Saturday, June 5, 2010

For the love of reading

Old library A week since I updated! O the shame, O the horror, O the humanity, O...what the hell.

It's been for a good cause, though. I'm still reading plenty of stuff online, especially political stuff, paying special attention to the oil spill. I look at pictures of oil-covered birds, feebly flapping their heavy wings, struggling to move, and I feel incredible rage at all parties responsible. BP is obviously the biggest criminal here, but there are other problems. Why were they given free rein to drill deeply offshore without having a swift backup plan for just such a disaster? What sort of chicanery was going on at the MMS? Why did President Obama bow to the shortsighted opportunists playing upon the public's need for oil, the ones bleating "Drill, baby, drill!" like some mindless drones?

We all have our hot buttons. I love the people of New Orleans, and I feel heartsick at the thought of them suffering this so soon after Katrina; there are families whose livelihoods have been in the fishing business for decades, and they may not be able to continue their family tradition. But I'm also a birder and a nature lover, and I can tell you that the pictures of these dying birds makes me nauseous and so angry I can barely stand it. I read threads in which people continue to say that we need to "drill here, drill now." I guess it's not enough that we have befouled the Gulf of Mexico and the Gulf coast for the foreseeable future. They would also love to see us risk areas like ANWR. I just don't understand the inability of some people to see the longterm consequences of some of these actions. Our ecosystems are fragile and must be protected. There is a domino effect when the natural order is interrupted, whether it's the massive influx of toxic oil into the Gulf or the eradication of natural predators to deer in areas like mine, allowing deer to overpopulate and strip the land of its natural flora.

It's all connected, people. Thinking that offshore drilling, or drilling in ANWR, is going to end our dependence on foreign oil is not just simplistic. It is simpleminded.

That's a mini-rant (rantette? rantini?) for now. I will probably revisit this soon. I didn't even write about the low-wattage Palin saying that this spill is because of "extreme greenies" not allowing drilling onshore. You do all realize that she's stupid, right? If not, I plan on reminding you.

What was I saying? Oh yes. I haven't updated for a while for a good reason. Yes, I stay busy with reading things on Facebook, but I also resolved to get back into real reading. You know...BOOKS. Yeah, baby! I finished a couple of books of short stories I had going (John Grisham and Joe Hill), then moved onto a book my brother-in-law loaned me. It's called Sin in the Second City: Madams, Ministers, Playboys, and the Battle For America's Soul by Karen Abbott. It's about the vice trade in early 20th century Chicago, and specifically the famous brothel the Everleigh Club. It is fascinating! I was drawn in immediately. Growing up in close proximity to Chicago, I've been there often, and I've read quite a bit about its Mob involvement (everyone knows about Al Capone), but I don't think I realized just how depraved the place was for so many years. Everyone was on the take, from the cops on up to the judges. Brothels and taverns paid protection and operation fees to city officials, and everyone made a pretty good living off of graft for a while.

Although most of the houses in Chicago treated the women poorly, the Everleigh sisters, Minna and Ada, ran a pretty tight ship. No drug addicts or alcoholics, no drugging and robbing the customers, and a general sense of decorum. No, I'm not condoning it, but the sisters treated it as a business, and believed that happy workers were loyal workers, and the waiting list for girls to get on the roster at the Everleigh Club was a long one. The life of a common street whore was much shorter than that of an Everleigh girl, who received frequent medical examinations. It's just a really fascinating read, and I'm enjoying it very much.

I've also been watching a DVD my sister loaned me about the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, the Colombian Exposition. A few years ago, I read The Devil in the White City, a historical novel by Erik Larson. It was about the fair itself and its chief architect, Daniel Burnham (a big name in Chicago architecture), along with H. H. Holmes, who was one of America's first serial killers, and preyed upon young women coming into town for the fair, whether visiting for enjoyment or coming for employment in one of Chicago's "sporting" houses (see Everleigh Club, above).

Books and DVDs It's been very pleasant to step away from the computer for a chunk of time and sit outside and enjoy the nice weather as well as some actual books. I posted a story today (yes, on Facebook...shut up!) about a study that showed that kids with lots of books in their home generally did better in school and went on to pursue at least some higher education. I think that's probably accurate. My parents were both avid readers, and it wasn't unusual for us to sit around reading our respective books. I spent quite a bit of time going through our set of Collier's Encyclopedias, and reading was always encouraged in my house, and perhaps most importantly, I saw my parents reading often. I think it makes a huge difference if at least one parent exhibits a love of reading.

So I hope you'll forgive my frequent absences from Blogtropolis. If I'm lost, it's only in the printed page. (And yes…those are my bookcases in the picture above, and I’ve read most of the books within. This doesn’t include the bookcase upstairs with unread books.)

The article raised another point: is it important that the books be the printed kind, stacked into bookcases? Or are e-readers and iPads just as positive an influence? I feel that any way a person gets information and learns is important (except for ClusterFox, heehee!), so I don't know that one is more important than the other. I know that there is nothing for me like holding a book in my hands and turning the pages as I progress. I have read the occasional short story online, but I don't see myself reading a full novel here. I don't think I'll be the type of person that ridicules kids who only read online, though. I realize that, as Roland said, the world has moved on. Still, for me...I love the printed page, and would encourage any kid to read actual books.

What do you think? How do you feel about online vs printed books? How do you feel about kids and books? Do you think it's important that they read things other than online? How important is it to you that public libraries survive? Do you support such a socialist institution? Questions...I gots questions!

9 comments:

  1. To start up, Palin is not stupid; she is an opportunistic that speaks to the unsatisfied white working class that she is incapable to help. She does not have the brains or the needs. She is a fucking millionaire. About reading I love the Internet more that I love books. I feel as though I read a post I connect and examine aspects of life that I had never contemplated before. However I also love narratives. I love stories been told to me and me reading them for my self. I guess with my limited language I love knowledge. I love to learn.

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  2. I'm with you about the birds and marine life in the gulf.
    I hate to say it, but I somehow feel that since we humans--because of our insatiable need for oil and bigger cars and money and profits and greed--brought this on ourselves and deserve the consequences.
    But those animals......they didn't deserve this.

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  3. anything that can get kids reading is a good thing. at my school since our library is so small, learning how to research and verify online resources for validity of content has been a big part of our curriculum this year.

    the bp thing makes me sick as well. what, as consumers, can we do over and above boycotting them? they must have vested interests in other companies and i need to see if i can research that and maybe boycott some of them as well.

    xxalainaxx

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  4. I concur w/ reading a book. Maybe it is old style, but it is still MY preferred method of reading when I want to read in depth. The net, a quick magazine article, electronic news, an article w/ lots of links, etc., all have their place. But for full coverage of a topic and a relaxing time, give me a book. Full disclosure: I haven't tried a e-reader or an xPad yet.
    (Michael Keenan)

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  5. Might have to check out that Sin in the Second City book.. sounds interesting. I totally love books! There is something romantic about having the actual book in your hand, turning the pages and you can see your progress as you get to the end and have less pages in the back than you did in the front (if that makes sense... coffee hasn't kicked in yet).

    I also like to read while taking a bath and I would be really mad at myself if I dropped my however-much-it-costs iPad in the tub. :0)

    Side note.. rantini.. I like it! Sounds like a really good beverage. lol

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  6. You know I love our books, but some day when we start traveling more, we may need to go electronic.

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  7. Hi Beth,
    I still prefer books, and finding them by browsing in a bookstore. However, it's very tempting to be able to bring a whole library in my briefcase on a business trip. I'll probably eventually go to a reader. As for the oil spill, I don't know where to begin. What's happening along the gulf coast is sickening ... and watching BP try to "spin" the public makes it even worse. It's as if they care more about cleaning up their reputation than they do about cleaning up their mess.
    Best,
    Marty

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  8. glad your getting back into your reading I read loads to in fact can't even imagine life without books.

    I read alot of Herbert Asbury(Ithink thts right) he wrote Gangs of New York back in the Tweties but also did the same for Chicago/San Fransico in fact quite a few makes very interesting reading.

    Hope all is well with you

    Yasmin
    xx

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  9. Hey Beth,good to be back.

    Online books are here to stay and I think they have a lot of potential to offer. I think the interactive books(they would have secondary media embedded) and self directed books(you create the story or learning path) both could be great resources for adults and kids.

    I'll always have a special infinity for bound books though. They have a life all their own. Everyone needs to read things that aren't online. It's just a good habit to form for many reasons.

    If public libraries don't survive I would assume we are doomed as a species. Public libraries in the future should be a mix of learning communities, museum archival study areas, and publicsocial meeting spaces.

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