Snack reading

Snacking - especially on foods high in sugar, salt, and fats (you know, the stuff that actually tastes good) - we are told is not good for our physical health. I believe it. I only have to look at a doughnut and I put on a pound.

But what about "snack reading?" Here are just few of the short articles I was lured into nibbling on just yesterday:

• The History of the Ampersand
• The Writer's Almanac (daily!)
• America's Best and Worst States to Grow Old (Iowa is number 2?)
• 5 Picture-Perfect Long Weekend Bike Trips
• The Best Band from Every State

 oh, and

• In a Distracted World, Solitude is a Competitive Advantage

This does not count the product ads, funny cat videos, or moronic replies to Facebook posts that lure me away from reading anything of substance. And to be fair, I read the comics, Dear Abby, and other useless stuff in the newspaper.

Although I have read or listened to 34 actual books so far this year, I can't help feel that my snack reading is no more intellectually healthy than snack eating. So everytime I read a "Top Ten Reasons..." my IQ slips just a little more. Too bad it's a national epidemic.

I pity our kids who may never know a time in which snack reading was not in easy reach.

Comments

[Heidi Hammond]

You got me to snack on two of your links!