If it is on a screen, is it still reading?...

So, I grew up in a household where EVERYONE read. My dad, my step-mother, both of my sisters. All day. If there was a free moment in their day, they were reading. And, these people were busy. They were movtivated to be outside. To be working on something in the house. To continually challenge thier creative side. But, they always found time time read. And, I mean, big books. And, most of them read multiple books at a time. I would come home from baseball practice in High School and found the house eeirely quiet. I would walk through every room, wondering where everyone had gone. Then, I would find them in the living room, reading. All of them. Quiet as mice. Reading books. I mean, don't even get me started about the silence when the Harry Potter books would come out.

Now, I say this because I have never been a reader. I mean, I read, but just not non-stop. If I ever really got into a book (To Kill A Mockingbird or anything by Pat Conroy) I would read it whenever I got a chance. But, when I was done with it, I couldn't pick up another book for a while. I had a sense of loss within me. I missed those characters. I wanted to know more. It was kind of like a break up. I couldn't just move on immediately. I had to "take time" to heal.

Still, to this day, I don't read as much as I should. I have a stack of books at my apartment that I have pulled from various bookshelves with the sole intention of reading all of them. I mean, it's summer-time. I can sit by the pool and read, right? Well, so far, I've read one. One down, about 13 to go. I've still got the end of July and August, right?

Every now and then I feel guilty because I don't feel I read enough. I know that I should try to take the time to read good books. Heck, I should take time to read "okay" books, too. I know that I don't read enough and I should make more of an effort. Then, I realize that I do read a lot. It's just not out of books. I spend a lot of time reading electronically. With the invention of blogs, online books, etc. I have realized that I am reading a lot more than I usually do. I spend time reading the newspaper, checking reviews, reading plays, gathering general information from the internet. Now, I'm not using this as an excuse or a "defensive argument" to my folks when they tell me I should read more. I'm just bring a point up.

Younger people these days are as technilogically savvy as any of us. They gather information from sources many of us don't know about. Many times, you won't find them in coffee shops curled up with a book or a newspaper. You will find them curled up with a laptop (if it is possible to curl up with a laptop). Is this a bad thing? Is this destroying a part of our culture? Does the fact that our children are reading off of a screen, rather than reading off of paper provide the proof of why scores on standardized reading tests are declining?

Honestly? I have no answer. And, I seek to provide no answer. The attached article provides and interesting insight into the debate. Read this.

Enjoy the article. Debate the questions at coffee houses, schools, PTA meetings, in the park, at theatre, over lunch, in the gym and any other place you find. In the meantime, I'm going to go curl up with a copy of "Into The Wild" and get lost for a little bit.