The National Endowment for the Arts just released a report which describes the demise of reading among young people. Just 30 percent of 13-year-olds read every day (something I pretty much did). One out of five 17-year-olds never reads for pleasure (that's when I read a bunch of Vonnegut). Almost half of Americans between 18 and 24 never read for pleasure (I read dozens of books during that time, from The Catcher In The Rye to The Autobiography of Malcolm X). The average person between 15 and 24 spends 2 to 2 1/2 hours a day watching TV and seven minutes reading (I watched at least that much TV and still found time to read).

I do see this lack of reading. My girlfriend, who is 19, has to be reminded to read anything. She doesn't think about it. It's not even an option in her mind. I got her to read The Valley of the Dolls, which was the most female soap opera literary book I had in my collection. To her credit, she finished the book over a few months, and I let her keep the copy. Trying to get her to read other books for pleasure has not been easy.

In my eyes, that's the hardest thing for people to fathom: reading for pleasure. Mainly because it's so subjective. What is a pleasure for one person to read completely bores or disturbs the next person. I've read enough Bukowski to call him one of the greatest writers ever. Of course, there are so many options for pleasure reading that you'd think people would easily find something they liked, but it seems like there has to be a mass agreement to read a specific book or it isn't pleasure. People nagged me to read The DaVinci Code over and over until the boring movie version came out. No one mentioned it to me after that. I never read it or saw the movie. No pleasure for me.

When Harry Potter came out, I can't tell you how many people I never knew read at all suddenly and emphatically told me to read that series. I politely told them I read enough fantasy novels when I was a kid, and I was pretty much done with the genre. Myth Adventures, anyone? They stomped their feet, they implored with me how neat it was, they insisted it was mandatory reading. I declined. I suggested they read Huckleberry Finn & The Virgin Suicides & On The Road. You know, books I considered mandatory reading. They declined. Pleasure reading can only be decided by the readers themselves.

I used to give books for birthday and Christmas gifts to family and friends, but I have since given that up. Even if you go to great care to pick a book you'd think someone would enjoy, you will be quite disappointed with how much dust that gift collects without ever being read. A couple Christmases ago, my Mom gave me a little pocket reader of O. Henry, mainly for "The Gift of the Magi" story. I ended up reading the whole short story collection and discovered O. Henry was quite a clever writer with satisfying twists in almost every tale. Reading it was an unexpected pleasure.

I still remember flirting with an attractive girl many years ago on the job, and she saw that I was reading during the slow time. She said that she read so much in college that she didn't want to ever pick up a book again. Higher education, indeed. Her attractiveness diminished for me that day.

My folks owned a homey little small town bookstore when I was a kid, so the fact that I read for pleasure as a child and adult is not too shocking. Even comic strip books count as pleasure reading, although nothing tops Calvin & Hobbes, Bloom County and old Peanuts collections for me. My mother was (and still is) very into Children's Literature. She regularly reads the Caldecott & Newberry winners every year and still recommends Young Adult books to me periodically. I just smile, knowing my taste have gone beyond the trials and tribulations of teenagers & family life. I just finished reading Dubliners by James Joyce. It's a collection of Irish short stories by what many call the finest writer of the twentieth century, and I read it while I was rehearsing and performing in an Irish play. The moment I tried to recommend the book to my cast mates, I saw their eyes dim. They saw no pleasure in it.

I could have talked a bunch about all the gadgets and gizmos that distract our lives. This is what most people blame for the decline in pleasure reading. All the video games, iPods, cell phones, text messaging (with stupid spelling), DVDs, Internet and just plain goofing off. It's their fault. We need to get to the basics, right? We need to force the kids to read more in schools. Well, I don't know.

The simple truth is that most people equate reading with school. If they won't be tested or graded or even asked about the material, why bother reading? I wish I could say we just need to turn people on to good and great books. We need people to desire stories and set aside the time to sit in the comfy chair and savor a good book. But you know what? I've tried. I've said 'you should read this,' 'This book will change your life,' & 'This is even better than Harry Potter.' But people don't listen. It's their own fault. Screw them and their simple distracted lives. We readers know how to do it right. I could care less if our numbers grow.

It's time for me to pick a new book or play to read. I won't recommend it to you. I won't hope you read it so we have something in common. I will probably learn a few simple truths or lessons or perspectives. Even though no one else will know, it will still be a quiet pleasure for me.

Chris Jungle dares you to read something for fun. Anything.