What? You read?

Last night, while out with friends at a local watering hole the topic of reading came up. We were talking about different shows and wanting the next season to come out on Netflix. And my chicka friend said she wanted the newest/ last season of How I Met Your Mother to come on. I've been a HIMYM  fan for a long time and even got the boyfriend into the show. My response of "I do too, but I feel slightly hesitant about it." merited question from the boyfriend...

"How come?" he asked.

"I read an article, about how the shows almost been canceled, which I never knew. But it made sense because the seasons do vary in quality, as we've talked about before. Anyways, the article talked about how they drag out the last season, even though they've been dragging it out for a couple seasons now. Which I had assumed they would as the second to last season ends with everyone leaving for the wedding."

To which he replied, "Oh you read. You read articles." in a sarcastic tone. We both do and have done a lot of reading. In particular he likes mostly reading the happenings in the world. I usually make fun of him a little in this regard, so I did have it coming. Just a little bit. (extra points if you know what I just referenced. If not, here is what I'm referencing.)

"Yes, through the last... since 6th grade, school and myself, we've been conditioning myself to read. And read a lot." I said, in a quick confused manner.

I wasn't expecting his come back, it might have been the drinks, but I thought the whole thing was really funny. And it got me thinking about how much people do or don't read now a days. It seems, to me at least, that most people read a lot or read very little. And I used to not read a lot. I remember struggling to learn how to read when I was little. I'm sure the mother would say it was more of a refusal to learn and then a struggle. She's probably right. I was stubborn and didn't want to learn anything new for many years of my early life. To me, I had gotten by without knowing those things so I didn't see why I would need to change. Little did I know that learning math, reading, writing, science and history would be a positive influence on me. Looking back at it now, I really don't understand how I thought this. For a short while, around the age of 5 or 6, I wanted desperately to be a lady astronaut. And yet I refused and struggled with reading. Apparently, I thought astronauts didn't need to know how to read. Good job 5 year old me. Luckily, over time, a very patient and loving mother, and many wonderful teachers, I did learn the various things I struggled with and actually came to like and even love some of them. And the more I read, the more cognitive of my surrounds I feel. I view things differently and perhaps more openly. And sometimes, I wonder if others see things in the light that I do. In my studies of art and architecture, my view on spaces, places and many things have changed and it all has open my eyes dramatically. But definitely not as much as reading has. I wish, on a global level, we read more. I think it would help. And maybe more than just a little bit.

A pretty good video, that I found awhile ago pertains to reading. It's Girls who Read by Mark Grist.  I think it's done rather well and gets to why I love reading and why I love people who read. If you haven't seen it here it is.