I used to dream about the day
that I would have a library room in my house for all of the books that I read. A place to showcase the accomplishment, tout
my achievement and, of course, look impressive.
When I originally had this dream, I was not really a reader yet and
pretty much only liked the idea of having a library. Once I started working in New York and
commuting in 1996, I began to read to better use the time while sitting on
buses and subways back and forth to work.
Library books and crumpled paperback books would hardly fulfill the
image I had in my head. Add to that the
fact that I have read only digital books for the past 5 years, that wall of
books is now a thin iPad taking up almost no space on a shelf.
What I did not realize at the
time, I really just wanted that impressive display. As I have gotten older, I have come to
realize the importance of reading, what that can mean to me personally and the
pleasure of reading something I am excited about. A few years ago, I took an informal survey to
see how many books the room full of people read in a year, whether for
continuing education, curiosity or for fun.
Keep in mind, my reference point was the number of books that I read and
the books that Debbie read. I was
surprised at the results and how little people actually read. At the time I did this survey, I had already
been filled with sayings that leaders are readers and the benefits of an
informal education. In October 2015, the
Pew Research Center published the finding that adults over 18 read an average
of 12 books a year of the population surveyed.
The midpoint of the results was only 4, and 27% polled had not read a
book (printed or audio) in that year.
The physical library was
something, as a child, I was impressed with.
But as I aged and matured (OK, that last one might be suspect if you ask
my girls), my mindset changed. The
library was to impress others. I now
read for myself. I read to learn. I read to educate myself. I read to understand things better. I read as an entrance into new areas of
knowledge. I read for fun. Once I realized the reason I read, I no
longer needed the physical library, because, at the end of the day, it would
most likely only impress me. There is an
organization called R.I.F., Reading is Fundamental, “…the leading champion for
children’s literacy through meaningful research, quality content and equal
access to impact all kids with the power of reading.” We should educated on the importance of
reading, not the pain of reading books that are beyond our comprehension or
pleasure.
Most importantly, each of us
has to find the books that interest us, instead of what interests others.
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