{"id":2158,"date":"2017-01-30T16:30:10","date_gmt":"2017-01-30T21:30:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/roseledgebooks.com\/blog\/?p=2158"},"modified":"2017-01-30T16:37:59","modified_gmt":"2017-01-30T21:37:59","slug":"real-readers-arise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/roseledgebooks.com\/blog\/?p=2158","title":{"rendered":"REAL READERS, ARISE"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rosleedge Books\u2019 world looks promising.<\/strong>
\n Trumpdom\u2019s not so much.<\/strong>
\n Worry, worry.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Think of rebutting things,<\/strong>
\n uplifting things,<\/strong>
\n Things that go \u201cYES!\u201d in the night.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I can\u2019t decide if, to a reader, living and reading are an interaction, symbiosis, or mind-meld, but I do know they mix and matter as surely as any other substance we ingest to stay alive. I saw some of what I mean in Jim Webb\u2019s memoir, I Heard My Country Calling<\/strong>, and I hoped — and still hope — that I might find it in Peter Orner\u2019s Am I Alone Here? Notes on Living to Read and Reading to Live<\/strong>,which one reviewer described as neither literary criticism nor a memoir. So far, and I am only on Chapter 2, the book is wanting. It is organized by key books rather than key events. Life follows, it does not lead. \u00a0I understand that books can and do matter after reading, but the joy is the promise that a book might matter when choosing it. The good news is that it usually does. For me, reading isn\u2019t a hobby; it\u2019s a way of life, and I was looking for a think-aliker who so far isn’t there. AARRGGHH.<\/p>\n

But then I read the transcript of (NYTimes Book Reviewer) Michiko Kakutani\u2019s interview with President Obama<\/a><\/strong> and I knew, thank heavens, that real readers do still exist. He talks of books he put on Malia\u2019s Kindle, books from which he gained perspective, understanding (Iowans, among others), and a sense of identity, sci-fi and thriller books that offered, as books always do to real readers, escape plus the unexpected.<\/p>\n

———————-<\/p>\n

And though President Obama didn\u2019t mention what I\u2019m sure is his affection for and use of libraries when choosing his books, I wasn\u2019t — and am not — wrong to believe that people of mind with questions (the real readers) thrive in libraries, all kinds of libraries for\u2019 all kinds of information at any time the need to know more strikes. My latest best example of this meta-user living the library life is Ada Calhoun,<\/a> a New Yorker who \u201ccherishes each library experience.\u201d<\/strong> Enjoy her adventures being shushed out of NYPL while co-looking up with Tim Gunn things about denim,, or managing at the library with a \u201ckids only\u201d bathroom, or enjoying most the Mid-Manhattan Branch where falling asleep is not an option. She is a library user, a freelancer, an entrepreneur, a person of mind, able to shred fake news or alternate facts with a single thought. She is Trump\u2019s worst nightmare, and I will work to make sure, she is one among legions.<\/p>\n

I can breathe again.<\/p>\n

The new day is better — filled with protests and people reading 1984.<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s time to plan.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rosleedge Books\u2019 world looks promising. Trumpdom\u2019s not so much. Worry, worry. Think of rebutting things, uplifting things, Things that go \u201cYES!\u201d in the night. I can\u2019t decide if, to a reader, living and reading are an interaction, symbiosis, or mind-meld, … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/roseledgebooks.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2158"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/roseledgebooks.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/roseledgebooks.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/roseledgebooks.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/roseledgebooks.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2158"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/roseledgebooks.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2158\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2163,"href":"http:\/\/roseledgebooks.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2158\/revisions\/2163"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/roseledgebooks.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2158"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/roseledgebooks.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2158"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/roseledgebooks.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2158"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}