Related Update (8/15): Listen to John McWhorter’s interview on NPR titled, “How Welfare Went Wrong.”
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I wish I’d saved the link to a story I read about adults’ reading habits. The statistics were alarming. If I recall correctly, 58 percent of adults don’t read books after college, and the numbers are worse for people who haven’t graduated from college. If you have the link, please send it.
When I was a kid, I thought those old “Reading is fundamental!” commercials were corny. I don’t think that anymore, of course. Reading is fundamental. One of the best ways parents can help their kids succeed in school is to read to them often if they’re too young to read and help them cultivate a love for books once they learn.
What I’m reading:
- Character Building – A collection of Booker T. Washington’s essays. Inspirational, to say the least. Washington’s purpose was to uplift people through the development of good character and a good work ethic. If anybody had a right to shout “Racism!” it was Washington. But he chose to focus on self-improvement, not whining for government handouts.
- Liberty & Learning: Milton Friedman’s Voucher Idea at Fifty – The folks at Cato sent this book after I wrote a post about my libertarian leanings on education.
- The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business Is Selling Less of More by Chris Anderson – Anderson is the editor of Wired Magazine (and a blogger). This book focuses on how the Internet has changed the marketplace of business and ideas. I can’t tell you how much I’m enjoying it. It may inspire me to turn LBC into a new media technology blog. (Between you and me — Shhhhh — it’s better than An Army of Davids, which I reviewed twice.)
- Enough: The Phony Leaders, Dead-End Movements, and Culture of Failure That Are Undermining Black America–and What We Can Do About It by Juan Williams — Just got a review copy in the mail this morning. I heard that NPR’s Juan Williams was catching it from fellow liberals for writing this Cosbyesque book. Recently, John McWhorter and I talked about how little it takes to be labeled a “black conservative” by other blacks. If your first reaction to problems in the “black community” is to look within the community for the source instead of blaming racism, you must be a conservative. I can’t wait to dig into Enough.
- Winning the Race: Beyond the Crisis in Black America by John McWhorter – This book has been out for a while, but I bought it recently. In a way, it’s a sequel to John’s 2001 Losing the Race: Self-Sabotage in Black America.
- The MacArthur Study Bible — I have several Bibles, different translations, but this is the one I write in, study from, and take to church.
I plan to write reviews of the first four books, to be published here or NRO. Check back for updates.
Some people have an aversion to books that I don’t quite understand. I like to read books and I like books themselves. No matter how virtual the world becomes, I’ll always crave the feel of a bound book.
What are you reading?
(Full blogger disclosure: I’m an Amazon Associate. When you click on the book title links and buy Amazon merchandise, you help me buy more books! Instead of cash, I opt for vouchers.)
Update: Commenter Cedjan wrote:
My husband and I saw Juan Williams interviewed on C-SPAN’s After Words by Michael Eric Dyson about his new book Enough. As usual, Dyson talked too much, contradicted himself constantly, and played the victim card…Thankfully, Juan told Dyson point blank that he was obsessed with victimhood, and initiated a heated little exchange between the two. I now have a new respect for Juan who usually appears so liberal leaning when I see him on TV.
He definitely supports Black self reliance, but Dyson and liberals like him can’t get that through their thick heads. Instead, Dyson rambled on over and over about Juan’s need to attack the ’social structure of impediments to Black progress’ as well as self reliance…I can’t wait to read Enough.
Update II: The Angry Independent links to the Williams/Dyson video. I get an error message when I click on the link at his blog. You?
