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There was a time when people used to love reading books and they used to read books only for their own pleasure. The traditional pleasures of reading are more complex than just enjoyment. They involve patience, solitude, contemplation. And therefore the books that are most at risk from our attention are these that require a bit of effort. In order for this to work, however, we need a certain type of silence, an ability to filter out the noise. Such a state is increasingly elusive in our over-networked culture, in which every rumour and mundanity is blogged and tweeted. Today, it seems it is not contemplation we seek but an odd sort of distraction masquerading as being in the know. Why? Because of the illusion that illumination is based on speed, that it is more important to react than to think, that we live in a culture in which something is attached to every bit of time. In one sense, this is just the latest twist in a story that has been growing for nearly a century. It seems that each new media invention —movies, radio, television, VCRs and DVD players, and the Internet-inevitably affects the way people read and reduces the time they devote to it. These days, after spending hours reading e-mails and fielding phone calls in the office, tracking stories across countless websites, I find it difficult to quiet down. Besides, most people read to be informed and instructed -where to take a vacation, how to cook, how to invest their money. Less frequently, the reasons may be escapist or to be entertained, to forgo the boredom or anxiety of their daily lives. | 
