People with a passion for reading need some help. Every educational expert names reading as a crucial element in an enriching, successful life. Except for parental influence, perhaps nothing shapes us as books do. The written word reflects the highest achievements of our species. Serious reading can change our lives, and even escape literature can bring a little excitement to a sober and uneventful existence. Furthermore, without good reading skills, the subject matter of any discipline is incomprehensible. So what's the problem?

Time. Once our school days are over and work, family, and duty prevail, we're lucky if we have time to read the newspaper.

I sat down one day and made a list of the activities a thoughtful, balanced human being was supposed to accomplish in the course of a week. I was dumbfounded. Besides getting to and from work (which for some people can take more than two hours a day), here are some familiar pursuits: caring for children and spouses (if we shortchange them, what else matters?); leisurely meals to encourage togetherness; exercises for fitness; personal grooming; volunteer work; concerts, plays, movies, and socializing; laundry, cleaning and cooking; grocery and other shopping; fixing, mending, and other repairs; contact by phone and correspondence with family and friends; sexual pleasure; attention to financial matters; favorite TV programs—I could go on. I remember the day I was trying to find time for dental flossing and breast examination!

Many of us feel like Tantalus, the mythical king of Lydia who was up to his chin in water with fruit dangling above him. Each time he tried to reach for the fruit or the water, it was withdrawn from him. For us, the teasing is literary instead of culinary. The wealth of unread new and old books and magazines fills us with the same frustration.