I’m an avid reader, and I read a lot. Books, magazines, and any literary art form I can lay my eyes on is always on my horizon. And it’s actually my job, or, part of it. Being an English major, with hopes of becoming a college professor, you could say it’s my forte. I have so many books that my poor Wal-Mart bought bookshelves cannot imagine housing anymore papery goodness. You could venture to say I’m obsessive about books and literature; buying more than I should and keeping what I should sell.

But I’m saddened to say I’m one of a dying breed.

There is an obvious and intrusive decline of literary reading among Americans today. Back in 2002, the National Endowment of the Arts (NEA) conducted a survey and discovered that there was a 50% drop of Americans who read literature since 1982. That is a loss of almost 20 million readers. And that was seven years ago. The numbers now would be so staggering that I honestly would rather not see the results.

What initially sparked this column is the fact that I overheard a group of girls after an upper level English class this past Monday arguing over what Charles Dickens had written. Really?

Even my colleagues in the English department, who study literature, seem to lack in the adroit knowing of literary art forms. Now this doesn’t apply to every English major at Sam, just a good portion. It’s sad to know that I take classes with people who’ve never heard of “Billy Budd”, or never glimpsed the pages of Joseph Conrad. I’m sorry people, but “Twilight” does not consists of literary reading. Nor should it ever be considered literary reading.

Of course no human alive can read every piece of literature, or even begin to know every piece of literature produced. I wouldn’t be so arbitrary as to impose reading onto everyone, or, to declare people not adequate enough because they don’t read. But, reading is important.

So why is it so important that this art form be kept alive and practiced?

Luckily for me, I want to be a teacher, and in my future job requirement I’ll have to convince people why reading is so important. So, without further ado, here is the spill. Reading develops the ability for concentration and imagination. It enriches life, advances literacy, and enhances cultural involvement. It’s a vital and key component in helping people write, in any form or fashion, and develops ideals and thought processes.

So how do we fix the “National Reading Crisis”? Easy really. We need to subjugate schools into focusing more on literary reading, and get rid of the god awful “TAKS” test, which does nothing more than dull and dampen the mind of children. I am by no means declaring that television should be done away with, video games thrown away, and outside activities dropped. I’m just suggesting, no insisting, that people pick up a book and read.

America can no longer take active and engaged literacy for granted. As more Americans lose this capability, our nation becomes less informed, less active, and less independent minded. These are not qualities that a free, innovative, or productive society can afford to lose.