On Reading
I saw a list today of the Best New Blogs of 2010 .I thought it sounded interesting so I went to check it out. One of the blogs is called Better Book Titles, which seems to be a tongue-in-cheek site that essentially gives books more descriptive titles that reflect the plot. The idea is semi-amusing. The thing that annoyed me, however, was the synopsis of the blog:
Better Book Titles takes the work out of that thing we (I) love to hate: book-reading. I don’t have time to read books: I have too many blogs to read, too many emails to mark as read. In the internet age, Better Book Titles is a public service.
I really don't understand why people constantly slag books and reading. I enjoy skimming blogs, but I don't find blogs or e-mail to be a replacement for reading books or even newspapers. Reading is a wonderful, solitary act that offers a little solace in a world that is moving too fast. Reading books offers an escape few other activities do. Personally, I think people who are decrying the death of books and reading must have been abused as children. Forced to read like they were on a death march. Picture books stolen from them at an early age so they could slog through chapter after chapter of assigned reading.
My young son loves to be read to. Some days I think it's his favorite thing in the world. As he gets older I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure that his love of reading isn't snuffed out. In the internet age, maybe we should all unplug and curl up with a good book.
