Henceforth, we shall call it Booksgiving
Posted by Lanea on Thursday, November 12th, 2009
Do you know what I love even more than knitting? Reading.
Do you know who I still miss every single day? Our dear friend Mike Dobbs, who died far too young this spring.
Mike was a Reader. He read with a voracity and speed I envy beyond rubies. He’d read anything. He’d occasionally read 100 pages into a book, pause to scratch his head, and then collapse into giggles over how long it took him to figure out that a particular novel was so predictable because he’d already read it.
Mike left a library full of thousands of books. It’s hard to give away as many books as he left, though his family and friends have been trying to disperse them all into grateful hands. He loved to read, and his family loves to read, and most of his friends love to read. That love of reading should be Mike’s legacy, and I think we can help spread his word-fame a bit together.
We held a dinner party in Mike’s honor every year after he moved to California. He’d come into town for Thanksgiving, and his many friends would all gather at our place the Saturday after turkey to see him all at once so we wouldn’t have to jockey for time in his all too brief visit. This year, we have to gather without Mike, but we can take the opportunity to honor him. Whether you knew Mike or not, you must know how vital reading is. And you may know how terribly libraries are suffering throughout the US.
I’d like to ask everyone to set aside just a little something for libraries and literacy this autumn. Whether you donate a couple of bucks or books to a literacy charity or your local library’s book sale; or volunteer to work a few hours at a library or for a literacy organization; or whether you just give a book you loved to someone else so that they can have something wonderful to read. Every little bit helps. I’ll be perusing my shelves, picking out books I think Mike would want more people to read, inscribing notes about Mike inside their covers, and giving them to the cancer center where my Mom goes for chemo and to my local library’s booksale.
If you decide to celebrate Booksgiving, please let me know. I’d like to do this every year, for Mike, and for all of the librarians who are facing lay-offs; all of the communities who are watching their libraries cut back their hours; all of the students and starving artists who just can’t buy all of the books they wish they could; and for all of the kids who don’t have books at hand in their homes or schools.
Filed in Books | 6 responses so far
minnieon 12 Nov 2009 at 11:38 am 1we celebrate booksgiving every year. my boys are voracious readers, and they either get books or giftcards to book stores for christmas.
this fall, the city had announced that they were going to close our local branch of the library until the end of the year, and wouldn’t say if t hey were going to reopen it on the 1st or not (even though there were plans to renovate the building next year).
we, as a community, fought it, and raised not only enough $$ to keep our branch open, but to reinstate all hours t hat were taken away due to budget cuts for ALL the libraries in the city, and prevented the lay-off of over 50 part-time employees.
i’ll donate a book in mike’s name, though. đ
Bullwinkleon 12 Nov 2009 at 6:01 pm 2Excellent tribute to Mike. I gave over 1000 books to my local library 7 years ago (downsizing!). I give more each year to my local elementary school used book sale on Labor Day. (A fabulous event – I daresay that Mike would have loved it.)
--Debon 12 Nov 2009 at 7:18 pm 3I just donated several hundred books to the library/Friends of the Library. Does that count?
gale (she shoots sheeps shots)on 13 Nov 2009 at 7:27 am 4Love this! I hope it catches on.
gayleon 15 Nov 2009 at 8:01 am 5This is such a wonderful idea!
The regional library in my area is now closed to the public, due to a budget cut. I’d been going there for the last 10+ years, like clockwork. I miss it terribly. Last time the legislature tried to close it, we loyal patrons caused a hue and cry that headed them off. This time they sneaked it quietly through, so we didn’t hear about it until it was too late.
Now when I want a particular book, I have to request it through my tiny local library, they request it from the regional, it’s found and sent down to the local, who call me to tell me it’s in. The whole process takes about a week, where I used to be able to just make the 20 minute drive to the regional myself.
*sigh*
I’ve donated books to my tiny local before – maybe this year I’ll take a bigger box, in Mike’s honor.
Jackion 20 Nov 2009 at 8:41 am 6My participation is already done. What a good idea and Mike would have loved it. I made a donation to Montgomery County Public Libraries in his name and just donated about 20 books to a book swap at the ARC. I think about Mike when I start searching for another book to read or pick up an apple, but that’s a whole other Mike story. : )