Reading Confession.

Doesn't this look SO much more inviting
to read with the photo on the front?  

I have a confession to make… (but it’s not really a good confession because I have a defense for this so-called confession after I make it)…  My confession is that I read a lot of books with pictures in them.  In fact, I probably read as many books with pictures as I do books without pictures.  I’ve practically gotten a second education off of so called “coffee table” books. 

The reason this is a confession is because somewhere I got it drilled into my head that real books are ones that are THICK, with tiny print and little to nothing in the way of pictures.  Admittedly, many scholarly books are still like this.  I have therefore felt pings of guilt for using materials from these lovely picture books for quotes in papers for classes (when I had them) and to teach people.  There was often a feeling that my information was somehow invalid whenever it came from books with pictures.

I’m getting over this problem though.  In fact, I think that the argument that real books should not have pictures is now ridiculous.  When printing was more expensive, it made sense that pictures should not be included, but now it seems absurd to not include pictures if applicable because they help bring the topic of study to life!  I cannot imagine studying military history without pictures of battlefield maps, photographs of the events as they took place or their aftermath.  I feel as though I understand things better with pictures and that my efforts to self-educate are not in any way cheapened by the practice of reading coffee table books (so long as it is backed up with supplementary materials… I am not arguing against books with no pictures, I am simply saying that books with pictures should no longer be considered invalid sources of learning). 

So that brings me to the reason why I wrote this article in the first place: I believe that continued life-long learning is incredibly important.  Books with pictures are entertaining, engaging and educational and they are often works of art, beautiful in design and layout, in-and-of-themselves! Pick up a non-fiction book with pictures—they are on sale at Barnes and Noble all the time in the bargain books section.  Start learning about history, science, architecture, the automobile industry, whatever suits you, and your whole world will open up as you do because curiosity begets curiosity.  The more you allow yourself to learn, the more you want to learn!