Let's Talk About Books ...

So many books worth reading, so little time! These words should be indelibly etched on every heart and emblazoned in every home, in every school and on billboards across the land.

Why? Because reading builds your ability to handle words with fluency and imagination. Reading is undoubtedly the most rewarding activity for any active mind and ... there are so many books just waiting to be read. Literally waiting to take us by the hand on mystical journeys to far away places. Patiently waiting to introduce us to the great men and women who walked the earth throughout the ages.

What did they have to say about reading?

One glance at a book and you hear the voice of another person, perhaps someone dead for 1,000 years. To read is to voyage through time. Carl Sagan, astronomer and writer (1934-1996)

The reading of all good books is like a conversation with the finest men of past centuries. Rene Descartes, philosopher and mathematician (1596-1650)

And, what did they say about books?

It was books that connected me with all the people who have ever been alive. James Baldwin, writer (1924-1987)

It is chiefly through books that we interact with superior minds. William Ellery Channing, clergyman and writer (1780-1842)

As the years go by, I realize more and more how important it is to invest time (not spend time) reading good books. Two of my favorite authors are Og Mandino and Robin Sharma. Other great authors include Zig Ziggler and Les Brown.

In 1970, I read Run Baby Run by Nicky Cruz. It was the first book I read after high school. Today, thirty-four years later -- November 2004, I'm reading it again. The story of Nicky Cruz is as relevant today as it was back then.

His answer to the problem was love and faith in God. Ironically, it is still the answer today. His most poignant message was this; "God's grace can take hold of a man in an instant and transform a sinner into a saint."

Since then, I've read many good books; some are listed below, in alphabetical order, for easy reference:

• Awaken the Giant Within by Anthony Robbins
• Black Like Me by John Howard Griffin
• Chicken Soup for the Soul by Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen
• Second Thoughts by Mort Crim
• See You At The Top by Zig Ziggler
• Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town by Stephen Leacock
• Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
• Lincoln the Unknown by Dale Carnegie
• Live Your Dreams by Les Brown
• Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl
• Night, Dawn, The Accident by Eli Wiesel
• Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan
• Return to Laughter by Elenore Smith Bowen
• Stories from the Vinyl Café by Stuart McLean
• The Greatest Salesman in the World by Og Mandino
• The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari by Robin Sharma
• Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
• Unconditional Love by John Powell, S.J.

Many of these are probably at your local library just waiting to be read! If not, you may buy them online from Amazon.ca or Chapters.Indigo.ca in Canada.

The Internet made it very easy for us to access the written works of "superior minds" and "the finest men and women of past centuries." We are privileged to be alive today, to experience the excitement of the Information Age.

This is undoubtedly the most exciting time in the history of the world and we, both you and I, have been chosen to be part of it. Let's participate with gusto!