Books are not consumables like spinach, cheese, milk. But they can be consumed by readers hungry for connection, for story.
Our to-do lists are too long, our to-buy lists crammed with consumables, and the need for heat, energy, gas. But we can read, and read well, and we can share books with the people around us. Authors have poured years into their work, hoping that others will be touched by the stories they have chosen to tell. And if we cannot afford to buy, we can borrow books from the library or from our neighbors, and then we can have a conversation about what we found inside.
So please, buy a book. If there isn’t enough room in your budget, borrow a book, loan a book, recommend one to a friend. Circulate words in your community. Then talk about that shared experience–an invented world, a passionate fictional character or a specific nonfiction topic instead of who posted what on Facebook. Let’s wrench open the guts of learning and muddle about in the mess of human existence. Let’s read. And let’s have a conversation. Starting now.