Things I Learned In Latvia, Part 3: Books
Monday, April 28, 2008 at 06:24PM Your personal library is a luxury.
Old men who collect scraps of paper in wooden cabinets are national literary heroes.
It is perfectly acceptable to read the dictionary while everyone else in the room is watching "Santa Barbara."
Tranquility defined: early morning in the country, bedding pulled up to the chin and a book in one hand, the stockinged feet of several friends poking out from blankets nearby, someone climbing the wooden stairs with a tray of hot coffee mugs.
You can't always tell a person's character by the book he or she reads. Nor can you guess what kind of books a person will read by his character. The hip-hop star suggested I read Rīga kājāmgājējam (Riga For Pedestrians), a historical walking tour of Riga's streets. The straight-edge punk gave me a book of Native American tales. Prepare to be pleasantly surprised.
When you read in another language, you read more carefully, more savoringly. Even in your own language you should turn the pages slowly.
According to the paragraph we were asked to skip by our teacher as we read from an outdated Soviet-era textbook, Lenin's wife read Jack London's "Love of Life" to him on his deathbed.
Always read the paragraphs you're asked to skip.
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