First of all thank you for your smart and fun comments. I read them all and, as before, I’m going to respond to some this month:
Jocelyn rightly points out that one doesn’t need to spend lavishly on books to enjoy them, and reminds us that we can find some pretty good books for free at the library. I fear she was worrying that I was equating not spending on books with some sort of personal failure, but I think the article was merely noticing the fact that Americans are spending less and less on books, and taking that as a symptom of how books are becoming less and less popular. Clearly she’s not part of that distressing trend, nor are June, Lee Ann, and Renee.
On the more controversial end of the spectrum, Gabriel suggests that, “Reading a book is alright as a distraction from studies or while waiting for a bus, but overall it serves little purpose and can even be detrimental.” And I applaud him for being so articulate on the subject—maybe it was partly through the books he read in school that he learned to get his ideas across as well as he does? At any rate, I’d very much like to see any research that shows reading books to be a bad thing. Personally, I expect it will be hard to find any.
I also suspect Gabriel’s school-based reading experience may have been limited—as my own was—to books that didn’t really work for him. I happen to like Moby Dick these days, but it’s not everybody’s cup of tea, especially among young readers who may not be ready for that 700-page whale of a book.
And thank you, Terrie, for your own very articulate response to Gabriel’s post.
Shawna, like Gabriel, is also clearly not gobbling up everything I’ve written and goes further to suggest she doesn’t like my books. I happen to like popcorn myself (and confess I’m not quite so sure what “popcorn trash” is) but I am glad she’s at least reading my blog entries. Maybe she would care, as did Sarah, to suggest some other books she does enjoy?
Finally, I’d like to just point out some of my favorite 1-liners from that batch of postings:
“Turn off the tv and read a good book!” –Mary
“When the world outside is crazy and stressful, a good book is like a mini-vacation. A step away from the world and a chance to breath and relax. LONG LIVE THE WRITTEN WORD!” –June
“Reading is important and can be a way to escape the hum drums.” –Debbie
“There is no substitute for reading. It's far better than movie or TV version. It has a world of its own...in our minds.” –Baklita
“The principal complaint among employers is the poor writing/spelling/general communication skills among young applicants...” –Debra
And my personal favorite:
“I wish parents would hand children a book once and a while instead of a new video game.” –Rachel
I hope our words have a chance to cross paths again next week,
JP
I’m mindful that last week’s entry wasn’t the cheeriest I’ve ever written. Here’s something a little lighter:
During the summers, my grandfather would take me on his frozen food and ice cream delivery route once a week.
These trips were a great treat for me. We’d be up at four in the morning packing his truck, and before five we’d be on our way.
Now, most of us know that driving a delivery truck isn’t the most romantic job in the world.
But every morning, my grandfather would drive over the storm king mountain toward west point, and he’d be singing at the top of his voice.
His big, clumsy truck would be jouncing all over the road—and in a loud, terrible voice he’d sing “Oh, Susanna,” or “Put Another Nickel in the Nickelodeon,” or “She'll Be Coming 'Round the Mountain.”
And my grandfather told me this: “Jim,” he said, “When you grow up, I don’t care if you’re a truck driver or a famous surgeon—just remember that when you go over the mountain to work in the morning, you’ve got to be singing.”
And, at least since I discovered books and eventually decided to become a writer, I do.
JP
A friend in the publishing industry brought a recent article in The New Yorker to my attention. It’s called “The Twilight of the Books: What Will Life Be Like If People Stop Reading?”, and it begins with some scary statistics about how, as a nation, we’re turning into a bunch of non-readers. . .and what that means.
I won’t repeat it all, but here’s a fact that stood out for me:
- In 1995, the average family spent an average $163 dollars on reading (including newspapers, magazines, books, e-books).
- In 2005, that amount had fallen by almost a quarter, to just $126 a year.
I’m not arguing that money’s the best measure here, but I do think it gives an indication of how reading ranks among those things upon which we spend our money. (What’s a cup of coffee cost these days? Seems to me $126 is about what it costs to take a family the movies two or three times. Or indulge a parent’s Starbucks habit for a couple months.)
And then it goes into a history of reading and the science behind the claims people have always made—and that some of us know or have suspected from our own experience and common sense—things like how readers are more likely than non-readers to:
- play sports
- exercise
- visit art museums, theater, concerts
- make art or take pictures
- volunteer
- vote
I believe the author was making the point that some of these things are kind of important to our society.
Anyhow, it’s a pretty long article, but it was definitely a thought-stirrer for little old me.
JP
Happy New Year! I don’t know about you, but I’ve been becoming a progressively better resolution-keeper as I get older.
The trick, as with many things you wish to accomplish in life, comes down to being realistic with yourself.
For instance, if you are trying to start a really noble habit, you should make sure it’s actually do-able and at least somewhat in line with your character. Like, say, you tell yourself that this year you’re going to start running five miles a day, but you’ve never been much of a runner, and you’re pretty out of shape, and you really don’t like running (except when playing basketball, I don’t like it much, I will confess), well, maybe you should pick another resolution. Like walking a couple miles a day.
It’s great to have ambitions, but they don’t tend to flourish unless you know what you’re working with.
And I don’t mean to presume to know you that well, but I think I’ve stumbled on a great resolution, in case the one you picked isn’t shaping up so well.
If you think your kid(s) should read more, if you have Internet access or are able-bodied, and if you have fifteen minutes or more of free time a month, here’s the idea.
Hold up your right hand and read this next bit aloud—
“I, [your name, and don’t be a wiseacre and say 'yourname’] do hereby resolve for 2008 to help get one great book a month for into the hands of a child in my life.”
That wasn’t so painful, was it? And you can do that, can’t you? If you can’t afford a brand new book each month—either from a store or from an online retailer—get a used one, or borrow from your local library (here’s a handy list of local libraries and links for how to set yourself, and your kid, up with a library card) or even a friend who has the book you think your child will like.
And if you need recommendations for books—bookstores and libraries, with all the thousands of books they have, can be a pain to find your way around, I know—then come here and check out recommendations that I—and your fellow blog-readers—have made. Or go ahead and ask somebody here at the message boards, or your child’s teacher, or a bookseller, or a librarian.
It really shouldn’t take more than 15 minutes from start to finish.
JP
Hope your holidays were great. Christmas happens to be one of my favorite days of the year.
And my family outdid themselves this year. I got some great books myself, gave a couple good ones—including one of my all-time favorites, To Kill a Mockingbird—to my son, Jack. I also received some of the world’s best ice cream, from Graeter’s in Cincinnati.
So now it’s time for thank-you notes! I know, thank-you notes can seem like a total drag and, these days, with the speed and ease of email, IMs, cell phones, and texting, it seems downright old-fashioned and inefficient to actually commit pen to paper, but I personally think part of enjoying books comes from an appreciation of this old-fashioned, first-hand, and magical experience of turning our own thoughts into words.
To that end, even if thank-you notes are a hard-sell with your child, have you ever considered getting them a blank notebook? Here’s a thought and a letter you’re welcome to adapt for your own young reader:
Dear ___,You ought to keep a journal. Do you know what a journal is? It’s basically your own book. And it’s a place where you can keeps things you want to remember. Things like [and of course use your own examples here, these are just for-instances]:
- How much the Cowboys are going to win by in the next game
- What sorts of table scraps Rex likes best
- The right amount of ketchup one should use on one’s burger
- What is the best joke you heard at school this week
- What day of the week you get your allowance on
- How many Whiffle balls you’ve hit into the next-door-neighbors’ yard
- What sort of cake you want for your birthday
- What Mom or Dad said to you that ticked you off the other day
- Best fishing spots at the river
- Secrets that nobody should know but you
My point is that if you have a journal and practice writing in it—just like with our bike or smacking Whiffle balls into the neighbors’ yard—you’ll get good fast.
And writing’s a good thing to be good at. It helps you remember things, it helps you get your ideas to across to other people (so you can get into good schools and get good jobs and stuff like that) and it can even be pretty good fun.
And you don’t have to write in this journal when you don’t feel like it. You can glue pictures you’ve cut out of magazines, things you’ve printed off the computer, hide money in it, or even smash leaves or bugs into it if you like. Or you can neglect it for weeks or months at a time.
Anyhow, why don’t you give it a try, and let me know if there’s anything I can help with? I’m proud of you being such a good reader and writer.
JP
