I cannot imagine growing up without a single book of my own

Kids More Likely to Own a Cellphone Than a Book, Study Finds

A survey of 17,000 U.K. children between the ages of 7 and 16 found that while 86% owned a cell phone, only 73% said they owned a book. The NLT believes a child's access to books has a direct effect on their reading ability, finding that 80% of children reading at their expect levels have their own books. Conversely, the same can only be said for just 58% of children not reading up to par with their age group.

Now, reading isn't limited to books. But access to books does have an effect on literacy. As far as the article goes, somehow I don't think the all of the other 27% without books were necessarily getting books from the library. The connexion between exposure to print and developing literacy is the reason I run our hospital's early literacy project (Reach Out and Read, part of a national initiative), which gives out free books to children 6 months through 5 years old in the hopes that they will have a library of their own before starting school. Parents are encouraged to read and share books with their child.

I just can't imagine not having a book of my own. Don't get me wrong, I embrace things like e-readers and multi-format stories, etc., but there's nothing that can truly replicate an experience with a book. You can cuddle up with a Kindle on the couch, but it's not going to smell like good old paper. I love going into libraries and bookstores, not only because I am surrounded by knowledge, but because the smell is very welcoming, and the books invite you to open them. (Conversely, I've always associated the smell of fabric shops with allergies, most likely to the wool or sizing chemicals; I like fabric shops, but have to get past that association. Books, however, have wonderful associations for me.) Now it's easy to be sucked into a electronic format with video, text, and sound, but it's a completely different experience.

Thanks to Buffy Hamilton for sharing the link.