Reading is a Great Hobby

Reading is a great hobby.  There is never a shortage of things to read on my list and I’m always adding new ones.  The great thing is that you can be very focused in one area or pick up a book about anything that catches your interest.  I tend to do a little bit of both.  I also tend toward non-fiction much more than fiction.  I’m not sure why that’s true but I’ve made an effort to purposely work some novels into my reading.

Being slightly addicted to history, I favor biographies of people that I come across as I read about recent events or about an event that happened long ago.  One of the things I like to do is to look into what happened on a particular day.  There are quite a few websites that will give you a “this date in history” listing as well as a list of who was born on this particular date and even persons who died on this date.  Almost always there is something contained in this information that makes me want to know more.  It’s almost becomes a detective game at this point.  That’s why reading is a great hobby.  I usually start with what I can find out on the internet and it’s amazing what pops up when you do a search on a particular event, topic of person.  Frequently the information is enough to satisfy my curiosity but if it isn’t a request from my local library for a particular book follows in quick order.  We live in a very small town and the library consists of just two rooms, but they are connected to a countywide system, and you can get just about any book in a few days.  I would go broke if I bought every book I wanted to read so having an efficient library is very much appreciated.

Some of the events in our history are absolutely amazing and even more amazing are the people who participated in these events.  One of my first historical “investigations” occurred when I was about seven years old.  Almost every year Walt Disney would show the movie on Davy Crockett that was originally done in 1955.  Of course, I had my coonskin cap and Davy Crockett costume complete with a toy model of Old Betsy.  I asked my parents if we could visit the Alamo but that was a bit of an extravagance for a family of five back then.  They didn’t rule it out, but they said it might take a while for us to get there.  In the meantime, there were books in the library on the subject, and I could always write to the Chamber of Commerce in San Antonio to get some information.  That was the way you did things back then.  Although there weren’t too many children’s books about Davy Crockett or the Alamo, I did get a lot of information from Texas about the shrine, the city of San Antonio and other places to visit while we were there.  It had an address for the Alamo Historical Society and that was enough for a follow-up letter.

Reading is a great hobby and can turn your life around.

That little episode was all I needed to develop a love of reading and history itself.  I researched the information I got for a number of years and finally satisfied my urge to see the Alamo itself when I was about fifty years old.  It was an amazing moment.  In fact, the whole experience illustrated why history has such a fascination for me.  From seeing a movie, which led to me reading many different books that further led me to other resources for additional information, I learned first-hand what a real historian does, and it all began with a book.  That’s why reading is a great hobby.  You never know what you’ll discover and what it will lead to.

Many people end up in a career because of an early reading experience.  In retirement, reading can inspire travel and even taking up a new hobby.  The power of reading can never be overestimated.  With the right book in your hands, you can travel the world or feel like you met someone who influenced history.  The right book can be a turning point in your life.  It can get you to question and explore your inner self or get you motivated to see the world. Reading can place you in ancient Greece or Rome or on a battlefield in the Civil War. Books tell a story, and a story can change your world.  Audio books are a gateway for those who struggle with the written word and, with a good reader, can be even more impactful than a book.  Reading is a great hobby and whether we read it or listen to it, there is a lot for us to learn.  We’re put on this earth to explore the world and learn as much as we can so go out and get a good book as a starting point.  It’s time to Enjoy Retired Life!

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