William Williams

I would be surprised to meet someone who has not felt depressed or unhappy at some point in his or her life. How about you? Some fall prey to depression and discouragement worse than others, true enough, and if we went through our lives never expecting to have problems, we would certainly be disappointed. But does knowing this really help? Why is it that the proverbial “Could be worse!” more often feels like salt on an open wound?

Alfred Lord Tennyson, one of the greatest poets in English history, wrote: “If I had a flower for every time I thought of you, I could walk in my garden forever.” These sweet terms of endearment sadly do not reflect mankind’s universal experience. The history of mankind’s attempts to find “true love” seems instead to offer very little that stands the test of time.

What do Sean Connery, Oprah Winfrey, Yao Ming, and Baby Yoda have in common? Aside from their obvious celebrity, they—along with other sports icons, TV and cinema personalities (whether real or fictional), and political figures—have all featured sometime or another on a series of “READ” posters. Sponsored by the American Library Association, “READ” posters are popular decorations for public libraries across the nation.