Reading

Looks like a book may actually be a relic ..

I came across the above picture roughly three years ago and used it for comedic effect in a mass communication project I was completing. Recently, however, I have had cause to revisit the picture's theme with a more critical outlook.

I have realised, with daily increasing alarm, that we are a society that simply does not like to read. I am not saying that we are not a literate society, just that we simply are not a collectively literary one. Part of the reasoning behind my ScottyPedia persona is that I am a voracious reader - a habit that was encouraged and indulged in my youth by both of my parents and has remained with me to this day. As a direct result, my knowledge base is considerably wider than the average person's, which allows me to appreciate concepts and participate in diverse discussions without seeming out of my depth.

Yes, this was and continues to be me!

Not everyone has the tenacity to be a true bookworm but I must encourage you all to read. Reading for leisure broadens your horizons, exposing you to worlds you sometimes never knew you never knew. Other advantages include an expanded vocabulary, better usage of words, less problems with troublesome pronunciations and an improvement in the dimensions and vividity of your imagination. And this is not limited to books; magazines, periodicals and even comic books can be a surprising treasure trove of information and entertainment!

Seems a quaint proposition!

This advice may sound slightly ironic coming from an acknowledged techie like myself but I am a techie with strong linguistic roots. Those roots are strong enough that I am seriously contemplating imparting language-based pearls of wisdom to young adults on a professional basis after I graduate (much to the delight of one Earl Best, who assures me in advance those pearls will be cast before a crowd decidedly porcine in composition). Like my dear friend and mass communication colleague Jemma Grey, I tend to straddle both worlds without effort and find that this straddling complements both sides rather than causing conflict between them. And that does not make us weird at all, just different.


And if you want real irony, one of the best quotes I have ever heard that supports books and reading came from, of all places, an episode of the Gargoyles cartoon. Although the episode dealt more with literacy than with literature, I will reproduce it here, hoping that it will resonate within and encourage you to read more.

"The written word is all that stands between memory and oblivion. Without books as our anchors, we are cast adrift, neither teaching nor learning. They are windows on the past, mirrors on the present, and prisms reflecting all possible futures. Books are lighthouses erected in the dark sea of time."