As I've posted before, I have a difficult time with books and/or reading. I grew up a non reader in a family full of readers. I remember many evenings as a kid where the whole family would be in the living room, each in our own book on a winter night, me only because no one would play a game with me which was what I would have preferred to be doing. Part of it was living as far out as we did, but another was a quest for knowledge that comes from both sides of the family. My brother was known to read encyclopedias cover to cover, and to this day knows something about pretty much everything (hint: don't try to argue with him, because you won't win, he's got the facts!) My sister won the read-as-many-books-as-you-can-in-the-summer at the library every summer, and my mom had to vouch that she actually did read the stacks she checked out. I usually read one book per year, and that was through a forced effort by my mom who thought it would be good to expand my imagination a little bit. But, I learned my information in other areas. I'm a super good eavesdropper, and have been since I was a little girl. It's helped me do my many jobs well, as you always know what is going on. I've never been a gossip eavesdropper, just wanting to learn facts and get the information the adults were sharing among themselves to be better informed.
This brings me to what I'm thinking of today. The other day we went to visit my double aunt and uncle (dad's brother married mom's sister) and I was discussing some books with my aunt. She says to me, "sounds like you are an information junkie like your mom and us aunts". I agreed, that I do love reading informational books. She then said, "the problem with all of us is not that we love getting information, but that we feel we have to share it once we have it". Yep, that is true too. She went on, "and people get sick of hearing our information. My kids tell me not to give them any more books, because they haven't read the last ones I gave them." Ouch. So true. I typically don't give out too many books (but my aunts all do, and I probably will by the time I'm their age, so be warned), because I don't read too many but I do like to share my information. It bugs me so bad when people like to be mainstream and remain ignorant. Bug, bug, bugs me. Think outside the box. Do your own research, don't just trust what one person says. Find out for yourself! I do like to gain more information every day though, so if I ever sound like I know what I'm talking about, and have misinformation, please correct me. If I'm talking about something confidently, I've usually done my research, but if someone else has better facts showing me something different, I love to hear them. Either to open my eyes to other options, or to just get a good debate going too. (my sincere apologies to anyone who may have been unwillingly on the receiving end of this trait)
Although I often lament that I don't get a chance to read a novel, I actually don't mind. I find when I do, I waste a lot of valuable time, and then have nothing to show for it in the end. Then I regret that I spent that much time reading something that didn't benefit me in any other way than the enjoyment I get out of the time reading it (usually when I should be sleeping and then my kids pay because I'm grouchy the next day). Which brings me to another thing my aunt said, which she learned when Grandpa and Grandma lived with her. She was going to read them a novel one day (they were both almost blind by now) and Grandpa asked her, "is this a true book?" She said, "No" and he said "well, why don't you find something true to read?" He quoted Philippians 4:8 to her which says, "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." I'd never heard that reason for reading non-fiction before, but I do know that Grandpa was one of the most avid readers as they come, and probably never read any fiction in his life, and never missed it either. There is much fiction that is fact based, or teaches lessons, or supports Biblical teaching but probably most of the benefits of those type of books can be found in biographies or historical books.
Anyways, speaking of "should be sleeping", that is what I should be doing right now. More thoughts another day, and I'm still pondering the fiction/nonfiction pros and cons.
