Finding a way

Samuel Johnson

Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) is said to have made a practice of reading while walking through the streets of London, his book so close to his face that he was virtually blind. He usually just shuffled along slowly to prevent tripping and collisions.

This brings back memories of a week spent vacationing in Bemus Point, N.Y., when I read most of a Robert Parker novel while walking down a lakeside road on the outskirts of town. The road had little traffic, and I was able to stay on the brim while still focusing on the fast-moving detective story. I lived to tell about it.

When you enjoy reading, you find ways to read even while doing something else. When technology finally made it possible for you to listen to a book being read to you while you drove a car, fixed dinner or worked at a jigsaw puzzle, it proved a revolutionary development for many of us. And it was certainly safer than reading a book while walking along a road or a sidewalk.

I am looking at some humorous old drawings of women who are as dedicated to their reading as they are to their housework. One shows a woman on her knees mopping a floor while pushing a wheeled contrivance that includes both a bucket of water and an open book in front of her face. Another shows a Victorian woman washing dishes with a book mounted in front of her, strapped to her upper body.

Necessity is the mother of invention, they say. For some of us, reading is a necessity. We will find a way.