The Chicago Tribune has an article about a couple who read, who read a lot and who love their books. It’s a simple well-written article that’s very readable in itself. It’s great to see 500 words devoted to the art of reading and a passion for books.
But hang on, what’s wrong here? The very nature of journalism is to highlight the bizarre, unusual and the newsworthy. The Tribune seems to be saying ‘look at these oddballs - all they do is read.’
People who love to fill their spare moments with literature are not freaks. Reading is a worthy pastime, not unusual in the least and I can’t believe a major newspaper in major metropolitan city allowed this article to be printed.
(By the way, I read this morning the Chicago Tribune is merging its book review into a section called ‘books and media’. It’s as if books aren’t strong enough to standalone. What’s happening in Chicago?)
