Last updated on March 28th, 2023 at 01:22 pm
When was the last time you read a book or listened to an audiobook? Have you ever participated in a book club? If it’s been awhile since you last read a book, don’t feel embarrassed… Based on the results of a Pew Research Center survey that was conducted between January 8, 2019 and February 7, 2019, you are not alone. The survey question asked of respondents was: “During the past 12 months, about how many books did you read either all or part of the way through? Please include any print, electronic, or audiobooks you may have read or listened to.” Allow me to highlight two items from the survey results… Of the 1,502 U.S. adults age 18 or older who responded:
- 27% reported that they had not read (or listened) to a book in whole or in part in the past year
- 70% of respondents reported that they had not read or listened to more than 10 books in whole or in part in the past year.
About The Book Club
It is easier today than ever before in the history of the world for someone to read a book. Even if you had never stepped into a public library or a bookstore in your life, any number of apps could bring books and audiobooks to your fingertips no matter where you are in the world. Whether you pay for a subscription to read books or listen to audiobooks, or you use an app like Libby (which I use everyday) to access books and audiobooks for free from the public library, 2020 is our time to start reading more.
At the Rad Dad Pad, we focus on becoming Rad Dads, Affluent Dads, and Fit Dads. With that in mind, we will divide the year up as follows: 1) Three books focused on dads; 2) three books focused on personal productivity (Rad Dad); 3) three books about money (Affluent Dad); and 4) three books about health/fitness (Fit Dad).
*Update: Today, May 4, 2020, I reached out on Instagram and Facebook to request book recommendations for the monthly book club. We are getting a late start in May 2020, so I will let you know as soon as I select a book so that you can get started.
Ben Carson’s Awesome Mom
I will conclude by sharing a story from Ben Carson’s book Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story. Ben Carson is the current U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Before his career in politics, and even before his career as a talented neurosurgeon, Ben was a struggling elementary school student. One day, his overworked, single mother (Sonya) turned off the TV that Ben and his brother Curtis were watching… Sonya recognized that the successful people she knew had libraries, they read, and she desired the same for her sons.
From then on, Sonya instructed Ben and Curtis to go to the library in their free time. They read two books per week and then delivered a book report to their mother on what they read. It didn’t take long for Ben to turn things around – going from the worst student in his fifth-grade class to the chief of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins medical school at age 33.
The Ben Carson story resonates with me as I, just like Sonya Carson, am the father of two boys. I have a tremendous desire for my sons to learn about the world, to challenge their minds, and to use that knowledge to find joy. But if I hold my sons accountable to read and to perform well in school, then shouldn’t I step up to the challenge as well? It’s time to put down the remote and pick up the book… in whatever format is most convenient for you. Will you join me in this lifelong quest for knowledge? I hope so, because it will be so much more fun with you on-board.