Closing the book
Jerry Hitchcock | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 13 years, 4 months AGO
My wife and I produced a collective sigh recently, as our last trip to Borders Books on Highway 95 would really be our last trip.
Now closed, the bookstore was a common haven for us, as we'd head right to the magazine rack, the wife perusing the latest quilt, craft and country living offerings, while I scanned the golf, music and auto circulars.
We both waited with breathless anticipation when a new Barnes & Nobles was announced to open in Riverstone a few years back, since it would be quite a bit closer to our house than Borders. Of course, the economy (and probably the same issues that led to Borders bankruptcy) doomed its progress.
•••
I've always been a voracious reader. A couple decades ago, I was commonly sifting through three newspapers a day at work, and I always had a bookmark in use at the house.
Nothing good on television? Oh, well, glad I have a book handy.
And I have got to admit, I've bought more than my fair share of hardbacks and paperbacks at well less than the list price.
Almost every time we travel out of state, a visit to a nearby book outlet is in order. I am sure if I looked, I could find a few once-prized finds that I paid $3-4 for that have yet to be cracked open. Ah, but their day will come.
•••
And the appetite for reading really goes back to my youth in Central Montana. With spotty television reception, and only a few channels available, reading and the radio were the only avenues to learn.
During harvest, I'd always make sure I had a copy of The Sporting News handy, for those long waits in the truck before dad would come by with a combine and drop a hopper of grain behind me. I had no problem reading from cover-to-cover in a few days, even with a book and a newspaper or two mixed in.
Winter nights back then were made for reading. During calving season, with all the television stations off the air after midnight, I could often be found in the barn awaiting our next arrival with a single light bulb shining above me and my nose shoved in a Louis L'Amour paperback.
•••
These days, I don't own a western novel, but I devour the latest John Grisham offering in record time. It helps that I have spent time in the South, especially Mississippi, where most of his stories originate. I can really picture the setting with my vivid memories.
But really, that is the essence of good writing. Even if I hadn't been to Grisham country, he and so many writers of his advanced talent can paint such a verbal portrait, that you are immediately transported right through the binding.
The world is changing, no question. But I can't for the life of me see a day in my future when I won't cozy up at night with a book in my hand, systematically flipping pages and becoming more deeply enthralled as I go.
Jerry Hitchcock is a copy editor for The Press. He can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2017, or via email at jhitchcock@cdapress.com.
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