The Wonders of Reading

Okay, after I posted my "gratitude" post yesterday, my mind became flooded with many more things I'm grateful for. One of those things that kept coming up was reading. I love to read. I wish I had more time to do it. And I'm grateful that I do love to do it. It seems reading isn't enjoyed by that many people. Here are some statistics I found, which I find hard to believe:

• 1/3 of high school graduates never read another book for the rest of their lives.
• 42 percent of college graduates never read another book after college.
  
• 80 percent of U.S. families did not buy or read a book last year.
  
• 70 percent of U.S. adults have not been in a bookstore in the last five years.
  
• 57 percent of new books are not read to completion.
  
• 70 percent of books published do not earn back their advance.
  
• 70 percent of the books published do not make a profit.
  (Source: Jerold Jenkins, www.JenkinsGroupInc.com)

Frankly, I do find it kind of sad. Maybe I shouldn't be surprised. I know a great many people myself who never, ever read. I remember a former co-worker said to me that she had never opened a book since high school. She seemed proud of that. I'm not putting down people who don't like to read. I'm sure they have hobbies and interests that I would not enjoy.

When it comes right down to it, reading is probably one of the cheapest hobbies around. Even if you buy a $20 hardback book, the hours of enjoyment you get from it is relatively cheap (and it's not disrupted by commercials). I very, very rarely buy hardbacks, though. I do occasionally buy paperbacks (the small $7.99 versions). And even more often (90% of the time), I borrow from the library. I'm very grateful that we have a wonderful library only a mile from our house. It's part of a bigger system that works with other libraries. I will often go to Amazon to see what looks good, then go to my library's website and request the book. They e-mail me in a few days to say it's ready for pick-up. And it didn't cost me a cent (besides the taxes which I have no choice in).

As if reading isn't fun enough, the emergence of audio books is such a joy to me. I love listening to them when I'm doing the laundry, taking walks, doing the dishes, or just laying in bed before I go to sleep. The narrators are usually performers of some kind, and they make the books come alive. Sometimes there are sound effects, and sometimes they use more than one narrator to give it even more depth and to help you distinguish between characters.

So, yeah....I'm grateful for the authors. I'm grateful for the publishers. I'm grateful for the narrators. I'm grateful for the library. I'm grateful for Amazon! And I'm grateful that there must be lots of other people out there who also enjoy reading (contrary to what those statistics say) or else there wouldn't be the huge plethora of books to choose from!

Nothing beats sitting in front of the fireplace on a cold, snowy day with a brand new book....especially when you open it up and smell the pages! LOVE IT!

EDITED ON 3/8/09 TO ADD: I was just on my library's website and noticed the following quote, which seemed appropriate to add:

Quote of the Week

No entertainment is so cheap as reading,
nor any pleasure so lasting.
- Lady Mary Wortley Montague
(1689 - 1782) Author