It was Harry Truman who said “Not all readers are leaders, but all leaders are readers.” 

Americans are reading less and for shorter periods of time, according to a comprehensive study conducted by the National Endowment for the Arts in 2007.  Americans ages 15 to 24, on average, spend almost two hours a day watching TV, and only seven minutes of their daily leisure time on reading. 

Americans are also reading less well. Reading scores for 12th-grade readers fell significantly from 1992 to 2005, with the sharpest declines among lower-level readers.

Let’s look at some famous people who were readers.  John F. Kennedy, Jr., was said to have read at an amazing 1200 words per minute after taking a speed reading course.  President George W. Bush read 95 books in 2006 and 51 books in 2007.  Nike founder Phil Knight so loves his library that when entering you have to take off your shoes and bow.  Steve Jobs had an inexhaustible interest in William Blake.   Remember too that Winston Churchill won his Nobel Peace Prize in Literature, not Peace.

We have lots of excuses for not reading like leaving or book at home, not having something interesting around or being too tired.  With the advent of ereaders, there really aren’t any more excuses.

My husband has always been an avid reader.  For Father’s Day we bought him a Nook Color.  He loves it!  The Nook allows for 5 people to be connected and use one library.  What a great feature.  We were able to hook my husband up with some friends and he immediately has access to over 250 books.  Something to please everyone.  He always has his Nook with him.

With the Kindle, the Kindle Fire, the ipad and all other tablets, reading can be right at your fingertips.  There are thousands of free books available for quick and easy download through app stores.  Many new and coming authors are putting their books up for free. 

So next time you think about turning on the television, think about turning on the ereader instead.