More reading in the news

Last week I linked to an article in the WSJ by author Ann Patchett, who discussed the rise of reading. I just stumbled upon another great article, this time in The New York Times about President Obama's reading habits.

From Books, New President Found Voice by Michael Kakutani.

Coming soon: a review of Some Like it Haute by Julie K. L. Dam and a very bookish tour!

Patchett hits the mark with "The Triumph of the Readers"

Did anyone see the article in The Wall Street Journal last weekend called The Triumph of the Readers? Author Ann Patchett wrote about the upswing in fiction reading despite the economy's downswing.

I admit that sometimes I just scan the newspaper, even start reading a particular article but don't finish it, for whatever reason. This one though, hooked me from the beginning. It's so very true that reading is on the rise, library usage is on the rise, and that people even go back to school in flocks when the economy is in the dumps. Something that really hit me: Patchett wrote that reading is on the rise - even in the 18-to-24-year-old group. I suppose I could believe this because these are the folks who grew up with Harry Potter (as she so clearly points out) and because every time I turn around there is another teenager engrossed in the Twilight series, which seems to have revolutionized reading for tweens and teens. But this is also the generation that has grown up with a plethora of technology, so while I'm thrilled to hear that reading is on the rise for them, I'm also a bit shocked.

This was one of my favorite parts of the article:

"I'm a firm believer in the fact that it isn't so much what you read, it's that you read. Reading fiction not only develops our imagination and creativity, it gives us the skills to be alone. It gives us the ability to feel empathy for people we've never met, living lives we couldn't possibly experience for ourselves, because the book puts us inside the character's skin."

Another particularly awesome quote:

"I'm all for reading bad books because I consider them to be a gateway drug. People who read bad books now may or may not read better books in the future. People how read nothing now will read nothing in the future."

Patchett went on to discuss how some people who wish to read simply don't know where to start. I admit that my first time through Barnes + Noble was a bit overwhelming. Where to start? What genre to begin with? Avid readers will give a list of good books in a heartbeat to start someone on their way to a lifetime of reading. That, I believe, is a great gift. I'm off to find me some Patchett titles to add to my collection :)