they have questions. Indulge them, if you can, long mornings of reading in bed. Drop what you’re doing for the sake of reading together. Wrestle Santa into leaving more books than toys under the tree.
If we are to guide them with some dignity (rather than trying to answer all their questions, which we cannot,) we ought to read our share of books too. The competition between books and screens, be it a phone, tablet, computer, or TV, has become an uncomfortable topic. It is but too easy to push a button. For children and teenagers, the implications are even deeper and more disturbing. The world will only become more complex and its problems will need more and better attention from well-educated minds. If knowledge is gold, then books (and select verified internet resources) are the proverbial philosopher’s stone.