A good book is a splendid thing. Of course, the splendor of a book is in the mind of the reader. That’s why there are so many of them; there’s something for everyone.
For me and countless others, reading books is one of life’s great pleasures. I will be eternally grateful to my parents and to many of my public school teachers for instilling in me at an early age the importance of reading and the pure joy it can bring. Thomas Jefferson often said, “I live for books.”
Well, I live for a lot of things, but books are pretty high on my list. I can’t imagine a life without books or a world with no libraries.
For a city to reach for the stars and be the best it can be, it needs a superb library. Fayetteville has one of the best in the country. The Fayetteville Public Library is a source of pride for our town and one of our finest assets.
We have a world-class library because people who live in Fayetteville wanted one and recognized what a difference it would make for our community and for the thousands of people who would use it.
Fayetteville is a place that values reading and the pursuit of knowledge. And it’s a place that believes a library should be accessible to every resident from every walk of life. As Lady Bird Johnson once said, “Perhaps no place in any community is as totally democratic as the town library. The only entrance requirement is interest.”
In 2000, the residents of Fayetteville stepped up and approved a sales tax increase to build our beautiful new library. A remarkably generous contribution of $3 million from Jim Blair was instrumental in making the library a reality as were the many other generous gifts from donors throughout Fayetteville.
The library opened in September 2004 at a total cost of $23 million and a year after its opening, it was named “Library of the Year” by Library Journal. It truly is a spectacular place and the sort of library most communities can only dream about. The dream came true in our city.
Our library is a busy place. Many of the users are young, which benefits all of us. We want those who are young to grow up to be leaders and involved residents. As President Truman once said, “Not all readers are leaders, but all leaders are readers.”
Some of us check out books at the library. Some of us buy a hardcover at the bookstore. Others do their reading now on e-readers. It doesn’t matter how you choose to read books; all that matters is that you are reading pages filled with knowledge or pages filled with a compelling story.
Whether fiction or non-fiction, if you are reading a book, you are challenging your mind, satisfying your curiosity and expanding your horizons.
Barbara Tuchman was a noted American author and historian. This is what she said about books: “Books are the carriers of civilization. Without books, history is silent, literature dumb, science crippled, thought and speculation at a standstill. They are engines of change, windows on the world, lighthouses erected in the sea of time.”
I think she summed it up nicely.
Reading interests vary, but biographies and books about American history are my favorites. They tell the stories and bring to life our interesting history. They let us understand how we got to where we are today.
For example, I read every book I can about World War II. For someone like me who wasn’t born until 6 years after the war ended, it’s the best way I know to be informed about the key events and the many people that shaped and fought the war that has had such a lasting impact on our nation and the world.
The United States has a rich and fascinating past. Read a book about our Founding Fathers, our presidents, the Civil War, the 1960s or any other topic of American history and you can learn a lot about our country. Reading the history of our country is enlightening and it deepens your appreciation for the American journey.
A dog will give you unconditional love when you come home at the end of a day; so will a good book. No matter what life has dealt you on any given day, a little time with a book that evening is healthy for the mind and a tonic for the soul.
Like a close friend, a book is always there for you through both good and bad times.
WOODY BASSETT IS A LIFELONG FAYETTEVILLE RESIDENT AND ATTORNEY.