I have watched as a big fan the past 15 quadrennial Summer Olympics, beginning with the 1964 Tokyo Games, and the current Paris Games will be no exception.
I was a high school track and field athlete for one year because of my interest in Jim Thorpe and Bob Mathias, two decathletes whose biographies were among the first books I'd ever read. I also remember reading The Bobby Richardson Story and The Great Houdini: Magician Extraordinary when I was in elementary school, a time when reading required books was laborious and distasteful for me.
This point serves as an important reminder that young people can find many paths to becoming lifelong readers. Sports sparked my desire to read. For this reason, I do not criticize reading graphic novels or even comic books. Just encourage virtually any kind of reading.
