It’s National Read A Book Day, observed on September 6th each year. As a voracious reader of more than 65 years, it is my distinct pleasure to wish you a Happy National Read A Book Day.
I am currently reading three books; a biography, a memoir, and a history of the pop culture phenomenon of Star Trek.
The history of Star Trek is the first of a two-volume hardcover set that my wife gifted me for my birthday this year. It is described as an oral history; meaning the authors have compiled massive amounts of interviews from various creators, performers, technical experts and fans given over the past 60-plus years to present a chronological history of Star Trek. I am partway through the first volume and have only covered the Original Star Trek TV series era. So far, it has been a fascinating look at a world that first captured my attention when creator Gene Roddenberry brought the world of the Starship Enterprise, her captain and his crew to my attention with the TV series in 1966.
The ebook biography I am reading is that of Thomas Edison and was sparked by our recent visit to Greenfield Village in Dearborn, Michigan where Henry Ford painstakingly recreated Edison’s Menlo Park Facility by moving what could be and recreating what couldn’t of Edison’s labs, factories, offices and residence from Menlo Park, NJ. Walking through those buildings I realized that I really only knew of Edison’s invention of the phonograph and light bulb and decided it was time I expanded my knowledge of the man and his inventions.
And finally, the ebook memoir is that of Robert Reich, economist and former Secretary of Labor in the Clinton Administration. Reich is a man I admire and respect, and his just-published memoir is a look at his childhood, personal life and philosophy. It is particularly important because it delves into the differences of the current administration from that of previous presidencies and how it compares even to Reich’s own life, actions and beliefs.
So I am, perhaps, overdoing it on National Read A Book Day. But if I can be reading three books on this day surely I can implore you to read, or even begin reading, a single book and celebrate National Read A Book Day in the fashion it is meant to be observed.
Happy National Read A Book Day!
