One of the things I used to do, back when our newsroom was located in Diagonal Street, was to walk from my bus stop in the centre of town to the office.

The route took me past the Johannesburg Central Library. It had a vast collection of books. And I had a tendency to focus on certain genres: subjects that stretched from South African history, romance, to detective novels, and so forth. At one point, I delved into medieval history. Eleanor of Aquitaine, the Tudors, French wars, Irish conflicts.
Six books at a time. Devoured within days.

I’ve always been a reader.
At home during primary school, we had a pre-war set of Arthur Mee’s Children’s Encyclopedia. I read the entire 33 volumes.
After that, I had no idea what to tackle next, but my gran’s best friend had given me a delightful little King James Bible – so I read that in its entirety (with a beautiful set of maps at the back that show the outlines of Judea, Palestine, and the like – superb to look at).
It had a section called the Apocrypha, which was rare for a Bible. But, after reading that, I became an atheist. Too many conflicting “lessons”.
I can still quote verses, because good writing is good writing.

During my first year of high school, my route home was past Rhodes Park library. I’d read as I walked back home, memorably walking into a lamppost on one occasion.

My mom had the full Dickens collection. I read that. I read everything I could find, from the then-banned book by Wilbur Smith “When The Lion Feeds” when I was 11, and on to Colleen McCullough’s “The Thorn Birds” at 13. (Helicopter parents of the 21st century are probably clutching their pearls in horror. Mom didn’t deny me any reading material.)
My gran had a sunroom at her house, filled with books that my grandpapa had bought at every fete and fair that he’d been to. I read all of those too!

The internet came along, and I tackled that, with delight. I have some brilliant writers, opinion-makers, current-affairs analysts who I’ve followed since the late 90s.

I don’t read as many books as I used to, mainly because I do a lot of online reading. (And arguing.)

Reading. Learning. Absorbing.

Best thing, ever.