“A book is the most effective weapon against intolerance and ignorance.”

– Lyndon Baines Johnson

Some of my favorite things: laughing with good friends; a thought-provoking book; travelling with my family; a cold glass of dark beer; the sound of waves crashing on the shore; peace, quiet, and a fireplace; a glass of red wine; rain at the beach; raucous laughter; a guy with a guitar; body surfing all day; a challenging morning of yoga.

As I thought about two of my perennial favorites, travel and reading, I wondered this: isn’t reading a form of travel, in its own way?

Think about it.

When we open one of those books that invite us in, that still make us think long after we turn the last page, we look outward. Our self-centered focus falls away as we immerse ourselves in the lives of the characters. The same thing happens when we wander the alleys of a new place or explore ancient ruins—all at once we come face to face with our very small place in this very big world.

How about Jeanette Walls’ The Glass Castle? Or Pearl S. Buck’s The Good Earth? Have you read them? (If not, what are you waiting for?!) Powerful books like these transport us to places we’ve never been; they connect us to people whose life experiences are fundamentally different from ours. When we read them, a schism forms between our pre-conceptions and reality. What we thought we knew to be true begins to shake. And shift.

Whether we’re transported by pages or vehicles we forget, for awhile, the problems and issues that loom large in our everyday lives. Our minds are free to see things anew.

Do you have a book you’d recommend that opened your eyes or changed your mind?

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