[Publib] Throw the Book

[Miriam Bobkoff]

At 01:37 PM 9/3/2007 -0400, Catherine wrote:
>I want to share with you what I think is a worthwhile read from today s 
>Boston Herald.
>
>Labbe, J.R. Better Throw Book at Everyone: It s a Crime That No One s 
>Reading.   Boston Herald, September 3, 
>2007. 
>http://bostonherald.com/news/opinion/editorial/view.bg?articleid=1028972&chkEm=
[snip]
>Personally, the thought of passing through a year of my life without 
>having read a single book, good or bad, stops me cold.  How about you?

Sigh. A rapacious reader checking in here. I'm addicted to Story in the 
form of novels, and prefer to get my nonfiction infusions in the form of 
book-length, sustained presentations. I begin to twitch if I don't have the 
next several books lined up. But really, folks,

a) historically speaking the idea that 3/4s of the population is reading 
books is astonishing. That's darn near universal literacy from my point of 
view. It's thrilling news, not scary news.

b) I have at least two extremely literate friends who don't read a book 
from one end of the year to the other. One is a dedicated reader of 
magazines large and small, an aspiring writer of short fiction. _She_ 
begins to twitch if she can't lay hands on her pile of New Yorkers. The 
other is an accountant and techie who gets nearly all of his input online. 
He reads the New York Times and the Washington Post. Online. He reads 
reviews, and excerpts from books, online. I think he buys the Sunday paper, 
for the ads. He checks out the occasional nonfiction book or travel guide 
from the library and uses it for reference or planning. I don't think he 
_ever_ reads a whole book.

c) I have a close relative who probably never reads a book either. She's in 
the financial world, reads a couple of newspapers and a couple of financial 
rags cover to cover. She doesn't approve of my book habit. I don't, to tell 
you the truth, approve of her intellectual life.

So what? Different strokes. Besides, the headline is a ripoff. It says 'no 
one is reading', but apparently the story says three people out of four are 
reading books. Which ain't no one.


Miriam Bobkoff
    now in Port Angeles, Washington, and not at ALL clear about who I am if 
I am not the public librarian I was for 23 years...