Remember the first book that really grabbed you as a kid? As a youngin’ I was always partial to Goosebumps and The Hardy Boys, but Treasure Island was where it was at. Beautifully written and phenomenally paced, Robert Louis Stevenson’s finest allowed me to transcend to the Admiral Benbow and befriend Jim Hawkins. I bro’d down with Israel Hands. I vacationed on Skull Island.

Great literature is a beautiful thing. It asks for your help. It requests you to give as much as you take. It requires you to think. You have no visual representation, only that which you create.

“Using Video Games as Bait to Hook Readers” from October 5^th’s New York Times made me yack in my mouth a bit. Read it for context.

I’m all about the digital age, but let’s start drawing some lines in the sand yeah? Learning from a video game will never be the same, nor teach the same skill sets as reading a book. Sorry. Debate’s over. I’d like to thank ya’s.

“Gaming advocates suggest that even if video games don’t motivate more traditional reading, they have the potential to teach players how to absorb visual information and think strategically.”

That’s cool. So kids know what to do in the event they need to slay a troll or go on a three-bureau murdering spree in a stolen cop car. Very practical. It’s not like reading expands your vocabulary or allows you to speak with wit and intelligence. “Nah, we don’t need ‘dem books. We got our video screen competitions and who-zee-duts-its.”

“Derek Hibbs, 18, a regular tournament player, said reading felt too solitary.” Reading IS solitary Derek, that’s the point. It’s a piece of mind.

I’m sure there are a lot of cognitive benefits to video games, but let’s be honest: you won’t be able to assume the identity of “HoMESliZZle08” and frag any queers during your first big job interview, but you might be able to drop a big word or two to impress your new boss.