Learning to Read

I just came across a really cool quote from a book I am reading called, "The Graveyard Book." It is written by Neil Gaiman. The main character in the book is a young boy (he doesn't know how old he is) named Bod, short for Nobody. He is being raised by the dead in a graveyard. That is all I am saying about the book, go read it!
The boy is learning to read and discovering the power of letters and wants to know when he will learn about "joined-up letters." Then realizing what joined-up letters and reading will do for him, he is thrilled. "He imagined a future in which he could read everything, in which all the stories could be opened and discovered."
This line made me realize how much I (we) take reading for granted. Reading opens up stories; it opens up the past. We know what we do because of the power of letters, symbols written on paper or on a screen, on a wall, in the sand. The words help us learn and grow. In this day where moving images on television, on a movie screen, on a computer screen, on our phones; tells the story more often, the images don't fill in the blanks. We want more (or should) and we should go to the written word in a newspaper, magazine, book, or the Internet. Reading fills in the cracks; it is the cement to our learning. Bod realizes this and he reminded me of it too.