Is anyone reading anymore?

I am writing this blog in a book cafe. What is a book cafe you may be wondering? It is a place exploding from floor to ceiling with bookshelves. Every award-winning book you have ever or never heard of spans the walls of this quaint little cafe. While I was sitting here surrounded by books, I realized that no one is actually reading any of them. Everyone is always on their computer. Don't get me wrong despite the recent decline of reading, I enjoy reading and do read quite a bit, but I have a feeling that I am in the small minority of generation Yers that actually reads. Give me a comfortable chair, a glass of water, and a good cigar or pipe and I'm ready to delve into a book for a few hours. But I recognize that is not normal for a man in his young twenties.

I recognize that it had something to do with the way I was raised, but mostly it had to do with the habits of those I looked up to the most throughout life. A kid whose parents encourage hours of the wiggles and go diego go will raise kids who are more infatuated with media, and will inevitably turn to popular media to entertain and even teach them. But a parent who reads to and with their children will develop children who find pleasure in reading and sharing stories.

If I'm not careful I recognize that I can be easily swayed to turn to television and the internet to teach me. Don't get me wrong, I'm not condemning either one(though televsion and internet have lead to the downfall of family structures faster than anything in history), but rather desiring to encourage people to pick up a good book.