“No matter how busy you may think you are, you must find time for reading, or surrender yourself to self-chosen ignorance.” (Atwood H. Townsend)

One of the great travesties of living in the technological age is that children have lost their love for the written word. Computer games, MySpace, Facebook, Instant Messaging, video gaming consoles, television, and the internet have helped contribute to the delinquencies of minors.

And not just children. I’m baffled each time I run into a mature, intelligent individual who states that they just are not “much of a reader.”

Perhaps I have a faulty outlook on life. I consider it a journey of continual education, regardless of your stints in elementary school, high school, or college. You should endeavor to continue learning until the day you take your last breath.

Mark Twain summed up his opinion far more bluntly. “The man who does not read good books is no better than the man who can’t.”

One of the best ways to learn is by developing a habit of reading, and not just light reading. Granted, fiction certainly has its place, but when was the last time you picked up a paperback of so-called chick-lit expecting to learn something new? English author Augustus Hare once remarked that “reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body. It is wholesome and bracing for the mind to have its faculties kept on the stretch.”

Cultivating a love for reading is a habit that keeps on giving back for the rest of your life.

Life is full of simple pleasures, and I must confess that one of mine is browsing the latest nonfiction shelves at my local library.

When I was younger, I adored fiction. But over the last ten years or so, I have gravitated to biographies and treatises on a variety of subjects.

In fact, I do not limit myself to a particular field of interest. Unless I am doing research, I rarely head into the library with a particular book in mind. Instead, I head straight for the new nonfiction section and browse. Rarely will I walk away without a fascinating volume to enjoy. I cannot tell you how many wonderful books I have discovered. My latest find is Cokie Robert’s Ladies of Liberty: The Women Who Shaped Our Nation.

As with all things, choosing books does require discernment. Paxton Hood said, “Be as careful of the books you read, as of the company you keep, for your habits and character will be as much influenced by the former as the latter.”

Reading will undoubtedly change your life, either for better or worse. The best standard for reading—and everything in life—is the words of Philippians 4:8: “Brothers and sisters, think about the things that are good and worthy of praise. Think about the things that are true and honorable and right and pure and beautiful and respected.”