BIG SANDY, Texas--Reading is the greatest invention of all time. (With the possible exception of writing--which is, of course closely related.)

Before mankind discovered the alphabet and figured out how to make letters form words, communication could be cumbersome. In ancient times when a king was waging war with his enemy and he needed to send battle plans to the front line, he had to choose a messenger with a great memory, someone capable of remembering crucial instructions.

After numerous mistakes and critical losses (the forgetful messenger's head being one of them), someone decided there must be a better way.

With a little thought and ingenuity and a whole lot of incentive, the alphabet was born. The instructions could now be written! If only there was someone who could read.

To be able to read is a tremendous blessing. I remember when I was first learning to read. I was no child phenom. I didn't read at 2 years of age and graduate from college at 12. I learned to read the old-fashioned way--no phonics, just memorization word by word. The school system I attended still believed in competition. (We also played dodgeball during recess.)

My teacher taught reading by dividing the class into three groups: the Jets, the Props and the Gliders. Obviously this blatant attempt to humiliate the Gliders would never be tolerated in today's society, but it worked for me.

I developed a love for reading early, and it has never left me. In fact, I've been reading quite a bit recently and, following in the footsteps of another member of The Journal's staff, I'm going to take a shot at book-reviewing.

Dave Havir's recommended reading of Bias and Arrogance by Bernard Goldberg may be a good choice for summer reading, but if your need to read supersedes your need to actually learn anything consider these titles.

I'd like a vowel, please

Leo Tolstoy wrote Anna Karenina in 1877. My son owns a copy of this classic book, and on his recommendation I decided to see if I could get through it.

Anna Karenina is the account of an adulterous love affair between Anna and Count Vronsky. Throughout the story Tolstoy explores the social issues of 19th-century Russia, a communistic theme lurking under the surface.

This book would have been a much faster read if the characters' names didn't all begin with v's and contain multiple k's, r's, s's and y's. I never lost track of Anna but did have to backtrack a lot to distinguish between the other characters whose names lacked vowels--a good book for rehabilitating Adult Attention Deficit Disorder patients.

Once a Jet always a Jet

Another book I read, this time on Oprah Winfrey's recommendation, was One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I read this book because I took it as a challenge when Oprah said it wasn't for the "casual reader."

Garcia Marquez, a native of Colombia, grew up listening to his grandparents tell stories, and, because his grandparents used the same facial and vocal expressions when they drifted between fact and fantasy, he never learned to differentiate between the two. His writing was obviously affected.

One Hundred Years of Solitude tells the story of the mythical town of Macondo through the lives of five generations of the Buendia family.

Garcia Marquez's writing style shares a striking resemblance to that of Tolstoy. Through five generations the family members all have the same name. Every generation has an Aureliano, Arcadio and Amaranta. That's a lot of A's to keep track of.

This author was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature in 1982, so far be it from me to say anything against his writing. I do feel to fully appreciate this book you probably need to be smoking something. Besides, I have nothing to prove to Oprah; I was a Jet.

Stepping on toes

That brings us to the book everyone is talking about, The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown. Once again this book was recommended to me.

I know I will be stepping on some toes when I say I enjoyed this one. It has everything, a lot of suspense, a little fact, a little fiction and short chapters.

Is it filled with heresy? The Catholic Church sure thinks so. After all, this book makes mention of the "Church" changing the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday.

Imagine that. I've been telling people that for years and no one ever listened to me. And the part about Mary Magdalene! This is a book of fiction. At least she has plenty of vowels in her name.

Nobody recommended the next book; I just knew I had to read it. I've always loved reading about horses. As a kid, I was hooked on Walter Farley's The Black Stallion series.

An American legend

Laura Hillenbrand's No. 1 New York Times best-seller Seabiscuit is a favorite of mine. Written in 2001, this is not a book of fiction. It is an actual history of horse racing in America. It is also the story of a remarkable horse

that overcame tremendous handicaps to become a legend of American thoroughbred racing.

It's a true story about the men and women who worked with Seabiscuit to make him what he became: a champion.

Before I get all blubbery and ruin my computer, I'd also like to point out the characters were men like Charles, Red, George, Sam--good one-syllable names with just the right combination of vowels and consonants.

Why am I writing about these four books? For no particular reason other than I read them. I think it is our duty to read. It is the least we can do. By reading we pay homage to those brave Sumerian (or whoever) messengers who gave their lives that we may read.

How many lives were lost before reading was invented? On their behalf, I say read on!

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