Today is Halloween. You know what REALLY scares me? It’s not the ghosties and ghoulies afoot today and tonight, nor the fake cobwebs draped in my chiropractor’s office, nor the spectre of running out of candy early in the evening–actually we don’t get ANY trick-or-treaters in this 55-and-older community. What really scares me is the thought that we are raising another generation of non-readers.
The Millennials are not big readers, and the kids of today seem to be following in their footsteps to a large extent.
Yes, there are exceptions–kids who still haunt (to use a word appropriate to today’s holiday) libraries. And yes, manga is popular with some, and I am not among those who frown on manga because they aren’t “real books.” But how many of today’s kids are putting books on their Christmas wish lists?
And how many young adults are planning to spend their Christmas cash gifts, work bonuses, and other newfound moolah on readables?
It would be a sad thing indeed if people in the main stopped reading–and sad not just for us authors but for society and civilization in general.
I’ll tell you what: We’re on the cusp of November, which for many authors and would-be authors (although I’m not a participant myself) is “NaNoWriMo”—National Novel Writing Month—during which 30 days they are challenged to start and complete writing an entire long book.
Suppose I challenge everyone reading this post to READ (at least) one whole book–and not a comic book or anything super-short–this month, and if they have kids old enough to read and young enough to still live with you, to ensure that these kids also read (at least) one age-appropriate book this month, NOT COUNTING SCHOOL ASSIGNMENTS.
Let’s get America reading again!