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\u201cA mind needs books as a sword needs a whetstone, if it is to keep its edge.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u2015 George R.R. Martin<\/p>\n I am often asked why I enjoy writing so much and I always give the same answer … \u201cbecause I truly love the written word.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n Nothing in all of human accomplishment has the capacity to move us, to uplift us, to inspire us, and to simply and\u00a0delightfully\u00a0entertain us, more than the written word.<\/p>\n As a child, I grew up in a town of just over 300 people in the heart of the Appalachian mountains in Southwestern Virginia. \u00a0We had a farm and a large garden and many of my non-school hours were spent with a hoe in my hand or a horse beneath me. \u00a0But there were still plenty of free hours and I spent most of them with my nose in a book.<\/p>\n To be fair, there wasn’t much choice back then. \u00a0On a good day, with the clouds just right, we could pick up one television station; WCYB 5 in Bristol. \u00a0But the only time they had programming for children was Saturday morning when they ran cartoons. \u00a0And I, like everyone else I knew, considered Saturday mornings sacred for just that reason. \u00a0But the rest of the week, I was reading books; discovering pirate treasure, battling the monstrous remnants of forgotten aeons, or walking on the surface of other worlds.<\/p>\n My mother had worked hard to instill a love of reading in me. \u00a0When I was very young, she got me hooked on comic books. \u00a0In Marion Virginia, which at 20 miles across the mountains was the nearest medium-sized town, there was a second-hand store which had a huge bin of comics with the covers torn off that they sold for a dime each.<\/p>\n As I understand it now, that store had somehow came into possession of comics that had been returned to the publisher for return credit. \u00a0But back then, all my mother knew was that she could get a bag of 100 comics for $10 and she bought me a bag every month when she went grocery shopping.<\/p>\n But the underlying theme of that particular comic was to become one of my favorite plot devices. \u00a0To this day, I love stories of hard-won redemption; of men and women born to darkness who somehow fight their way back to the light.<\/p>\n But the comics were only a gateway ‘drug’ for the young John Pierce. \u00a0I soon craved a more substantial fix and I found it in science fiction, fantasy, and gritty detective novels.<\/p>\n Here too, I have my mother to thank. \u00a0The county library, located 30 miles away in Independence Virginia, ran a bookmobile into our town once a month. \u00a0It was a large panel-van with bookshelves lining the back. \u00a0It would park in front of the Post Office for a few hours and you could walk in and check out books. \u00a0And since he only came by once a month, you could get a lot<\/span> of books.<\/p>\n My mother would always take a Piggly Wiggly bag she saved from grocery shopping and have him fill it with whatever sci-fi and fantasy novels he might have. \u00a0I read a lot of books that I might have otherwise not chosen that way and I am glad that I did.<\/p>\n I have never lost the love of reading that sustained and inspired and uplifted me as a child. \u00a0These days, I travel a great deal, and I wouldn’t be caught dead without something to read while on an airplane or a good audiobook to listen to while driving. \u00a0I still read a chapter of a good book to my son every night to put him to sleep and listen to audiobooks while mowing the lawn or putting up fence.<\/p>\n And one of the greatest things about being a voracious reader is sharing the books and worlds you have discovered with your friends. \u00a0Nothing (outside of female nudity of course) gets me more excited than sharing a literary discovery with a fellow reader.<\/p>\n That is why I have decided to add a regular feature here on Monachus Lex called \u201cThe Well-Read Rogue\u201d wherein I will share with you the books and series that I consider must-reads. \u00a0I hope you enjoy these interludes between legal and gun-rights commentary as much as I expect to enjoy sharing them with you.<\/p>\n Stay tuned fellow readers …<\/p>\n Technology of The Modern Personal Library<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cA mind needs books as a sword needs a whetstone, if it is to keep its edge.\u201d \u2015 George R.R. Martin I am often asked why I enjoy writing so much and I always give the same answer … \u201cbecause … Continue reading ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/monachuslex.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/Son_of_Satan-196x300.jpeg\" "\\"\\"")
She never bothered to pick out specific comics. \u00a0She just had them grab 100 and put them in a bag. \u00a0If she had known that she was providing we with such reading material as \u201cThe Son of Satan,\u201d she probably would have had a heart attack on the spot.<\/p>\n\n\n
\n Amazon Kindle Software<\/a><\/td>\n Audible Software<\/a><\/td>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"