Why Read?

Well, one reason to read books (or at least to buy them) is to impress people. In 2005, this headline appeared: One in three has bought a book just to look intelligent.

Of course, that's a bad reason to read books, so here are some good reasons. (FYI, reading to be smarter is a better reason to read than reading to look smarter.)

4) Reading makes you smarter. I don't mean that you just gain more facts. I mean that it changes how you think and interact with the world. Perhaps I should have said, "Reading makes you rational." We live in an image-saturated culture. We are so accustomed to reacting to visual media that rational thought has become a chore for us. When was the last time you noticed a logical fallacy? (Hint: they're everywhere, from political speeches to junk mail.) Reading increases your capacity to think critically.

3) Reading makes you a better learner. In order to read a book you have to sit still and remain focused for extended periods of time. You do the same when you watch TV, but television spoon-feeds your brain. When you read, however, your brain works harder because you process squiggles on a page and convert them into images and bits of information. This ability to focus makes studying and learning not just easier, but pleasurable.

2) Reading gives you the opportunity to join the Great Conversation. If you haven't noticed, folks have been writing books for a little while. Reading great books allows you to join the conversation and exchange of ideas that is 2500+ years old and running.

1) The Bible is full of books. God didn't give us the gospel in a DVD box set. It is significant that God chose the written word to reveal his mind to mankind. Most everyone agrees that the Bible is the most influential anthology ever written and compiled. If you don't read books, you won't ever read the Bible. Even if you don't believe it's the Word of God, it's the height of historical, cultural, and religious ignorance to not be familiar with it.

Reading in Decline (Statistics)

"Half of the American people have never read a newspaper. Half have never voted for President. One hopes it is the same half." —Gore Vidal, author.

Here are a few staggering statistics on how much (or little, rather) Americans read. (Source)

• Only 38% of adults in 2006 said they had spent time reading a book for pleasure the previous day.
• 65% of college freshmen in 2005 said they read little or nothing for pleasure.
• Only 56.6% of adult Americans said they read at least one book, fiction or non-fiction, between August 2001 and August 2002 compared to 60.9% ten years prior.
• Most readers do not get past page 18 in a book they have purchased.
• 70% of Americans haven't visited a bookstore in five (5) years.
• Customers 55 and older account for more than one-third of all books bought.
• People reduced their time reading between 1996 and 2001 to 2.1 hours/month.
• Only 32% of the U.S. population has ever been in a bookstore.
  

The mean age of book buyers in 2001:

• Age 15-39: 20.8% of the books bought
• Age over 55: 44.1% of the books bought

In 2004, Americans spent

• 86 hours reading books, per person
  
• 1,673 hours watching TV, per person

I find this last figure horrifying. 1673 hours is a few hours shy of 70 days. This means that if you are average, every 5 years you will have spent 1 year with your brain glued to your television. Don't waste your life being spoon-fed on the couch. Feed yourself; read more. Think.

(Image source)