Curiosity

I have always been curious. I value curiosity. It is one of the three things that drew me to the founders that I invested in. If you aren’t curious, you aren’t learning.

Keep in mind that all numbers are fungible, but I read that reading for pleasure among Americans has declined by 40% over the past two decades. I’m not sure if it includes podcasts, audiobooks, and other mediums for listening to books or stories, but this number is mind-numbing.

I realize I am a culture hound and read voraciously, but this number makes me sad. What is happening to our culture, our education system, and our desire to learn and expand our minds? One of the many reasons we are so divided as a country is the lack of education, where people often accept information at face value from a single news source.

Reading is one of my absolute joys. It is like traveling, which is about seeing different ways of life through your own lens. Those stories, whether novels or nonfiction, open up our perspectives on life. Pulling books from school shelves, such as Anne Frank’s Diary or any literature that is shocking, scary, or not in line with your beliefs, is not the reason to keep it from our children. It is the reason to have our children read more of that. I will never understand the insanity of this and it is truly disheartening that we have allowed this anger and stupidity seep into our culture. Perhaps it has always been there and it is just getting worse.

Regardless, I have read countless books this summer and year, and I can hardly wait to read more.