Pet Press KALISPELL MAR 2023
406.755.6886 WWW.KALISPELLVET.COM
CELEBRATING READ ACROSS AMERICA DAY AN OPEN BOOK
Reading is much less prominent in our culture than it has been in the past, with a 2022 Gallup poll finding Americans reading fewer books each year than they have in decades. Being married to a reading teacher, I can’t help but think that’s a shame. Videos are great, but books give us something we can’t get elsewhere, which is why we celebrate Read Across America Day on March 2. Rose Ann teaches reading intervention for middle schoolers and usually has her nose in a book, for them or herself. She has a library in her classroom and is always picking up young adult fiction, so she knows what her students are reading and what to recommend. I have more difficulty making time to read than she does, but seeing her in the chair with a novel every evening often motivates me to pick up a book of my own. Unlike my wife and many other avid readers, I don’t have much interest in fiction. To each their own, but novels don’t appeal to me, and it has probably been a decade or more since I last read one. I read because I like to learn, and history in particular interests me.
David McCullough is another favorite award-winning historian, and his books cover everything from the earliest days of American history through the mid-20th century. One of my favorite books of his is “The Wright Brothers” about the early days of aviation and the great minds behind it. That’s the kind of thing I’m fascinated by.
I also love the work of Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard, whose “Killing” series have focused mainly on famous people who have died at the hand of others in
some way. Their recent book “Killing the Legends” took a bit of a different tactic, covering Elvis Presley, John Lennon, and Muhammed Ali. While only one of these men was actually assassinated, the book covers how their celebrity status ultimately destroyed all three. The closest I get to novels is narrative nonfiction. Narrative nonfiction recounts actual events but in a style that resembles the storytelling of a novel. One of my favorites is Erik Larson’s “Devil in the White City,” which covers the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair. It was a monumental event because it introduced electricity to the world on a massive stage. Meanwhile, a man sometimes called “the first modern serial killer” used the attraction as a lure for his victims. It’s fascinating how he ties these events together, telling their stories side by side and exploring how they interweave. Whether you prefer fiction like Rose Ann or nonfiction like me, I hope you will take the time to pick up a book that interests you. A book you enjoy can capture your interest and imagination like nothing else — and that’s worth celebrating every day of the year. – Dr. Jevon Clark
I first picked up C.S. Lewis in college. Besides “The Chronicles of Narnia,” which are his biblical allegories, he did a lot of work in Christian apologetics. His defense of Christianity is studied and fascinating. His aren’t the kind of book you can
pick up casually; you really have to put your thinking cap on and commit to analysis. I enjoy the challenge his work presents.
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