When I was a kid I pretty much lived and breathed books. In real life I may have lived in a Brady Bunch style suburban neighborhood complete with stay at home moms wearing aprons and station wagons in the driveways, but in my book life I lived anywhere I wanted.

And now I live in another neighborhood, closer to the city, I don't own an apron, and do they still even make station wagons? But one thing hasn't changed. I still live and breathe books. Our bookshelves sag, the side tables are piled high with them. And when I open those books up, I still get to live anywhere I want.

But esacpism isn't the only reason that surface area is in short supply in our house. I need those books.

They're my best teachers.

I'm a self taught artist and writer. Yes, that means I didn't have much formal training - but I did have informal training - lots and lot of it. The stacks of volumes full of Japanese woodblock art and painters in the Impressionist movement speak of the years I spent poring over those compositions, those relationships of color. Then as I widened my scope of influence, those books were joined by the works of Georgia O'Keeffe, Lichtenstein, catalogs full of American folk paintings, and then a collection of children's books, each a complete course of illustration in themselves.

I can see a bit of all those influences in what I create today.

The novels and nonfiction works that sit alongside my art books have been just as important to my writing education. Through them I've learned what a strong narrative reads like, how compelling characters are developed, what brisk pacing does for a story, and when it's time to slow down and let the reader simply savor the moment.

Have I mastered all of these points?

Heavens no. But here's one of the best things about being self-taught - you get to keep learning and practicing what you're learning for as long as you want. That can be the world you really live in - one where the next cool thing you add is only a page turn away.

I don't know about you, but I wouldn't want it any different.

So read books. Then read more books. And then if you want to learn even more, do what I do. Read the great blogs that talk about reading books. Here's a great link to the "10 Best", at least in young people's literature:

http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA6703692.html


They're all terrific, but why don't you tie on your super hero cape and go discover some more?

You never know when you'll find your next, best teacher.

Happy reading.