Bring Back Literacy

Why Reading Has ALWAYS Been Cool

For the last few years, we’ve seen the rise of reading as being viewed as “cool.” Celebrity book clubs certainly helped pushed this narrative, along with a global pandemic where people were picking up books for the first time in a long time.

Why didn’t we just know reading was cool from the jump? Remember the Scholastic Book Fairs growing up? Getting pizza as a reading reward? AR points?!

Now, the reports seen to be shifting. I can’t go on Substack or Instagram without seeing a post about declining levels of literacy or how American adults read 0-1 books a year. Kids watch more Youtube these days than anything else.

As an avid reader and self-proclaimed champion of the literary world, I find this devastating.

Not only is reading just plain FUN, we NEED literate and informed adults out there in this world. When we start relying on sites like ChatGPT to summarize books or articles, we lose the work we spent years doing teaching our minds to comprehend and analyze. I don’t want to be to brash, but I think we also lose our right to be seated at the table in conversations.

I feel like it should be on the record that I am a supporter of literacy and learning in all forms - movies, shows, podcasts, art, interviews, etc. But I find the lack of reading out there particularly disheartening, because I’ve always been a bookish girl.

My mom’s mom raised her to read. My mom raised me to love reading. It’s a gift I am thankful for every day. She took us to the library often as children, and exposed us from a young age to magical make believe worlds.

It seems to me that fewer parents are reading to their kids. Fewer libraries are receiving funding. More screens are being pushed on us. This is scary to me, and I hope scary to you.

I’ve run a book club for about five years now and it is one of the biggest gifts of my life to gather monthly with these women and to discuss what we’ve read. It brings me joy and community. It reminds me of the college English class discussions I missed. These conversations challenge me, make me think, and keep me on my toes. I am better for them.

It’s been really sweet to have people join and tell me that they were not readers as a child; this is a habit they developed as an adult.

It’s such a good reminder to me and you: we can always learn or try something new. The literary world is always available to us. There is a book for everyone - it’s just a matter of finding what you like to read.

I’ve really been challenging myself this year to put my money where my mouth this. I’m using my library card more to check out books. I’m donating to my local library. I’m continuing to host book club in my community. I’m working on increasing my amounts of pre-ordered books from Indie bookstores. I’m starting a book club after school activity with the kids at my school.

There are small things we can do that become really meaningful actions.

Books are a gift. Books have been lifesavers to me since I was a little girl.

I don’t like to think in a doom and gloom way - I genuinely think we can promote literacy in fun and exciting ways. I want to enter into this space with joy!

If you feel the same way as me, I’ve brainstormed a few ideas with varying degrees of effort to enter into this space:

• Start + host a book club

• Get a library card + check out books monthly

• Donate to your local library: money or used books

• Full stop buying books from Amazon - this is so terrible for every part of the book world

• Pre-order books

• Buy books from Indie bookstores

• Volunteer at your library with youth programs

• Gift books to the people in your life

• Host a reading happy hour

• Follow book bloggers on their blogs, social media

• Follow publishing houses on social media

• Review books you read on platforms like (StoryGraph, Goodreads, etc)

• Attend author readings at your local bookstore

• READ! Tell people about what you are reading!!

I’m sure there are many more things we can all be doing, but sometimes it is easiest to start small.

“Since it is so likely that (children) will meet cruel enemies, let them at least have heard of brave knights and heroic courage. Otherwise you are making their destiny not brighter but darker.” (C.S. LEWIS)