I was 35 when I took up reading as a full-time hobby. After managing to "squeeze" a degree out of UMASS in 1971, I gave up reading for a few years: many students do. Little did I know I was retarding my growth exponentially at the time. But having successfully juggled studies with two collegiate sports for four years, I figured I had read enough for a while.

Today I sing a different tune. As a matter of fact, I write a lot of my articles while sitting in Public Libraries.  I remember in one instance hearing over the library PA system that the annual book sale was in full motion down in the…