I was driving down the interstate with my nephew when the conversation turned to books. We had been to the movies and saw preview for a book adaptation. He was telling me that I need to read the book before the movie came out. The conversation continued with books that we are currently reading. He has started the Game of Thrones series, and I am reading one about a secret government agency looking into the destruction of the United States by a Mormon senator who knows about a secret message to Abraham Lincoln. It is better than it sounds.
At some point, he asked, “What percentage of people have read a book in the past year?”
We began to answer by establishing our parameters. Does this include students who are assigned to read? Are we talking about people in the United States or throughout the world? Does this include people who read religious texts?
After all of that was settled, we unscientifically decided that few people have read one book in the past year.
In the blogging world, there are a lot of people who read. I think that reading is what leads us to write these posts. There are also a lot of blogs focused on books and the people who read them. Being someone who likes to read and is in contact with others who do the same, it is hard to imagine that we are the minority. However, I believe that is true.
Reading is good on many levels, but the most important is that it keeps the brain active. It does not matter is someone is reading about the great philosophers or a drugstore romance novel. The brain is working.
People who do not read books are missing out on a lot of fun. Books can take people on great adventures in far off lands. They can scare people or lead them into a world of fantasy. They can educate people and introduce them to ideas they never before considered.
Books can also lead people to one of my favorite places – the bookstore. Due to technology, these places are fading fast, but I hope they never go away completely. I can spend a long time in bookstores looking through the shelves. Many times, I have sat in a chair a scanned several books before deciding which one to buy. Bookstores are places where people can mingle or find a quiet corner to relax. They are places that offer us countless adventures for our imaginations.
When I go to a bookstore, I always try to make a purchase. Even if it is just a magazine, I will buy something. It is my small way to helping these places stay viable.
People need books, and we need places to purchase them. It is hard for me to imagine that people make the choice not to read. However, I know that there are more of them than there are of us.
SBI: A Thinning Crowd 