The Joy of Reading
From Music and the Spoken Word
Delivered By: Lloyd D. Newell • Program 4212
More than 2,000 years ago, when readers were few and books were fewer, the Roman philosopher Cicero observed, "A home without books is a body without a soul."1 Today, books are much more accessible, and yet they are often shelved away behind booming entertainment centers and forgotten in dusty boxes.
Sadly, the love of reading has been lost to some. Just a generation or two ago, reading was a primary leisure activity. People read a daily newspaper to stay informed. People spent free time at libraries and read books to relax and to expand their knowledge. But reading is not as popular as it once was. A recent report found that today’s youth spend, on average, seven hours a day in front of a screen and only 25 minutes reading books.2
One family recently noticed that they had unwittingly succumbed to cultural forces of easy entertainment and decided to rediscover reading. As a family, they set aside time each day to read. They visited the local library. They talked about what they were reading. They began to find more satisfaction in this new and improved leisure time they shared. Their family culture shifted slightly – Cicero would say they restored the “soul” to their home – and they found that one of the greatest gifts parents can give their children is a passion for reading.
Readers are lifelong learners; they know that new insights and ideas come to those who read. Readers discover new worlds and new people. They can be entertained and inspired just by opening a book. Reading expands knowledge and understanding and can enlarge creativity and imagination like nothing else.
1 In Carma Wadley, “Read Today,” Deseret News, Apr. 25, 2010, E5 (sidebar).
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