Originally published: November 16, 2009
I’m in here at my computer early this morning so that I can send it off and get over to the library book sale in Chapel Hill. I had to promise my wife that for every book I brought home today I would get rid of at least one book from my office. Books are my addiction. I don’t think I had a half a dozen books around other than school books for the first twenty years of my life. When I was twenty two I was wounded in Korea and we moved on to Hokkaido, Japan and I hurt my leg taking ski training and as my leg was healing I would stumble across the street from my barracks and spend my time in the library across the way. Mostly I enjoyed the biography section. When I was learning to become a claim agent with the railroad I began to read books about behavior; why people bought things and how the creative mind works. I discovered Alex Osborne and the topic of creative thinking. For many, many years I have gone through a book a week and the topics are as varied at those wet leaves that have piled up all around our home in the woods.
I’m sure you have heard the expression “Readers are leaders.” Well all I can say is that most of what I have learned has come from the books I bought or borrowed. I’ve done my learning my way and it has been a joyous venture.
This week I learned that my new novel, The Old May and the CD won the NABE 2009 Pinnacle Book Achievement Award for best book in the category of Novel for which I am most grateful. I might truly be a slow learner but I keep on striving.
