Convert the Non-Readers
So the Philadephia Enquirer is laying off a lot of reporters. And the Wall Street Journal shrunk its newshole by "just 10 percent!" What the heck is going on with print journalism? Don't blame the bloggers. Don't blame the Internet. Blame the non-readers.
How many people do you know who never pick up a book? And when they do, it's something pulpy and mind-numbing? How many people pick up a book by Bob Woodward? A challenging piece of fiction by Woolf, Pynchon or (my favorite of favorites) Nabokov? A history of somewhere distant -- could they even locate Somalia on a map? A biography of someone fascinating like Einstein, Houdini, ML King or Francis Crick?
I'll admit I wasn't a reader until recently. Sure, I'd pick up a book on vacation, but that was rare. Now I challenge myself to read 50 pages each day. It's opened up worlds to me. I feel more informed and more interesting (and I don't respond with as many blank stares at parties)! So much for the endorsement...if you're not a reader, try it. Oh yes, and pick up a newspaper, too.
Comments
I, like you, only started reading again in the recent past. I'm a student, but textbooks don't count. I had read lots of murder mysteries and horror (Michael Connelly, James Patterson, Dean Koontz), and I would read daily (and voraciously!) the paper version of the WSJ.
However, after the birth of my infant 7 mos. ago, the only reading I get to do is for school work. I sometimes have the opportunity to observe other people reading newspapers, and wistfully remember the WSJ *sigh*
Now, with the downturn (landslide?) in newspaper advertising, I can only hope the WSJ is there in a few years when I'm able to pick up the reading habit again.
Posted by: Helene | January 4, 2007 04:37 PM