A History of Reading

Several years ago I asked for a copy of A History of Reading for Christmas. I saw a review for it in my local newspaper and it looked interesting. It was fascinating reading for me. But then you have to remember that I love to read. I remember that Manguel said "a reader must learn to read." Fortunately, most of us learn to read when we are very young and, thus, we can enjoy reading for the rest of our lives. Sadly, statistics show that most people do not take advantage of the gift of reading. Instead they apparently see reading as a school-based chore. While I was reviewing the content of a web site on writing sponsored by Dan Poynter I found some disturbing statistics. He said that surveys showed that fifty percent of high school graduates never read another book during their life. The surveys also showed that fifty percent of college graduates never read another book during their life. In addition, those who did start reading books quit, on average, by the eighteenth page.

A far cry, it seems, from the days when reading first originated and it was reserved for the elite who could find some one to teach them to read. And they had the discretionary time available to devote to reading. Reading was the primary way of learning about things outside your immediate sphere of understanding. And you could learn from great teachers who had already died, but whose teachings had been recorded for future generations. In particular, I enjoyed Alberto Manguel's discussion of reading prior to the development of Gutenberg printing press.

So if you are looking for a good read that will give you some perspective on how your favorite past time helps you fit in with those who have come before you, I recommend A History of Reading.