Cliff, I know this sounds odd, but reading is a real world experience. When I hear that you have read five books in your life, I feel as I would if someone said to me, "I have only spoken to ten people in my life, and they were all from backgrounds very similar to mine."
At the risk of sounding completely cliched-- books are communications to you from other minds. Some of the finest, most interesting, most exciting, most original, most creative minds that have ever existed have left records of their thoughts, and their artistry. In books! You are allowed to go to the repositories of these records, and because you are lucky enough to be literate and have a library card, see what these people can tell you about life even after they're dead! It's thrilling, really.
But reading can be difficult if you have an attention-span problem (or have no one to give you guidance about what might be interesting for you, in particular, to read.) You apparently don't watch much television, but I'd be curious to know if there was often a television on in your household as you were growing up. I'm convinced that watching television affects brain development in young children, and that one of its effects is to shorten their attention spans. |
