Wednesday, April 27, 2011

like we needed a study to tell us this!


So, a sociologist in the UK just published the results of a long-term study that found that 'the only extra-curricular activity that positively impacted a 16-year-old's ability to obtain a professional career [in the future] was reading books.' READING BOOKS!!!

Now, you are reading a post on a library blog, written from a room packed to the gills with books (inside a larger building also full of books), and maintained by people who have chosen to make it their life's work to connect teenagers with books. So you MIGHT think I'm going to try to make you read a boring article about a boring study about how awesome books are. You might think I'm being all smug and 'see-i-told-you-so' about it. I won't, and I'm not! (Although you can read the article, if you want to).

What I DO want to point out is that part of the findings - my favorite part of the whole thing - says that the sociologist found that the reading/career success connection happened NO MATTER WHAT KIND OF BOOKS THE TEENS READ. Do you love classics? Fine! Science Fiction? Awesome! Do you cram your backpack full of Kimani Tru books every time there is a long weekend? PERFECT!

Of course, as with all studies, data can be interpreted in a number of ways. Who really knows. It's fun to think about though. Everytime you crack the spine of a Spiderman comic you might be one step closer to being the next [someone really successful that is meaningful to you personally].

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