Love of reading is forever
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By Jake J. Nho
I have always wondered when it all started; probably when I was quite young.
My house was always stocked well with books ― mostly Japanese since my parents are well-versed in the language.
I recollect reading a number of books at college in New York in the early 1980s, including the eternally evocative “To Kill A Mocking Bird” by Harper Lee and the impossible-to-forget “Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger. Both authors have passed on to another life.
I used to read Lee’s work when I went to bed and I had favorite sections which I would read over and over again. Unfortunately, I did not entirely enjoy the movie adaptation of the novel starring Gregory Peck.
“Catcher in the Rye” is another story. I flew quite a bit from school to Seoul and Singapore where I spent my early childhood. Whenever I was on the plane ― back in those days, flights were much longer ― I always had “Catcher in the Rye” in my carry-on. I must have read that book 300 times.
I still have a copy in my home and try to make my daughters read it but they often shy away from it. I do not dare to ask my wife to read it for fear of my life.
The thing is that reading is a wonderful thing, a wonderful part of life. I carry a kind of pouch containing my notebook and other necessities. But most importantly, there are newspapers and magazines with plentiful and interesting information.
It could be a copy of Time or a morning issue of the International Herald Tribune ― I do not mention the Financial Times although I do find some of the sections of the Weekend, such as Lunch with…quite interesting.
I get excited whenever there is something new to read and I cannot wait to see what is in them; how people view the world and what I can learn from their experiences.
My daughters and their mother are also avid readers with the younger one having cost me a fortune, but I am fine with that.
I try to go to bookstores as often as time allows ― we do not like the Internet stuff, no matter what everybody says ― and pick up interesting ones that they can not only enjoy but learn from. I used to tell people that you cannot beat the print version because you cannot take your desktop to the restroom.
Things have changed though. There is the Samsung Galaxy Tab and the Apple iPad ― naturally in addition to smartphones ― but they really do not have the elements to beat print.
There are probably many reasons why Newsweek decided to terminate its print version, most of it ― in my opinion ― is because someone (the name withheld) messed up the whole publication (just as a hint, the initials of the person are TB).
The art of reading is best enjoyed not by scanning through your smartphone on the subway as you yawn but when holding something more solid in your hands.
While I am not old by any measure, I am beginning to get to the age where I cannot properly read some printed copies since I am myopic. But I am of the old school and I go with the old stuff.
Admittedly, I do most of my work online ― including this piece that I am writing ― but there is perpetual value in what I can properly hold in my hands.
I will go home this evening with the newspapers and newsmagazines tightly squeezed into my carry-on. And I cannot tell you how much I am looking forward to reading them.
Jake J. Nho heads the online and new media team at The Korea Times. He can be reached at jakenho@ktimes.co.kr.