A generation who needs to READ

I love to read. I've loved reading since the before the majority of my peers could spell. Yes, I'm bragging a little, but the truth cannot be denied. I love reading everything. From the critically acclaimed to the type of literature that critics and other authors pull their noses up to. I love the Harry Potter novels (and the subsequent films, although they're never as good as the books) and I love the Twilight series (Yes, I do, and so what?) I love Stephen King and Dean Koontz and John Grisham, although I must confess that John Grisham has taken hold of a larger chunk of my heart many many years ago. I love the fact that I can curl up with a cup of hot chocolate and immerse myself i a world, not of my own making, but where my own imagination can take flight and I perceive the characters and the places described in the manner of my own choosing. I have not had the chance to read the Hunger Games, but I wish to read it before even thinking of watching the film. It's a matter of principle.

And thus comes my biggest pet peeve. The fans of different novel series' and different authors hating on each other and not being able to give credit where credit is due. People, the world is suffering from a dire illness, that of illiteracy. The PlayStations and X-Boxes have taken over and despite rampant piracy, films continue to rake in millions at the box office. Children don't read anymore and basic reading and writing aren't prerequisites in the early years of school anymore. Hell, these days there are schools using IPads as learning tools instead of actual textbooks. We have living among us right now the generation which don't know the concept of a library, that does not know the feeling of opening a crisp new book, or carefully paging through an old one, the smell of paper and ink wafting through their nostrils. These are the same children who could reprogram their parents cellphones but who can't spell to save their life, the same generation who feels that it's acceptable to "wrt lk dis". I HATE THAT SHIT!!! 

It seems as if the world is getting dumber, but in the same breath people hate on books and fans of those books because apparently it's not "good writing". WHO GIVES A CRAP? People are reading!! I don't care if you're reading Tolkien's The Hobbit or Fifty Shades of Grey, the point is I applaud whoever actually picks up an ACTUAL book and reads, immersing them in the world of their CHOOSING. I pity anyone who would rather see the film than read the book, and I especially pity anyone who, when asked what their favorite book is, gives the name of a damn MAGAZINE. Really???

This is the time that we need to realise that we can and should improve ourselves on a daily basis. We need to improve our general knowledge. Go to Quiz nights and play 30 Seconds. We need to improve our vocabulary. We must READ and fill in crossword puzzles. We must STOP looking down at the so-called nerd or geek. At the end of the day the one who continues to improve him or herself, in whatever way, will be the one signing everybody else's paychecks. So STOP hating on someone because she reads the book about the sparkly vampire, or the mommy porn, or the book about magic and dragons. Stop hating on the one who likes reading biographies and the Guinness Book of World Records and new age philosophy. Stop hating on the For Dummies books and actually read a couple, you might LEARN something. Stop hating on the one that would take out books at the local library rather than buy a Kindle or whatever other kind of e-reader. Stop hating on the writers (and readers) of fan fiction. Damnit, it's fun! And stop thinking that you are above improving yourself, or above steering others to find a little self-improvement, believe me you're NOT. And  all you have to do at the end of the day is pick up a BOOK.