A Flood of Books

Culturally, Ridgeview is a borrower. Any individual or institution that makes a mainstay of self-examination is likely to become a borrower. It is almost inevitable that, in inquiring about themselves, they will discover that others are doing better or more interesting things, and to incorporate those things into their own doings. When an individual does this, we call it a habit; when an institution does this, we come to call it a tradition.

There is an Icelandic tradition, Jolabokaflod, that was the happy accident of worldwide scarcity during the Second World War. While numerous and sundry goods were either unavailable or rationed, paper escaped this fate in Iceland, which in turn made books one of the few goods available for gift giving. In fact, Jolabokaflod translates as “Christmas book flood,” and it is a tradition that continues to the current day. For a school that assigns reading the importance Ridgeview does, it comes as little surprise that we should find an affinity for a tradition such as Jolabokaflod.

The Icelandic people, like their cousins in Norway, Sweden, and Denmark, have long been stalwart and voracious readers. Various polls and studies affirm the view that they read more than those in other nations, and whether because of the long winters, situated as they are atop the globe, or some other cultural idiosyncrasy, the book trade has done exceptionally well in these countries.

In Iceland around Christmastime, the book trade releases an annual catalogue of available books, which are then bought by the thousands and given as gifts. These books are typically gifted to friends and family to begin reading in the quiet hours of Christmas Eve. In an effort to inaugurate a new tradition, Ridgeview has produced its own Christmas catalogue to bring more books to more families, to spread good and wholesome cheer over the winter months, and to encourage everyone in our community to read purely for the joy of doing so.

The catalogue is helpfully organized to reach readers of all ages and interests. There is genuinely something here for everyone—students, parents, and grandparents. For our youngest readers, it is hard not to be absorbed into the storytelling of Robert McCloskey’s Blueberries for Sal or One Morning in Maine. The former title won the Caldecott Medal in 1949, but the story and the illustrations are timeless enough that they continue to captivate young minds. Reading to children does both the child and the reader real good, which is something I can attest to in having read to and with young students over the past decade.

For older children, Scott O’Dell’s The King’s Fifth, or T.H. White’s Mistress Masham’s Repose, or of course, the definitive classic, J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit are bound to awaken the imagination and provide young people with worlds and vocabularies to sink their teeth into. These are also the sorts of books one returns to because they were the ones that first aroused in so many a genuine love of reading.

Any lover of the English language, and especially those appreciative of the power of paradox, cannot go wrong with G.K. Chesterton.  In his collection In Defense of Sanity, one is able to dip into some of his finest essays, and for those looking for a more poetic treatment of philosophy, it would be hard to do worse than John Donne. Satires, epigrams, sonnets—Donne’s ambitious work fuels the furnace of memory long after being set down.

For the naturalist and lover of the outdoors, and particularly for fellow Coloradoans for whom mountains are more than heaps of rock and dirt, Robert Macfarlane’s Mountains of the Mind and The Living Mountain by Nan Shepherd will resonate and inspire. For those looking for a longer tome to dig into, Larry McMurtry’s Lonesome Dove has more than earned its place as a staple of great American writing. Several years ago, parents read this book over the summer, and it has remained one of the most memorable—even inspiring some parents to read the rest of McMurtry’s works, which is no small feat given the size of his oeuvre. The Radetzky March by Joseph Roth, originally written in 1932, details the decline of the Austro-Hungarian Empire from the perspective of the Trotta family. For those in search of something for the well-read reader, this lesser-known novel might suit them well.

William J. Bennett’s The Book of Virtues for Young People is a good book to give pride of place on the family bookshelf because it says so much so persuasively to the young person who most needs to hear it, but there is also much to be said for Charles Murray’s The Curmudgeon’s Guide to Getting Ahead in its ability to speak frankly with those preparing to strike out on their own. Along these same lines, Louis L’Amour’s Education of a Wandering Man, even for those uninterested in his better-known western novels, has long been a personal favorite because it shows that a worthwhile and full life is absolutely compatible with both whimsy and individuality.

There are classical authors who make us laugh aloud, like P.G. Wodehouse, and ones that keep us up at night thinking like Anton Chekhov and Herman Melville. There are adventures to be had with the likes of Jules Verne, and great prose to be admired, even in translation, from Giuseppe di Lampedusa. There are Christmas books, and my favorite has long been The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey, though as many times as we’ve heard it, it is hard not to be drawn into a child’s excitement at hearing The Night Before Christmas.

These are hardly all the titles available in this year’s Christmas Catalogue, but it gives a sense of what might be had and the sort of cozy joy that might be relished on a winter night. We hope, of course, that you find this to be a welcome tradition, and one that fits well with the rest of what Ridgeview hopes to inspire in all those that call this place not just school, but home.

D. Anderson

Headmaster