World Book Day was celebrated some days ago to promote the importance of reading. At a time when the printing industry is in decline as more and more people read less and less, one day of commemoration is certainly not enough to encourage this hobby which, after all, is a way to increase one’s knowledge and open new horizons.

Figures released by the National Statistics Office are quite alarming. Apart from a substantial 17 per cent drop in imports of printed material, there was a decline in the number of new members in public libraries, which also contributed to a decrease in the number of books that were lent. There was also a decrease in the expenditure of books, newspapers and periodicals.

Other statistics show that 38 per cent of adults have listed reading as one of their hobbies, but this seems very much in contrast with what one sees in public places. Few people are seen carrying books with them, or reading while waiting in a queue or in a public garden. Probably, many of these people think that reading the occasional newspaper or magazine, or perhaps the leaflets that are dropped daily in our letter-boxes amounts to being a reader.

No, this is not the case. A person who reads is one who has a book on the bedside table, and which he or she carried around when there is a possibility of some time available to read a chapter or two.

This leader writer was recently in hospital for an appointment, and he was the only one to have taken a book with him. While some 30-35 people in the same room were grumbling about the long time it was taking for them to be seen by the doctor, simply stared at the ceiling or complained about their ailments to the person sitting next to them whom they had met for the first time, he was absorbed in his own world and did not even notice that an hour had passed when he heard his name being called.

A book is the best company one can have while waiting. It is easy to carry, does not take too much space, it does not nag or bite and always gives you something to think about. Just try it – take one to the hairdresser’s, to the clinic, to the bank, on an airplane, wherever you want, and you’ll find out that it’s much better than the stupid gossip you have to listen to while waiting.

Of course, reading should not only be a way to pass the time while waiting to be attended to. It should also be a hobby that one pursues at other moments of the day. Time should be allotted for reading each day, maybe in the early morning or just before one goes to sleep.

There are also pockets of time when one is simply flipping through different television channels trying to find something to watch. Well, just switch of the TV and open a book.

There are various reasons as to why the hobby of reading is, unfortunately, dwindling, especially among the younger generations. Today, young people have many other ways to spend their leisure time, and most of them do so on the computer or playing video games. For their part, the lifestyle of older generations has also changed, and this means that there is little time for anything after all that needs to be done – work included – is carried out.

Still, there should always be some time for some reading. If one cultivates the love for books, then one would have found a true friend for life.