Congratulations, readers. You, your family and your community benefit because you read.

That’s a brief summary of one of the most important, stunning reports I’ve seen in a long time: “To Read or Not to Read,” just issued by the National Endowment for the Humanities. (Brief summaries as well as the full report are available at www.nea.gov/news/news07/TRNR.html PLEASE consider reading this report (or a summary of it before making holiday plans and purchases.