It used to adorn my parents’ coffee table, as well as being a regular feature of our family bathroom – always readily available, but never quite sought out.  It came in handy when you happened upon it, but you’d most likely not notice its absence.  Gracing dental waiting rooms and public areas since the early 1920’s, it was Reader’s Digest. With its short, readable little stories and its featured humor page, Reader’s Digest never failed to entertain when there was absolutely nothing else left to do so.  Filled with helpful tips and inspirational true-life stories, the pocket-sized publication delivered enough variety to quell even the most inattentive and distractible person’s restlessness.

As technology improves and grows exponentially, we, as a society, have become quite lethargic in our search for knowledge.  We flip a switch, press a button or two, and – presto! The world is at our fingertips.  We digest small portions of pop culture in bite-sized chunks between our gym runs and latte breaks, or catch a headline or political opinion in a fifteen-second news clip and consider ourselves abreast on current affairs.  Scores of pre-teens will never even know the joys of waking up at five in the morning on a cold, rainy Saturday to hop on their bikes and deliver newspapers to the neighborhood.