‘Books are more precious than gold’
“I have this innate love of reading, learning and challenging authority. I read all kinds of books about science, history, religion. A lot of them are simply reference books. I have several sets of encyclopedias and history books. I don’t read one at a time, and I don’t read books all the way through. Sometimes I’ll turn to an area I’m interested in and just read that. I hop around a lot.
“I couldn’t tell you how many books I’ve read in my life — probably tens of thousands. I have two storage units full of books, and lots of other stuff. At home, I recently had a collapse of books, and I haven’t had the energy to pick them all up. In my room, they’re just stacked to the wall.
“I don’t have a computer. So when I find a book that I’m interested in buying and I save up enough money, my son orders it for me. I’ve been reading a lot of science fiction and fantasy lately. The library has lots of those on sale. I can get five paperbacks for $1. Since I live on Social Security, that’s a great way to get a lot of good reading material.
“My sisters say that when I die, it’s all going to be a big bonfire. Nothing lasts forever. But to me, books are more precious than gold.
“There are so many good books out there. A person could read 10 lifetimes and not even scratch the surface. That’s the great thing about books. There’s something for everybody. As Solomon said, ‘Of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh.’ Because you can never read them all.”
— JimBob Hirst
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