This essay was written by an old friend of ours, Robert J. Tinsky, of Oblong, Illinois. Fifty-six years this past June 3, Bob performed the ceremony that made my wife, Jean, and I one. I guess that qualifies us as “old friends”. Bob preached for fifty years and has written essays that have been published in publishing houses affiliated with the Christian Church. He is currently serving a church near Oblong on a short-term basis. When Bob read my most recent essay he e-mailed to let me know he had written an essay on “books” too. I hope you will appreciate Bob’s essay, I know we did.

About 3000 years ago King Solomon wrote: “Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body.” (Ecclesiastes 12:12) The prophet wrote of the time when “many will go here and there to increase knowledge.” (Daniel 12:4) I wonder what King Solomon would think if he could come back and see the vast multitude of books being published every year in our country. I am not given to predictions of end-times events in our world but I cannot help but wonder if Daniel could be referring to the time in which we live.

In 2006 there were 290,000 books published in the United States. Each year about 10 million books are written, most of which are never accepted for publication. Every week I read in the newspaper articles about some of the new books that have been printed along with a list of the ten best selling fiction and the ten best selling non-fiction books. Some of the magazines I receive have pages trying to entice me to join their book club so I can receive the latest books each month. In the pages of their monthly magazine and in letters I receive in the mail I am invited to sign up so I can receive monthly the Reader’s Digest Condensed Books. (I don’t subscribe but I do like to get my hands on used copies of them.)

I turn on my computer and go to Google or Yahoo and I am immediately invited to read the latest headlines. At my fingertips are sites that will instantly tell me everything I want to know about any possible subject. (Sometimes, much more than I really want to know). I have bookmarked several sites where I can get the latest news from both a liberal or conservative viewpoint and where I can get articles by those of the same political persuasion.

I have a library of at least 1000 books in my home with all kinds of information. I know I can get much of this same information via the Internet but I am of the old generation and still like to have a book in hand. We have a small library in our little town that can get almost any book I want to read or study by going to their inter-library loan program. I can order the book and have it often in two days.

My mind is reeling from even thinking of all this knowledge instantly at my command. With all this information at hand you would think I was the smartest person on the earth. Problem is, when do I find time to read all this? And, just reading is not enough. Some of these things take time to study thoroughly to be sure I really comprehend and to get the information embedded into my own God given memory system.

Enough on this subject. Time to get back to reading the latest book I borrowed from the library just three days ago.

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THANKS, BOB – appreciate your thoughts about books,

THE WORDWRIGHT