I Cannot Live Without Books

If you look into the pages of history, you’ll find that many of our greatest leaders have been voracious readers, self-learners who aspired to teach themselves fundamental skills and topics they were deeply curious about. When writing about who many consider our greatest President, author Jeremy Adams writes this about Abraham Lincoln:

“Lincoln understood that we learn not to fit ourselves for narrow, practical jobs, like cogs in a great machine, but in order to ready our souls for the destiny in store for us. His belief can be demonstrated throughout his life, but perhaps its most simple expression was in his habit of reading for pleasure and ultimately, greater purpose. Lincoln knew that learning always enriches us, and that we don’t have to draw a direct line from knowledge to application to make learning ‘worthwhile.’”

Abraham Lincoln was an intense learner, first with every single book he had available to him in his humble cabin in Kentucky, then as a young lawyer in the state of Illinois, and into his career as a politician, where he was known to have read his Bible consistently, even in the midst of the American Civil War. And he is not the only one, especially in American history. Nearly all of the founding fathers were known for their deep interest in understanding the world through learning, with Thomas Jefferson famously writing in a letter to John Adams, “I cannot live without books.” They understood that to enrich your life, you must learn. What better way to learn than through the hundreds of years of literature, stories, and languages we have throughout history.

Despite all of this being true, most people today do not read. As a public school teacher, it’s often discouraging to hear from students how little reading is a part of their lives. During my short-lived homeschool experience, I had to read an hour a day. I often listened to my mom read aloud to us for hours. She always told us that no matter what you do in life, you will need to read and write well. Literacy was not an option, it was a necessity.

I often ask my students about reading, and one of the questions I pose to them is this: what would you read if you could read anything? What would you choose to read or learn about if you were not forced to by school? The more you find what you are interested in, the more your passion for learning through reading will be ignited. Just like Lincoln, there is value in reading for purpose and pleasure. It does not all have to be productive.

Whatever you care about in life, I guarantee you there are articles, books, or stories about it in the world. Best of all, there are libraries that carry it for free in your local community. I do not think there is anything more valuable to instill in people – especially the younger generations we so often complain about – than learning how to read and communicate well. It matters less how you choose to learn, it matters more that you try.

*References: Lessons in Liberty by Jeremy S. Adams, Letter from Thomas Jefferson to John Adams written on June 10, 1815