Thoughts on books from 2015

The year 2015 found me busy as a congregational pastor and working on a Master of Library Science degree. At this point, the Master of Library Science degree at IUPUI was gearing its students to become familiar with social media.  We regularly had to create websites or blogs or do something online for our various assignments.  I just came across one of my blogs from 2015.  The instructor for this particular class had us create a blog page, then she provided us with a weekly prompt or question for us to respond to. 

Here is the prompt I just read and my response.  Enjoy.

Saturday, April 25, 2015

Week 16 Prompt

First, how have reading and books changed since you were a child, for you specifically?

I was born in 1966. We were fortunate to have a Carnegie library downtown.  My dad and mom both took turns taking us down to the library. During the summer months we were blessed with the book mobile.  It parked itself only two houses down from where we lived. Wow! What a treat to walk into a vehicle and be met with wall-to-wall books.  The librarian driving the bus always asked what kinds of books we liked and she made sure they were on the bus for us.  

The library downtown had a very nice magazine selection.  Dad, in particular, enjoyed reading through those magazines while we found books to check out.

I had a small shelf in my room for books. I did not own many and they were only paperbacks.  When we were on trips Dad would usually spring for us to get some paperbacks to read when we took a long driving vacation to the relatives.  There were no TV, cell phones, movies, etc.  It was either fight with the sibling, count the fence posts, play “I spy with my little eye,” or read. Reading was the quietist of the choices and worth the money.  

There was no general bookshelf of books on display in our home. Books came from the library.  The one exception occurred when I was 9-10.  Mom and Dad invested in a multivolume Encyclopedia.  I don’t know what publisher, but it was a big deal that we had it. Dad and Mom also invested in the accompanying bookshelf.  The encyclopedia was a big deal on our street.  Several of my peers borrowed volumes. Their mom called my mom and then sent the child over to get the desired volume.

I remember at the dinner table we were discussing a book or author when I was young.  My Dad called the library to see if the book was at the library or not.  The librarian had to call back because she had to go to the card catalogue.  She had a corded phone and it wouldn’t reach.

Since I was a child, books are still books.  What has changed is that I married a woman who likes to read and has her favorites.  Bookshelves cover many of the walls in our residence. I also entered into a vocation that makes use of books and requires a specialized library.  When I entered the field in 1994, email and the Internet were barely used in my circles. So we were encouraged by our professors to invest in books in order to have a strong working library wherever we went. 

 Since that time, I still read books the old fashioned way.  I still purchase them as well as borrow them from the library.  What is different though is that I now get on line to see if the library has a book I want and I know which branch it is currently located in.  I haven’t called the library about a book in years.  Also, I used to have to order books through a store.  Now, I order books myself through Amazon or various used book dealers via the Internet. And, I have a Kindle.  If I really want to read something RIGHT NOW I can borrow it through the library electronically without going there or get it from Amazon.com. The Kindle has also been useful as a space saver. Some of the classics, I have put on Kindle in order to make room on the shelves for other books. 

These days, I read books on paper, Kindle, phone, tablet, and computer. When I was a child I read primarily mysteries and westerns.  Now, my reading encompasses many different kinds of fiction as well non-fiction. The only non-fiction that I have never really gotten into is manuals.  I only read these when I have to and usually after my best guess did not work out so well.