People who read wind up being smarter, more teachable, more "train-able", and generally better off than people who do not read much. Where I went wrong has more to do with WHAT is being read. Many kids who had never read the Constitution, OR the Bill of Rights, WERE reading "some Stephen King crap or a Hobbit book" back when I was in middle school. I never understood that, and still don't. This is going to directly insult my girlfriend, but fictional netherworlds of big, fire-breathing lizards and castles barely provide a few hours of escape; then it's back to reality. I have suggested to her, and now suggest to you, that if fiction is such a great thing--then why don't you WRITE some kind of Dungeons and Dragons free-for-all?
Seriously, (as I try to climb back into my awesome girlfriend's good graces) she has read over 2 full bookcases of books, maybe more, and some of them more than once. If ANY person has the background to write a DAMN good fictional story, then it is my scrumptious Static Girl. That's all I'm trying to say.
Let's move on to "learning". Non-fiction, self-improvement, enlightenment, growing and expanding, the acquisition of knowledge; THESE are the types of books worth reading. Making yourself a better person is always a good idea. Always.
Anything you spend time on is an investment of yourself. Don't waste your own time. My best friend, TPG, old best friend STT (back in Georgia), and best Athens friend/party buddy Dax V have all read lots of fiction, and good for them. However, if I'm going to invest my time reading, then it's going to have to be something that makes me better. Period. I wish everyone well with their choices of time-investment; and right now I'm going to get off of the computer and get back to reading my new book about the 'magic of thinking big'. Thank you.