Nearly 3 Out Of Four U.S. Residents Are Book Readers

I love reading books. I think it may be the single most important thing one can do to better themselves. And happily, I was able to pass on that same love to my children.

That's why I was gratified to see the results of this Pew Research Center survey. It seems that nearly three-quarters of the American public (73%) have read at least one book in the last 12 months (hopefully more than one for most). I feel sorry for the 26% who don't read books. They are missing out on a lot.

It seems that the old-fashioned print books are still the choice of most. But e-books and audio books are gaining in popularity. I like the print books best myself, but encourage others to just read -- no matter which method they prefer.

This Pew Research Center survey was done between March 7th and April 4th of this year. They questioned a random national sample of 1,520 adults, and the survey had a margin of error of 2.9 points.

A Sad Commentary

This is a sad commentary on our society. A society that does not read is an uneducated society -- one that will easily fall for the charlatans (both in government and business). And that is the death knell for a democracy.

Ohio City Officials Go Too Far

Sometimes city officials go too far by substituting their own private views for local regulations or law. That seems to be the case in Reading, Ohio (a suburb of Cincinnati).

It seems that restaurant owner Kenny Tessel was using a mannequin to promote his eatery -- KT's Barbeque. He placed a female mannequin (pictured above) outside his place dressed in short shorts and a bikini top. He says his business has improved 40% since the skimpily-clad mannequin has been in place.

But it looks like the mannequin offended some of the city fathers. Tessel was called before the Zoning Commission to determine whether he could continue using the mannequin. The commission decided Tessel could keep the mannequin only if he dressed it in a more modest way.

This is just wrong. Tessel said he was going to appeal the verdict, and I believe he should. What law has he violated? None. What community standards has he violated? Again none.

Isn't this a fairly common way of dressing for young women during the summer -- in Ohio and across the United States? And these young women are neither ticketed or arrested, because it is not against the law to dress that way. Also, if this is a fairly common way of dressing and is not illegal, then it is also not a violation of community standards.

If Tessel had put the mannequin outside unclothed or posed it in an obscene way I could understand the commissions' action, but he didn't. So what is the justification for the Zoning Commission's silly ruling? Quite simply, the only thing the restauratuer violated was the commissioners' own sense of prudery.

The city officials are there to uphold the city's laws and ordinances -- not to force their own prudishness on honest citizens. Their decision should be reversed.

Book Burning In Kansas City

Last Sunday, there was a book burning in Kansas City, Missouri. But this was not your typical book burning. No one was trying to ban any kind of book. In fact, this was just the opposite. This was a protest over the fact that fewer and fewer people read books these days.

The book-burner, Tom Wayne, has owned a bookstore in Kansas City for the last 10 years (Prospero Books). He said he has been seeing fewer customers in the last few years because many people now get all their information from cable TV and the internet. He pointed to a 2002 study by the National Endowment for the Arts that showed less than 50% of our population read for pleasure.

Wayne said he had amassed over 20,000 books and needed to thin out his collection. He offered these books to libraries and thrift shops for free, but they all turned him down saying they had all the books they could handle.

Since he couldn't even give them away, he came up with the idea of a book burning. The Fire Department stopped him because he didn't have a permit, but Wayne says he will get a permit and try it again.

I also love the internet and TV, but nothing can beat the pure pleasure of reading a good book. But I'm an older guy and grew up before cable TV or the internet. Books were my friends and I grew up loving to read. I have tried to instill that in my children. At X-mas and birthdays, they could always count on the fact that one of their gifts would be one or more books, and they came to look forward to them.

But most parents don't do that nowdays. I'm afraid that we're currently creating a generation of non-readers. This is sad. Books are not only a great source of pleasure, but are educational - no matter what is read. TV and the internet are great, but should be combined with books for a truly well-rounded education.