Why Read?

There is a tiny bookstore in San Miguel de Allende, hidden inside a secret courtyard, that sells used titles in English. I walk in and immediately spot the book I want: “Dress your family in corduroy and denim”. Happy as a clown, I come home carrying hours of giggles printed on paperback. Only then do I notice the strange message written on the bookmark: ‘Because reading makes you look smarter than other people’.

After making sure I’m not suffering a Tequila-induced hallucination, I start reflecting on the phrase. Could it be a joke? No, the expat community in San Miguel is not the joking kind: ex-GI’s and retirees. Whoever came up with this motto actually meant it.

So why do people read? Here are three mini-stories about my love story with books. And if you feel like it maybe you’ll share yours as well?

***Age 3. First day of elementary school: today’s lesson is about the letter A, what it looks like and what it sounds like. The master knows I’m not listening but he is not sure what to do with me. My sister Sandra taught me how to read at home and since then I haven’t been able to stop. I’m sitting in the back of the classroom reading a ‘Captain Future’ comic book. My hero from another galaxy was just turned into a mutant – but how is he going to regain his human body?

Reading is a cure for boredom and it stimulates your imagination.

***Age 15. Summer vacation, on the beach. Other teenagers are swimming, running, flirting (there was no texting or tweeting at the time). I’m lying on a towel, devouring the third volume of ‘It’. The evil clown’s true form is revealed: a giant spider! Cold chills run down my spine despite the midday sun warming up my skin. New chapter: time to change sides so my belly gets tanned as well. Fortunately Stephen King is a very prolific author: there are still several weeks left before going back to school.

Reading on the beach is a great way to get a tan.

***Age 7. Why do I have to sleep so early? I’m not a kid anymore! I know it’s past my curfew time but I simply cannot sleep. I must know if Atreyu is going to find Morla now that his horse Artax died in the Swamp of Sadness. For the past few days I’ve been hooked to “The Neverending Story”. I’m keeping one hand on the bed lamp switch: I need to be ready in case Mom checks on me – she suspects something because I’ve been waking up really tired lately. And here she comes: I hear her footsteps in the staircase! I quickly turn the light off, hide the book under the covers and pretend to sleep. The door opens slowly, a pair of eyes looks into the darkness, then the door closes in silence. Stealth footsteps down the stairs. Now, where was I? I hope I didn’t lose my page.

Later that night Mom finds me fast asleep with the lights on, one hand on the light switch and the other holding the book. She grabs it delicately, puts it away, and drops a kiss on my forehead.

Reading is a great way to gently fall asleep.

Cedric, 10/14/11