The death of reading threatens the soul

This article in the newspaper caught my attention. 

The picture is very appealing, but I was also interested in the author.

Philip Yancey is a well-know author of books concerning spiritual matters. 

 Now he is concerned about the lack of reading.

Yancey believes that the internet and social media have trained the brain to read a paragraph or two and then start looking around.  He is speaking from a personal perspective.

Quote:

I used to read three books a week.  One year, I devoted an evening each week to read all of Shakespeare's plays.  Another year I read the major works of Tolstoy and Dostoevsky.  But I am reading many fewer books these days , and even fewer of the kinds of books that require hard work."

Explanation:  When we learn something quick and new, we get a dopamine rush-MRI brain scans show that the brain's pleasure centres light up.  E-mails satisfy that pleasure centre as well as Twitter and Instagram and Snapchat.
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   My only experience in social media is this blog and e-mails.  I don't have a cell phone, even though it would be very convenient at times.  But, I am not willing to give up my personal space.  I do not want to be available every minute of the day.  I need time to think my own thoughts and, to be honest, I don't want to hear every detail of anyone's life.  People can find me if they need me.  I still find the house  telephone a disruption- especially when many calls are advertizing.  I need to find a way to turn off the ring.  It disrupts my plan of the moment.  That's why I love e-mail, where you can answer when you wish- or not!
   A 2016 Neilsen report discovered that the average person spends  more than 10 hours a day with media- radio, TV, and all electronic devices.  Not much time left for reading!
   It appears that discipline is more important than ever.
Bill Gates reads 50 books a year
Mark Zuckerberg reads at least one book every two weeks.
Elon Musk grew up reading two books a day.
Mark Cuban reads for more than three hours every day.
Arthur Blank, co-founder of Home Depot, reads two hours a day.
These busy people make time to read and so can we.  It's important!

"Books help define who I am". (Philip Yancey)