Reading IS Fundamental

Warning! Amy is approaching her soapbox and stepping up onto it.  

About once a day, I say it: reading is fundamental. And let’s just say my tone of voice is not happy or instructive or excited. It borders on insane, though. I work in communications and type lots and lots of words every single day. And every single day, I remain hopeful that the bazillion people we need to communicate with will read the stuff we write. It’s information they need to run their businesses. But my optimism is crushed on a daily basis. People just don’t read.

Case in point: A recent Associated Press poll released earlier this week found that one in four adults read NO books in the past year. Of those who did read, women and older people were the most avid. The stats go on – women in the poll read nine books on average, five for men. Westerners and Midwesterns read more than Southerners yadda yadda yadda.

Hurray for Midwestern women like me…though I don’t consider myself “older” yet…who read with reckless abandon. I read everything, sometimes twice. I even read the back of cereal boxes (which is another gripe of mine – why aren’t there toys and prizes in cereal boxes anymore?!?!).

But what gives with the rest of the world? Why doesn’t anyone read anymore? It makes this writer a little sad. I’m working on a novel but unless I’m targeting middle-aged Midwestern white women, I apparently don’t have a snowball’s chance of ever getting off the shelf if the novel is published.

I grew up in the 70s when the RIF (Reading is FUNdamental) campaign was huge. A few years ago when my parents were having a garage sale, I rescued a few books from the boxes my mom had put out. No way was someone getting my 1970s copoies of the Ramona the Pest series and all my other Beverly Cleary faves. I took them home and re-read Ramona. She’s awesome. I loved her back then and I love her today – and it’s not just because I also have brown hair and brown eyes, can’t sit still, and pestered the heck out of my older sisters and brother. (If you have a daughter, check out the Ramona series. She’ll love it.)

I just don’t get the lack of reading and the lack of love for it. But I am thrilled to report that a new library is opening in our neighborhood on Saturday. I will be front and center when the doors open. Maybe I’ll even dress up like Ramona or check out a Ramona book for old time’s sake. Regardless, I am geeked about getting a new library card and I’m proud of my geekery. My dream home would include a ginormous library with wall-to-wall books (of course, this would also be near the ginormous shoe closet with wall-to-wall shoes). Reading is FUN and FUNdamental.

Stepping off soapbox.