Books Matter: Kyle Deaver

March is National Reading Month, a whole month designated to encouraging Americans – and by extension Wacoans – to read! The Act Locally Waco blog is beating the drum for National Reading Month by hosting a blog series throughout the month of March, called “Books Matter.” Every day throughout March we will be sharing a post about a Waco resident and a book that matters to him/her.  Thank you to students from the Baylor Department of Journalism, Public Relations and New Media and professor Amber Adamson for help with this fun project.  To read all the blog posts so far, click here. 

By: Alexis Scott

Modern times have fostered an environment that puts technology at an all-time high. Smartphones, tablets and laptops hold power over kids, teens and adults more and more each day. Snapchat, Instagram and other apps like Twitter have infiltrated the daily lives of people across the globe. With the attention now on screens, activities that maintain essential value, like reading, have been forgotten.

Many people still believe in the power of the written word; one of those people is Waco Mayor Kyle Deaver. Deaver said he thinks reading is an essential part of character development. 

“I think it opens your mind to new ideas, in ways that no other medium can,” Deaver said. 

Mayor Deaver appreciates the stories that hold true meaning, especially redemption stories. Laura Hillenbrand’s 2010 book Unbroken exemplifies what reading really means to him.

“I just think it’s such an amazing story of the human spirit,” Mayor Deaver said. “I just think that this is the kind of story that young people should be reading, that they should know.”

Reading is not something to be left in the past. It is essential not only for entertainment but allows people to open their minds to stories with meaning and lessons to learn in ways that technology and social media cannot.

“Those things are great, but you get to dive deeply into ideas, I think that’s the main difference,” Deaver said. 

Put down the screen and pick up a book and open your mind to new ideas.