Sunday Inspiration: A Marvelous Thing
“What a marvelous thing a book is.
It’s a flat object made from a tree with flexible parts
on which are imprinted lots of funny dark squiggles.
But one glance at it and you’re inside the mind of another person,
maybe someone dead for thousands of years.
Across the millennia, an author is speaking clearly and silently inside your head, directly to you.
Writing is perhaps the greatest of human inventions,
binding together people who never knew each other.
citizens of distant epochs.
Books break the shackles of time.
A book is proof that humans are capable of making magic.
-Carl Sagan, scientist and author
As we commemorate a year of living with the Covid pandemic, and as we grieve for all those we have lost and for the painful loss in our own lives of precious intimacy and relationship, I would like to honor and celebrate the miracle of books that have helped keep me and many others sane during this tragic time.
I would like to thank all of my colleagues who inspire us with their words and stories, giving us courage and hope for our future.
And I thank all of the readers who participate in this wonderfully magic world of words, sharing your support and enthusiasm for this “greatest of human inventions.”
Books have played a huge role for me this year. I watch very little TV—find much more in books that I enjoy. Thankful for the many wonderful authors who have shared their talents!
Hello! Yes, indeed, books have been a saving grace over the last year. I just tallied 88 books for 2020. Our Library has Hoopla. I have found that even if I do not sit down to read, I love when someone reads me a story.
It takes us out of the current situation of quarantine, loss, and and gives us other things to think about and escape from being alone, and gloomy. My BookGroup has gone to Zoom. It is not the same as sitting around a table and enjoying friends and discussions, but it definitely is a good thing.
I may not enjoy every single book I have read, but I am grateful for the talents of the authors, to help us escape from 2020, with some semblance of sanity!
Thanks to all the Authors, for their talent and imagination.
That’s a great total, Pat. Like you I’m keeping a tally, and it’s fun to look back on what I read and especially what I loved most.
Well said. Thank you.
Where would we be without our books? And most of all the authors! Thank goodness for people who do the very hard work of bringing us wonderful stories. I’m so grateful for being able to have so many options this past year.