Are you a Reader or not?  I am constantly amazed at the dichotomy between Readers and Non-readers. My definition of a Reader is someone who always has a book on their nightstand, reads books while waiting for planes, trains and automobiles, has some idea of the best seller list, has books that they have meant to read but haven't gotten to yet, visits the library, roams bookstores, reads, reads, reads.

Non-readers?  They haven't read a book in years! Some read magazines, newspapers, cereal boxes. But a book from cover to cover? Not since  they were in school!!!

I know very bright people who can converse on  a variety of subjects, are up to date on current events and are very educated who don't read books.  Not at all! 

i know people who are not the sharpest knives in the drawer, but they love to read.  They read mysteries, romance stories, science fiction - whatever - but they read. They are Readers!!

The funny thing is that there seems to be no middle ground.  Readers are always in the middle of a book while Non-readers never start a book.  What makes some people love books and others disregard them completely?  It's a mystery to me. 

I have some very good friends who are embarassed that they don't read books, but they don't!  They tell me that they are too busy.  One even told me that she can't start a book because she is such an avid reader that once she starts a book she can't put it down and the rest of her life goes to hell.  Sorry, no excuses (and none that lame!).  She's not a Reader!

A secretary at work was good at rote jobs, but we couldn't ask her to do anything out of the ordinary as she couldn't figure it out. On the other hand,  she loved good detective stories and contributed her old books to our office library.  She was a Reader

Readers are like an underground cult.  Eventually they find each other.  They share books and talk about their favorites and not-so-favorites.  Some of my colleagues and friends are members of this cult.  Others are totally disintersested.  My parents and sister are members of the cult and my son joined at about age 16 - thank goodness!  I am always happy to meet a new cult member because they might turn me on to a great book that I don't know about.  There are so many good books to choose from that I am always looking for a strong recommendation from someone I trust.  And, the library has them all!  Oh, the library -how wonderful is the library!Reading doesn't cost a penny!!

So, natural intelligence, education, time  nor money divides the Readers from the Non-Readers.  So what does?  Any theories?



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