Books, Borders, and Barnes and Noble

I wonder how much of the world’s population actually enjoys reading. According to the United Nations Development Program, 99% of the United States is literate while some nations’ literacy rates are less than 25%. Even though America’s literacy rate is sky-high, I’d venture to say most of us don’t enjoy reading. I know I don’t.

My problem is that I love books, but I hate reading. I love knowledge, but I hate the work it takes to obtain it. This past weekend I was in Borders and Barnes & Noble on separate occasions. Both of these retail stores have piles upon piles of books, information, and knowledge. Every time I go to these stores, or even go into a library, I always want to know more. I always feel increasingly stupid because I realize how little I actually know.

Over my high school and college years I’ve been able to amass a nice little library – over 260 at this point in physical books and almost 500 electronic books in my Scholar’s Library on my laptop. I love books, but I hate reading. I even wrote a book this past summer! (Feel free to check it out at http://tinyurl.com/viginti).

Learning is hard work, and it requires the discipline of reading. If you’re like me, it’s a struggle to pay attention long enough to pass my eyes over every single word in a book and comprehend the flow of thought for page upon page.

Even though its difficult, it’s worth it.

If you’re not a reader, don’t give up on it just because it’s hard. Success in college requires reading. Leadership requires reading. Spiritual formation requires reading. Don’t give up – keep reading even if you don’t like it.