Reading into elderhood
No time reading is wasted!
I am a self-professed reading addict. I usually have two books (at least) on the go at once—one to read during the daytime when I am feeling alert and in a mood to learn something new, and one for bedtime when I want to relax and be entertained. Also, I read news apps in bed, with my morning tea, and I rarely leave the house without something to read tucked into my bag.
This addiction began in childhood (or perhaps in the womb as my mother was a reader as well). As a child, on Saturday afternoons I liked to lie on the couch with a crisp apple (Southern Ontario in the autumn) and a new Nancy Drew novel. That was my idea of a great way to spend time. My parents took me to the library regularly, and I always came home with a pile of books. I have been told that my grandfather read books to me, and I still have one of the ones we liked.
As an adult, I discovered that one could request books at the local library and be put on a waiting list if the desired ones were not instantly available. Then every three weeks, at my regular library visit, I would have a “surprise” pile of books waiting for me. Sometimes one or none, or sometimes a big stack.
I joined a book club about 30 years ago, while living in Winnipeg. Then when I moved to Whitehorse, 13 years ago, a book club was one of the first activities I sought out. These regular gatherings remain one of the highlights of my month. Book club has led me to read all sorts of books that I may never have chosen by myself and has broadened my reading experience.
The next big event in my reading life came in the form of an e-reader. With that innovation, going on a trip does not involve a heavy suitcase full of books, but instead a slim, light device able to store more books that I could ever read on any holiday.
My current e-reader has close to 500 books stored on it. It has a lighted screen so is easy to read in dim light or at night when my partner is trying to sleep. As my eyesight begins to change/deteriorate with age, I can enlarge the size of the letters to accommodate this change. With the e-reader, I can choose to purchase a book or to download it from the local library. The newest e-readers are also waterproof (for reading in the bath), Bluetooth-enabled for audiobooks, and available with colour screens.
Audiobooks are a more recent addition to my reading life. This started with cassettes or CDs of books for long car journeys and has continued with phone downloads from the library. Those 3,200-kilometre car trips south fly by when I’m listening to a good thriller. I also find audiobooks enjoyable when doing some routine household tasks or working on a knitting project.
I recently learned that even someone who has become blind is able to continue reading. (Of course, Braille has long been an option, but I think this is difficult for a person with onset of blindness later in life.) An avid reader friend, who became completely blind in his mid 70s, has a scanner he sets up over an open book, and the scanner inputs the content into his computer via Bluetooth. Then his computer “reads” it aloud to him. The model he has can scan a 300-page book in about one hour.
Reading aloud was a part of life when my children were young. The hours spent sharing a good story were a wonderful bonding experience, remembered fondly by both parents and children. Now I am reading to my granddaughters. Even as the oldest is now able to read for herself, she wants me to read to her. I love sharing some of the stories that I read to her father, and even the ones that I enjoyed as a kid.
I have been asked if I can remember all of the books I read.
I can’t. I can’t remember all the details, but both good fiction as well as non-fiction contain many universal life lessons or interesting information and insights into the lives of others. As I feel the need to do more armchair travel, rather than the burning-fossil-fuel sort of travel, it is a way to visit exotic places without getting on an airplane. I firmly believe that lessons and ideas learned in reading are absorbed and incorporated into who I am and what I believe.
No time reading is wasted!
