A Book Nerd's Inner Voices

Surprising Book Facts

Surprising Book Facts:


1. 33% of High School Graduates never read another book the rest of their lives.


2. 42% of College Grads never read another book after college.


3. 57% of new books are not read to completion.


4. 70% of American adults have not set foot in a bookstore for the last 5 years.


5. 80% of American families did not buy or read a book this last year.


6. The more a child reads, the likelier they are to understand the emotions of others.


7. Reading one hour per day in your chosen field will make you an international expert in 7 years.


(RobertBrewer.org)





I think this is incredibly unfortunate. Why is there such a stigma around reading? I have talked to people who are actually proud of the fact that they don't read and I will never understand it. I learn so much from books. Things I would have never even thought about being interested in have captured my mind and inspired me to read more about them. Because of this, I know things about subjects that aren't necessarily assumed that I would know. My horizon is broader and I look at the world differently with each new thing that I learn. The fact that some people don't read, don't aspire to learn new things about the world around them and prefer to stay locked in their own narrow little bubble makes me sad.





Pick up a book. Learn something new. Enter a world entirely not your own. See things through another's eyes. Walk a mile in their shoes. Experience a perspective you never would have had the chance to experience without a book. Enjoy the words another has so painstakingly put to paper. Respect their hard work and respect yourself by bettering your mind each and every day.





There are people I love dearly who don't read. I'm not judging them. To each their own. I don't think it makes someone a good or bad person. I don't think their lack of reading material makes them stupid. Not by a long shot. What I do think is that they're selling themselves short, passing up opportunities everyday and missing out by not opening a book---any book---and feeding and exercising their minds the same way they do their bodies. It's not a judgment at all, just an opinion.





Learning should never stop at 18. There is so much out there, so much TO KNOW. I hope to learn as much as I can about the world before I die, be it tomorrow or in 70 years. If I read an hour a day about something that interests me, I'll be an expert on so many things. Isn't that a good goal to strive for?