Read This... about Reading

Photo by Robin Mayes from The Reading Agency

     WOW: perhaps the single-best summation I've ever personally read about reading - and libraries -  from a great practitioner of the craft , Neil Gaiman. Read here the edited transcript from The Guardian about his speech for the lecture series by The Reading Agency.
     Folks sometimes are curious as to why I ceaselessly advocate for literacy as opposed to say, art. It's because for me personally reading the books came first. As an only child with a librarian mom and a bookseller dad, I was raised on imagination, and had the good fortune to have parental support and encouragement for creativity. High among the multitude of inspirations that led me to drawing comics was, quite frankly, daydreaming. It was a safe place, full of companionship and adventure, and a salvation in many a boring classroom in school and to retreat into afterwards at home. And still to this day the most attractive, fulfilling and amusing place to be is wandering around my thoughts with a blank piece of paper in front of me with a pen or pencil in hand. And reading books made that possible.
     So please visit the Literacy Council of Alaska's website (and "Like" their page on Facebook too for updates and more information on events) to learn about opportunities to volunteer in the Interior, and then also visit any one of our wonderful libraries like the Rasmuson and the Noel Wien here in Fairbanks.

“Comics have been decried as fostering illiteracy. It's tosh. It's snobbery and it's foolishness.”