It’s National Book Lovers Day! The day in every reader and writer’s mind as the best national holiday of the year. It may be obscure in comparison to some, but not in my heart.
What is your all-time favorite book? No, not one you wrote – even though I’m sure it is fabulous – but what book changed your life and made you pay attention to the world in another way. For me, it had to be To Kill a Mockingbird. I loved it because of how Atticus Finch stood up for the underdog and didn’t care what others thought. He spread that love-of-mankind by teaching his children to be accepting of others, like his defendant, Tom Robinson, or the neighborhood recluse, Boo Radley. The only book that Harper Lee ever published was an American favorite then as it is today. And in today’s climate it is needed once again to teach a new generation of Americans brotherly love.
Literature is a big part of my life and many others. National Book Lovers Day means many things. Literature can be fun and entertaining, teach a lesson, or just occupy a part of a day. But for many of us bookworms, it is a part of our lives. Where would we be without the book – in any form.
Enjoy a book today. Read to your kids, read to your dog, read to your friend or enemy, they’ll appreciate it. Read to your plants, they’ll probably grow faster. But just read. You will surely enjoy it, and if you’re not careful, you might learn something.
What is your all-time favorite book?
Jocelyn Pedersen 