Why Books
-- A short autobiographical essay
I had some trouble learning to read when I was very young. Then in the fourth grade I discovered Hugh Lofting's books and the science fiction of Andre Norton, Robert Heinlein and others, and promptly became a devoted recreational reader, an intense interest I have enjoyed all the rest of my life.
My grade school ran a book report competition for students. The student who turned in the most book reports won. I really liked that. Students had to turn in a written report, and most of the time also deliver a verbal report to their teacher. As it worked out, book reports are something else I like to do to this day, although at some point I started calling them "reviews." I hope you'll take a look at the section of this site which directs you to some of my little articles on books.
In the mid-sixties, while a teenager, I became involved in the science fiction fan community. I published an amateur magazine (fanzine), helped organize SF fan organizations, attended and helped organize SF conventions. In the early seventies I was nominated for a Hugo award for the best fanzine. I had already been selling books at conventions and through the mail since the late sixties, so in 1979 I opened my first book store.
Reading, obviously, is pretty much my favorite activity. When I write book reviews, it is my interest in recreational reading that guides my thoughts. I always wonder why I've enjoyed a particular book or story, and how other readers might feel about it.
In the broadest possible sense, I think that reading is a humanizing activity, which tends to make us better people: more informed, more sensitive, more aware of our own and others' feelings and ideas.
How about the issue of books as a useful part of modern society? It is common today to suggest books are a bit old fashioned. Has electronic information storage and retrieval made books obsolete? I think you've already guessed that I love books. I think a well indexed, signature-sewn hardcover book is the peak of human information management technology, cutting edge.