Jewish World Review March 1, 2002 / 16 Adar, 5762

Lori Borgman

Lori Borgman
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Consumer Reports


Little hope for bookaholic

http://www.NewsAndOpinion.com -- MY eyes were puffy and my cheeks wet when the doorbell rang. "You caught me crying," I said sheepishly to my friend.

"What's the matter?" she asked.

"Abigail Adams, wife of President John Adams, just died," I said, dabbing away a tear.

"Again?" my friend exclaimed.

"Yep. Right here on page 623," I said, pointing to the biography, John Adams, open on the kitchen counter. "It was heartbreaking," I said, pulling a tissue from my pocket and blowing my nose. "John was so devastated, he said, 'I wish I could lie down beside her and die, too.' I think if I had been there I may have climbed in the bed, too."

"Are you all right?" my friend asked.

"Well, not just yet. Jefferson says only time and silence can heal the wounds of death."

"Jefferson?"

"Thomas. You know, Adam's veep, third president, Monticello? He's in the book, too. I've been peeved at him since the French Revolution, but he and Adams are rekindling a remarkable friendship by letter in their golden years. If Adams can forgive him, I guess I can, too."

My friend looked at me like I might be nuts. I get the same look from the family. They think I get obsessive and lose myself in books. It's not that I've been terribly lost in John Adams, I've just been terribly long in John Adams. The book is 751 pages long and cramps your hands to hold it unsupported. For awhile, I was reading in bed at night, only finishing one page before I fell asleep. At that rate, it would be two years and one month before I finished the book, so I began reading right after dinner in front of the fireplace (few pleasures compare) and have made considerable progress.

"We've been hearing trivia about John Adams since December, Mom," says the youngest. "Maybe you should branch out. The National Enquirer has a great story on a three-legged ice skater."

"Ice reminds me," I say. "Did you know Adams once had to sleep in the same bed as Ben Franklin, and that Franklin insisted on keeping the windows open? Adams was freezing."

"Mom, I think you need to get your nose out of the book."

"Why? Is it dinner-time already? How does mutton or wild goose on a spit with shell beans and whortleberry pudding sound?"

"Mom, lose the book!"

How could the kid understand? She's still a student who is forced to read. Reading is never as enjoyable as when you're finally out of school and able to choose your own books. That said, why is it that when I was in school I was perfectly comfortable reading in the daytime, but now when I read during daylight hours I feel incredibly guilty?

Adams wouldn't feel guilty. He loved books. He read at every opportunity and often acquired a classic in English, Greek and Latin. After Abigail died, he often slept in a recliner in his library. At least I still sleep in my own bed.

Jefferson wouldn't have felt guilty either. Jefferson had such a large private library that the government bought it after the Library of Congress was destroyed when the British torched the Capitol. It took 10 wagons carrying 6,707 volumes packed in pine cases to make the delivery. Now that's obsessive.

Frankly, I don't think a person can read enough books. It's not like you're missing something good on television.

A book buddy of mine said Time magazine recently declared that in a few years the average American may live to be 125 years old. We both smiled and knew what the other was thinking - more time to read.


JWR contributor Lori Borgman is the author of I Was a Better Mother Before I Had Kids. To comment, please click here.

02/22/02: Wrestling with prejudice
02/15/02: Say What?
02/08/02: Kitchen intelligence
02/01/02: Age-old words
01/25/02: Abortion: Switching Sides
01/18/02: Kids, take note
01/11/02: The heart-stopper e-mail
01/04/02: The slightly sunny side of 2001
12/28/01: The Way Things Work
11/30/01: The Leftover Shuffle begins
11/27/01: Glasses bring age into focus
11/16/01: A different portion of Thanks
11/09/01: The Next Stage of Parenting
11/01/01: Of boys and patriotism
10/26/01: College Son the Invisible Man
10/19/01: Out of the closet ... and into the school
10/12/01: A Parent's Guide to Dating
10/05/01: "Taking Care of You"
09/28/01: Time indivisible
09/24/01: Refueling capitalism
09/14/01: A time to mourn
09/07/01: Lack of modesty stirs the troops
08/31/01: Scholarship search an education
08/24/01: The test for parents
08/17/01: Immodest proposals
08/10/01: Trying to R-r-r-re-re-relax
08/03/01: It may be shabby and chic, but it ain't cheap
07/20/01: Bride showered with sage advice
07/13/01: Baby Bear Finds Driving "Just Right"
07/06/01: Pale at the Thought of Bronze
06/29/01: A Dog's Best Friend
06/22/01: Rethinking fatherhood
06/14/01 Don't forget to lock the door
06/07/01 How grandma punishes her kids
06/01/01 Hearing voices
05/25/01 Cyborgs for Better or Worse
05/18/01 The death of Common Sense

© 2001, Lori Borgman