Dear family & friends -- News-Gazette

 "Dear family and friends..."

is my latest published Voices Guest commentary

in the Sunday January 7, 2024

print and online edition of the 

Champaign-Urbana News-Gazette

www.news-gazette.com.

I welcome your comments.

Working with a Personal Trainer -- Prime Life Times

 "Working with a Personal Trainer"

is my latest published article 

in the

January 2024 PRINT edition of

Prime Life Times

on page A-3.

I welcome your comments.

I've Rediscovered Books!

 

I’ve rediscovered books!

By Debra L. Karplus

I see the look of surprise when people ask me “what have you been reading lately”, and I nonchalantly reply, “I’m not much of a reader, I’m more of a writer”; I’ve often heard it said that good writers are good readers.  So what does that imply about me?

As a kid I didn’t read much; admittedly I spent much time in front of television.  TV was relatively new in the 1950s, and then, cowabunga, color TV emerged!  Why read Nancy Drew mysteries when you could watch The Beverly Hillbillies?

During high school, one of my greatest joys was using free period to visit the library and peruse magazines, mostly browsing, though reading some more thoroughly.  With my sometimes short attention span, I find magazine reading in sync with my style. (It would have been beyond my wildest imagination that some forty years later I’d be writing articles for magazines!)

It wasn’t until my children were school-age, c.1981, that I really started reading for pleasure, mostly light reads, such as Erma Bombeck, as there were the many interruptions that busy mothers face. I became a very regular borrower at the nearby Champaign Public Library, often walking there.

My Columbia Avenue neighbors can tell you that I was frequently sprawled out on the swing on my sheltered front porch of my home built in 1907, most any time of year, immersed in a good book, though I’d stop and chat to neighbors passing by when approached.

Then around 2015, it seemed I suddenly just stopped reading. That was around the time my parents began showing their age, with deteriorating health, though they lived near Chicago and not here in Champaign-Urbana.  My focus and priorities changed; frequent Amtrak and Metra trips north followed.

But something else happened around that time also.  I moved to a low-maintenance one-story townhouse built in 2002 in southwest Champaign that really meets my needs as I get older.  But a house of its vintage and design typically lacks an old-fashioned front porch. People in my new neighborhood often sit on their backyard patios overlooking the beautifully landscaped ponds, or sometimes even sit on chairs in their driveways to enjoy the outdoors and get out into the fresh air. 

But, that was just not the right space for me to embrace reading.

I discovered numerous Little Free Libraries around town; they’re “open” 24/7; one can swap out an already read book for an unread one.  I’ve discovered several good reads that way, but it’s a very labor-intensive process. Some Little Free Libraries are more inclined to have the kind of books of interest to me.

Then Covid hit.  My tech skills weren’t up-to-speed, but with assistance, I learned to utilize Libby and other online resources so that I could read on my IPad.  I was able to download and read a huge variety of magazines, even some from other countries such as the Australian version of Prevention Magazine, puzzled at first by their summer edition in December! I could sit comfortably on the living room sofa listening to my favorite classical music while searching through virtually hundreds of titles to find the right e-book.

I’ve heard many people say they’d much rather read a “real book”, and once the Covid risk lifted, I found that, I, too, found minimal pleasure sitting with a small screen and reading a book electronically.

Recently, a Zoom “friend” of mine wrote a memoir, and much out of character, I purchased her book, and read it cover to cover the day Amazon delivered it.

For a time I’d been feeling like something was missing from my life, and though I seem to “have it all”, the nurturing from reading that I’d received in the past was badly needed.

Having a good book around is a little like having a puppy, only you don’t have the responsibility of feeding it, walking it, cleaning up after it or vacuuming a lot of fur off the carpets.

I especially enjoy well-written biographies.  Yes, I just finished Spare by Prince Harry, not exactly “literary”, but interesting to learn about those whacky Royals!

Reading a biography is a great antidote for loneliness; it’s like getting to know a new, low maintenance friend, get inside their head a bit without giving anything back.  Reading about someone’s life is a great way to learn more about yourself. 

I am still searching for the ideal spot at home to devour some good books. Outside or inside, it must be super cozy.