Read a Good Book Lately?

If you want to get back to nature -- back to human nature -- one of the best ways is to read. At least that seems to be a conclusion drawn in a recent National Endowment for the Arts study. More and more studies show that human beings are "born to read." Something in the pace and practice of reading helps them process information better and make better sense of the world. There's a built-in language ability in the brain that allows even a 3-year-old to use, understand and enjoy words.
According to the NEA study, those who read get better paying jobs. They also have a richer inner-life. And at a time when, according to the NEA, only 57 percent of adults in America read books for pleasure (the number is even lower for teens), putting books in the hands of people is fast becoming a social issue -- a concern for the "public good."

School programs and public service announcements help create interest, but the key is example. Modeling "reading for pleasure" is the best way to teach the young to love to read. If a son or daughter sees a parent smiling while reading, they'll give it a go.

Along those lines, the National Institute for Literacy has fashioned an extensive Web site to push literacy along. Among the links is America's Literacy Directory (www.literacydirectory.org). It lists programs for learning to read and write that can be found within a few miles of any given ZIP code. Close-at-hand English-as- a-second-language courses can also be located.

Schools, too, are taking things up a notch, especially because October is National Book Month.

The key is to make the effort.

If you're a person who doesn't read much, set a goal. Begin by reading 15 minutes each evening. As you find yourself getting caught up in a book, those minutes will undoubtedly increase.

Read to and with your children. Use different voices to depict the characters in picture books. Talk to them about the lessons they learn and enjoyment they find in their reading.

Finally, a good bit of advice comes from Tryon Edwards, a 19th century American teacher. He suggested: "Always have a book at hand of condensed thought and striking anecdote, of sound maxims and truthful apothegms. It will impress on your mind a thousand valuable suggestions and teach your children a thousand lessons of truth and duty. Such a book is a casket of jewels for your household."

Edwards, by the way, was the editor of The New Dictionary of Thoughts -- a large collection of "condensed thought" and "sound maxims."