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:

1. play sports
2. exercise
3. visit art museums, theater, concerts
4. make art or take pictures
5. volunteer
6. 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