The Joy Of Reading Books

I was cleaning my desk and came across an article that I’ve been saving for the past year, from the December 28, 2015 issue of the San Francisco Chronicle, that was written by Hugh McGuire, founder of Pressbooks.com and titled “We Don’t Read Anymore – Unless We can Turn A Page.” The article begins with, “Last year, I read four books”. It describes the process the author went through getting rid of the social media, an attachment to his telephone and other harmful addictions, which took his time and attention away from his real joy in life – reading books.

As an avid reader and book lover, I can relate to his feelings. I’ve been buying books to read since my teenage years back in Riga, where I was born and lived until the age of 25. After moving to San Francisco, this tradition continued. Through the years as my interests have changed, so have the books I’ve been reading. A few years ago, I “discovered” the public library, which helped me with my budget, but I continue buying, especially photography books. I just bought 9 books on Amazon, since the library did not have them. I’ve made space on the bookshelves by donating books I no longer need to the public library.

My day starts with reading the Torah, after a 15-minute meditation, and then I read a few pages or view images from the works of great photographers. Currently, I’m reading “Photography. The Definitive Visual History” by a good teacher Tom Ang (if you want to learn photography check out his books). While having breakfast, I scan the San Francisco Chronicle and the Wall Street Journal. Before going to the office, I read a few pages from another book, “The Life and Love of Trees” by Lewis Blackwell. Currently, on the weekends before I get up, I’m reading “The Seventh Sense” by Joshua Cooper Ramo. In the car, I usually listen to an audio book, which I often borrow from the public library. The latest one is “The Varieties of Religious Experience”, a collection of lectures given in 1901 and 1902 at the University of Edinburgh by the renowned American Psychologist and philosopher William James (I read quite a few books about comparative religions). I also subscribe to three photography magazines, as well as the National Geographic and the Smithsonian. While working on “42 Encounters in San Francisco”, I read every current book about San Francisco’s history. My favorite one was “Cool Grey City of Love” by Gary Kamiya. Sometimes I wonder myself how I am able to do all this reading. After all, I am in the office every day for at least nine hours. In the evening, I write (as I am right now) and on the weekends, I go out on the streets of San Francisco to fill my collection with new images, which I am glad to share with you. Read, enjoy and Share with Friends.

P.S. It was not difficult to find images for this story, since one of the photo collections on my computer is titled “readers”. Book can be a good present to give to a friend. To help you, I produced “42 Encounters in San Francisco”. (It is easy to read with a lot of pictures). You will be able to order the book at the end of September at www.42Encounters.com.

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Cheers,