The Magic of Words

“Hey, kids! It’s your old buddy Steve King telling you that if they ban a book in your school, haul your ass to the nearest bookstore or library ASAP and find out what they don’t want you to read.”

--- Stephen King via Twitter

One of my favorite things is reading. I have loved it since the unintelligible scribbles and cryptic symbols gave rise to letters that magically transformed into words I learned to understand. Although I wish everyone could experience the same passion and I joy as I do, I know reading is not everybody's cup of tea.

However when you do read, I encourage everyone, especially children, to read broadly. Do not be afraid of people who tell you not to read something. Read it anyway.

Read Gender Queer. Read Maus. Read The Kite Runner. Read The Catcher in the Rye. Read the Koran. Read the Bible. Read The Odyssey. Read All Boys Aren't Blue. Read the Mahabharata and the Ramayana.

Read it all from the classics to the most contemporary. No, you won't like every story, and that's ok. The point is to challenge you by making you think and expose you to new ideas that have the potential to make a better world as well as to teach you lessons about the past so we may never repeat our mistakes.