Booklessness
Monday, January 28th, 2008I read here one in four adults did not read any book at all last year. The average number of books read was a paltry four per person. (I obviously have read more than my share.) According to the article, the 27% that did not read a book…..”Nearly a third of men and a quarter of women fit that category. They tend to be older, less educated, lower income, minorities, from rural areas and less religious.” However, the publishing industry enjoyed $35.7 in global sales. The Bible and other religious texts were cited as highly popular reading material.
It is very hard for me to imagine booklessness. We have hundreds?thousands? of books. A number are college textbooks, of course, but we have many other types. Husband loves to read and he is always working on an interesting book. My mother was an avid reader, and we spent many days in the public library. Our first library was the Kuethe Library on Crain Highway in my home town: a dusty, booky-smelling place full of old and new books. When they built the new library it was a real treat with meeting rooms and lots of open spaces. That library on Ritchie Highway is still servicing the community. We went to the library at least once a week clutching a precious paper library card. And of course, I wanted to grow up to be the librarian. In my mind, what could be more exciting?
I am having trouble imagining booklessness. I love to stop by the Pamunkey Library (yes, that is its name) or the local Barnes & Noble. Reading is part of who I am. In this house, we “own” the book we are reading, and say things like, “where’s my book?” or “hey, I was reading that.” We get the newspaper every day and Husband reads every word (I think). One in four adults did not read a book last year; I hope that poor bookless soul is not in my family.