Important that we cultivate a culture of reading
I HAVE a friend who counts his riches in books.
There is no need for brasswares or paintings in his home. Books adorn every nook and cranny. The joyous thing is that he can talk about any subject under the sun.
To read means to learn all the time. I think it was the United States of America’s former president, Bill Clinton, who coined the phrase: “The more you learn, the more you earn.”
Give that a thought for a minute. Look around you. I am willing to place a small bet that the people you know who read are more interesting and better off than those who do not.
The surprising thing is that it is never too late to pick up a book again. One should make a habit of reading anything and everything. One of my earliest memories as a child was reading the “Did you know?” on the backs of Chappies wrappers. We must let our children especially into the world of reading. Let us make it cool to be a reading nation.
I might be preaching to the converted, because you’re reading this newspaper. Your responsibility is to carry this message to those around you. Buy books for children as birthday presents. Write a little message in them. They will treasure them among their most precious possessions.
I make a modest living from books both as a publisher and a bookseller. The people I meet are endlessly fascinating. Some are eccentric. Most are regular people, who light up when they meet a fellow reader. There is a story told about our new president, Cyril Ramaphosa. Every time he meets those professors who prattle on television, he asks them to recommend a book he should read.
He is a reflection of that old adage, “readers are leaders”. It is a feather in the cap of Durban that it was last year named as a Unesco World City of Literature.
That is a phenomenal accolade and the first African city to carry this badge. To hold this title, we have to show the world that we are readers and writers. To encourage reading a few friends and I have set up a book market on every first Saturday of the month outside the Turtle Cafe on Pitlochry Road in Westville.
It is a beautiful park setting just outside the University of KwaZulu-Natal gate. We also have cupcakes and antiques at the market but it is the books that are the super cool stuff. Stop by this Saturday morning. Even if you don’t leave with a book you are guaranteed some sparkling conversation.