A while back, my wife and I came across one of those little infographics people love to share on Facebook. The kinds of things people show off to their friends, aghast at the surprising or sad implications they hold. And usually, some other friend will leave a comment with a link describing exactly why said infographic is big hunk of horse crap and, seriously, you can’t believe everything you read.

You may have come across this particular infographic yourself – it was titled “Surprising Book Facts.” And yes, my wife and I were both aghast and we shared the stats with our friends. We were surprised. And sad. And later on I tried to verify the statistics as best I could – as to not look like and idiot (an activity on which I expend a good amount of energy). Anyway, the statistics on the graphic look legit.* And among other things, they claimed:

42% of college grads never read another book after college.

Say what? That blew me away. The next day I was talking to my fabulous coworkers when I cited the 42 percent number, and they all kind of sheepishly nodded and agreed, “Yeah, that sounds about right.”

Now, these are smart people. People who do smart things. People who, simply by being the people they are, end up learning something new at least once a day, seven days a week. They actually read quite a bit. But they read articles and essays and discussions between other smart people. And they do most of that reading online. Reading a book cover to cover? Just not that common for them.

I don’t bring this up to make anyone feel bad – these people far outstrip me in both their capacity to learn and their passion for certain topics. They absolutely devour information about some very interesting things. But books? Not so much. They’ve read a couple since college. They’ve started and quit a lot of books. They prefer shorter form writing. Me? I’m not blessed with an unusual amount of patience, but I don’t mind sitting around for an hour or two, no matter what I’m doing – from reading to watching TV to playing an absolutely epic game of UNO.

Sometimes when I ask someone about the last book he or she read, and they rattle off the title of a nonfiction book, I think, “OK, but what’s the last real book you’ve read?”Over the years I’ve realized that when I talk to people about their reading habits, I need to be specific about what kind of books we’re discussing. Sometimes when I ask someone about the last book he or she read, and they rattle off the title of a nonfiction book, I think, “OK, but what’s the last real book you’ve read?”

Obviously, nonfiction books are “real” books. They have pages covering in ink and that ink is in the shape of words. They have covers and titles and authors and ISBN numbers. And, of course, they are perfectly capable of containing ideas, concepts, and pieces of information that are important and well-written and funny and moving. I like nonfiction books – from biographies on obscure seventeenth-century inventors to persuasive tomes on things like creativity and our food production systems to books on how to train your cat to salsa dance. It’s all good. You read those things to learn and grow.

But novels? You read them to be.

Some people think novels are all about “reading for pleasure,” and while that’s certainly part of the equation, there’s more to it. I’ve had significantly more profound experiences with novels than I have had with nonfiction. I never think more deeply about who I am or what’s happening around me than when I’m a reading a compelling story and something about it just ... resonates. I’ve read compelling nonfiction, but when you’re invested in a novel – loving the characters and getting lost in their world – it just hits you so much harder. There’s more emotion. More wonder. It goes well beyond “entertainment.” It’s an altogether different kind of learning.

That infographic also claims that 80% of US families did not buy a book last year. Man, if this percentage is true, I really hope an efficient and judicious use of our wonderful library system has a lot to do with it ... but I kind of doubt it.

Unfortunately, while most people will say they really need to read more, they probably see it as chore, like homework or something. For me, that’s the saddest part of all this nonsense. If you have the time and the ability, there’s no excuse – reading a book is one of the most amazing things your brain is capable of doing ... so do it.

*The infographic included a citation at the bottom that let me to a company dealing in statistics for the textbook publishing industry, and they have in fact conducted research to produce their numbers. So, let’s just say that, according to at least one study by one company, these statistics ring true. Take that for whatever you think it’s worth.