READ

There are over 15 million volumes in the library at Harvard University, making it the largest college library. There are nearly 6 million volumes at my institution. On the shelves of these libraries are books by philosophers, professors, doctors, poets, historians, presidents, women, and men. Whenever I find myself walking through the stacks I’m usually browsing the shelves in search of a book for my class. In the process, I pass countless titles that I will most likely never pick up.

College is the only time that most people have the access to so many books. It’s a bookworm’s dream. The libraries are free, many of them open 24/7 (or at least very late), and cover every topic under the sun. Common sense would say “go to the library, read the books, learn as much as you can about everything you can.” If only this was so simple. I would love to be able to lose myself in the many scholarly works that adorn the shelves in my school’s libraries, but the truth is time will not allow it. Throughout the four to five years that a student spends in college, he/she will never read even one percent of the books available. Amid schoolwork, test preparation, and textbooks, there’s not enough time to read anything else. What good is this access when you don’t have the time to use it? I often walk through the library wondering what books are there and how much I could learn if only I could read some of those books instead of the books I’m reading for class.

Don’t get me wrong, I believe that it’s important to read the required texts for your class and that there is much to gain from them. I’m only pointing out the irony in going to college where professors and parents and mentors urge students to take advantage of their opportunity and study everything accessible to them, only to assign them work that allows them the time to do anything but explore the shelves. It would be great if we had a week or two to read as many books as we could. Of course, a lot of people wouldn’t use that time to read. Perhaps that’s why we have breaks and vacations: so we can go home and crack open a book.  There is always a way around a possible dilemma, and using my vacation better could be the answer to this one.

Still, I can’t help but dream about the many books I may never be able to read, sitting just yards away from my dorm room. It would break my heart to graduate from this university having never read anything but the books and articles assigned to me on a syllabus. In many ways this represents the great amount of knowledge that exists in the world, knowledge I will never begin to touch in my lifetime. There will always be things I don’t know, and I will always want to learn more. As long as the thirst for knowledge remains great, one will never truly be satisfied.

Let me know what you think about this bookish dilemma. What things do you wonder about and wish you had the time to study?

My Summer Reading

This summer I wanted to read five books, and I am proud to say that I did! Two were old classics I never got around to finishing: To Kill a Mockingbird and Invisible Man. One was a new book, The Girl Who Fell From the Sky, and two were older literary works that I bought for my upcoming Intro to Literary Studies class: The Marrow of Tradition, and The Lost Colony. Here is a brief recap (for all of you who loathe reviews) of each one.

To Kill a Mockingbird has been on my To-Read List for quite some time. I now understand America’s obsession with Harper Lee’s touching tale about a brother and sister growing up in the South. Many of you are probably wondering how I made it out of high school without reading the book, and I am too. This was such a joy to read that I wish I had gotten around to it sooner. However, better later than never. The novel touched on many thought-provoking topics: growing up, moral responsibility, race, and family dynamics. It deals with these issues with knowledge, courage, and grace. It was inspiring to read. This was Lee’s only published book, yet its impact on literature earned it the Pulitzer Prize and the honor of being a book “every adult should read before they die.”

Life Safari

Everyone should read the book Life Safari by John P. Strelecky. It is a short yet impactful tale that will encourage you to think about life. The story is about Jack, an American man who has saved all his money to achieve one of his dreams: visit Africa. There he meets an unlikely guide named Ma Ma Gambe who shows him the animals he’s always wanted to see, and so much more. She introduces him to the idea of the Big Five for Life and helps him to make sense of life.

The book is very realistic and captivating. It is also filled with wisdom and passages worth quoting. You will not be able to put this story down and once you finish it you will want to read it again and again.

I don’t usually tell my friends to go read a book, but this time I did. And now, I’m telling you–go read Life Safari. You won’t regret it.

“If we are always worrying about what is coming next, we sacrifice the chance to interact with everything that is going on around us.” – Life Safari

Meat

I just finished Eating Animals. It’s our summer reading book at Carolina (and Duke) and I have come to a couple of quick conclusions. I’m never buying Smithfield products again. And I am still eating meat. Okay, so I admit to feeling a bit apprenhensive, not about eating animals, but about eating animals that were treated so inhumanely. I am appalled that the only way to eat meat nowadays is to support such cruel, secretive, moral-less companies like Smithfield, Tyson, and others. It is a travesty of which we are all involved.

The statistics really get to me, because when I read the facts about bycatch, and slaughter, factory farm living conditions, and environmental hazards, I am disgusted that we allowed our country to reach this point. Note, not surprised, but disgusted. However, I do not feel that eating animals is wrong, and I don’t feel that becoming vegetarian is the only way to combat the problem. Yes, hearing the atrocities committed at the factory farms should influence us to make changes. Whether that means eating less or no meat, eating meat from family farms, protesting, joining PETA, or something of the like, we cannot be silent any longer. I firmly believe that. We can’t keep supporting these bad companies. But something else is horribly, horribly wrong. Almost as wrong as the blantant abuse within the factory farms: Our Government.