By Johannes Jansson (GFDL or CC-BY-SA-3.0) via Wikimedia Commons.
Sorry for this mediocre headline…
I don´t know what your home looks like – but mine is crammed with books. I have several book shelves that are way to small to harbor them all. So I just put them everywhere. There are books in my study, in the living room, in the bedroom, in the kitchen, … , you get the picture. That´s why I really enjoyed reading about this study I came across a couple days ago:
A team of researchers investigated the connection of availability of books in a household and education of the inhabitants. They collected data from representative samples in 27 countries and basically looked at the educational attainment of the children, comparing those that come from families with a lot of books (>500) versus not so many books. What they found:
Children that grow up with many books stay in school three years longer on average – which obviously has something to say on their success in later life. This finding applies across all the countries investigated. What I find most interesting: the finding is independent of parental occupation, education, and social class.
Now go and buy a book. Or ten. Or a hundred. Do it. Now!
Books are not made for furniture, but there is nothing else that so beautifully furnishes a house.
(Henry Ward Beecher)
Mappalicious 