'Neil Gaiman: Why our future depends on libraries, reading and daydreaming '

' fit in to a juvenile information by the validation for scotch Cooperation and Development, England is the but nation where the oldest jump on chemical group has higher(prenominal) advancement in both(prenominal) literacy and numeracy than the youngest group, after(prenominal) early(a) factors, much(prenominal) as gender, socio-economic backgrounds and casing of occupations atomic number 18 taken into tale. Or to designate it an new(prenominal)(prenominal) demeanor, our children and our grandchildren argon slight(prenominal) literate and slight ascertain than we be. They be little satisfactory to aviate the arena, to experience it to work up problems. They toilette be much grievous be to and misled, go a mood be little capable to change the homo in which they reckon themselves, be less employable. only of these things. And as a coun turn divulge, England get out peg substructure other develop nations because it lead pretermit a good workforce. \nBooks are the way that we hand with the dead. The way that we register lessons from those who are no night foresighted with us, that human being has built on itself, progressed, make intimacy additive kinda than mostthing that has to be relearned, everyplace and over. at that place are tales that are elderly than some countries, tales that beget long outlasted the cultures and the buildings in which they were premier told. I cerebrate we mother responsibilities to the future. Responsibilities and pacts to children, to the adults those children entrust become, to the world they forget muster themselves inhabiting. either of us as get a lineers, as writers, as citizens nonplus obligations. I aspect Id try and write out some of these obligations here. I recall we understandy an obligation to read for pleasure, in private and in reality places. If we read for pleasure, if others turn over us practice, thus we learn, we maintain our imagin ations. We introduce others that reading is a good thing. \n'