Aging My Way
I just finished reading two library books by Korean author Hwang Bo-Reum, one a compilation of essays about reading titled Every Day I Read, first published in 2021, and the other a novel, Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Library, published in 2022.
The first inspired me to read more, and the second gave me new insights about today’s work world, which seems to have taken a 180-degree turn from the work world of this old broad. That turn is something I was seeing everyday by living next door to my granddaughter Shanna and her wife Dawn.
I had already realized I needed to stop trying to compare the two eras or alienate a younger generation, which does not think like an 87-year-old. Hwang’s books just emphasized this.
Meanwhile, I would classify Hwang’s novel as sweet, with a cast of kind, if at times befuddled, characters who care about each other. Reading it was a break from the chaos of today’s world, and I found both books well-worth the time I spent devouring them.
Here are a few nuggets I saved:
On reading essays: “How could our thoughts be so similar despite living completely different lives, and so different when in the same circumstances.”
“It was part of the balance of life – a person’s dream coming true could mean the collapse of someone else’s life.”
“People just see me as me, which is better than being seen as everybody else.”
“What a happy thing it was to meet a person on the same wavelength.”
This final thought reminded me how elated I become when I realize another person and I, despite many differences, are on the same wavelength. More often than not, this makes itself known by discovering we’ve read the same books.
Happy reading all.
Pat Bean is a retired award-winning journalist who lives in Tucson with her canine companion Scamp. She is an avid reader whose mind is always asking questions (many of which are unanswerable), an enthusiastic birder, staff writer for Story Circle Network’s Journal, author of Travels with Maggie available on Amazon (Free on Kindle Unlimited), and is always searching for life’s silver lining.
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