One in Four

According to this article, one in four adults didn't read a book last year. I'm just going to assume that means they got all of their information and ideas from TV, the media, movies and maybe the internet.

Dear god this frightens me. Go ahead, call me a nerd or a snob but there is just something about books that strikes me as very important to our human race. You have time to read at your own pace and form opinions without ads being thrown in your face, commercial interruptions or even (in some but not all) unfiltered slanted information. It's a time for quiet meditation and maybe even introduction to new ideas! I also like the smell of old books, so there's that too.

I decided to keep track of the books I've read this year and to set a goal of 15 books a year. I was aleady going through my book cases reading all the books I have but haven't so much as opened. For this goal, I have to finish them. And it should prove interesting because my main problem is staying interested. As you will tell by my list of books I started but not finished below...

I'm going to list what I've read in my sidebar to keep track. And so you know I'm not a total snob, I'll even put dumb ones that I read just for fun. So please feel free to make fun of me for my Judy Blume habit. :)

Read so far in 2007..in descending order (current to past)
1.) Food of the Gods: The Search for the Original Tree of Knowledge A Radical History of Plants, Drugs, and Human Evolution, by Terence McKenna

2.) Skinny Legs and All, by Tom Robbins
3.) Still Life with Woodpecker, by Tom Robbins

4.) Galapagos, by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

5.) Slaughterhouse Five, by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

6.) God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater, by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

7.) Franny and Zooey, J. D. Salinger,

8.) Steppenwolf, by Hermann Hesse

9.) Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret, by Judy Blume,

10.) The Invisibles, Grant Morrison (Graphic Novel series)
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Started but didn’t finish/still working on list…

1.) The Screwtape Letters, by CS Lewis (Didn’t finish, got bored)
2.) The Simple Living Guide, by Janet Luhrs (Fantastic! Reading before bed currently)

3.) The Occult, by Colin Wilson (Been getting through for the past 3 years)
4.) Knowledge of the Higher World & Its Attainment, by Rudolf Steiner
(Bit heady…so I got bored but will revisit when I’m in the mood for a serious headfuck)

5.) The Millionaire Next Door, by Thomas J. Stanley (Brilliant! Also reading before bed)

6.) Get Out of Debt Now, by Dave Ramsey (Life changing, but haven't totally finished)

7.) The Art of Dreaming, by Carlos Casteneda (Kinda boring, I’ll be honest…liked the Don Juan series much better. This seems forced.)

8.) Fables, Bill Willingham (Graphic Novel Series 1-5 only)

Not too shabby.....5 more to go!