Reading or not

For all the hoopla about major author's blockbusting successes, reading is down, at least in America. It used to take in the hundreds of thousands to millions of books sold to put your book on the best seller lists. Now it can be as little as 75,000 books sold. Literacy or reading? Is it that people cannot read or just choose not to? Some will blame television, video game and computer distractions for the loss of readers in America. Some will say the higher number of non-English speakers is the cause. Schools that require reading of uninspiring books also get the blame. There are those in my circle who think it is the anti-intelligence wave of the past 8 years that is the culprit. Hell, why not blame the Super Bowl?

I feel sad for the non-readers. When I think of the places I had been to by the time I was 10, I am warmed by the memories. I would stack up the maximum number of books one was allowed to take from the library and the ensuing three weeks would be exciting journeys to lands and cultures with people who lived amazing adventures. I would read and be carried away for hours. The smell of a library and books still evokes those memories. What a gift a writer gives. Words that have the power to fill us with feelings, take us to foreign lands or alien solar systems. Words that enable us to understand and feel empathy and tolerance for otherness. Books, stories, written or told or acted can save a life, inspire beauty and art and bring people together. Telling a story is bringing others into your circle of life and giving breath and sustinence to them.