The trend of reading is a start to success

A new program is out called Your Baby Can. It was started by infant researcher Robert C. Titzer and is about developing reading skills in infants and toddlers.  You may have seen a few commercials about it on TV. On the program's Web site, it said Titzer wants to make the world a better place by teaching children to read at a younger age so they will be more successful in life.

Another more well-known reading and writing program is Hooked on Phonics. This one is probably what people who are in college may have grown up on. That program goes from infant to third grade readers.

The deal is a lot of people have been putting a huge emphasis on reading for a long time and it seems it's becoming even more important as time goes on. Soon we'll probably have a program designed to teach the alphabet to a fetus. And if this progress continues, babies born in 30 years will probably be screaming the words "mommy" and "daddy" right out of the womb.

The researchers and inventors of these programs must have a point. They must know reading is one key to success that hasn't failed yet. So, why don't we follow up on their idea? We should be taking reading seriously at any age. It not only helps our vocabulary but opens our world to bigger imagination and ideas. It lets us think about subjects we may have never thought of if it were not for the book we were reading.

It's also a great relaxer. Have you ever been around someone and called their name three times or poked them to get their attention because they're reading a book? Books can take us to another world, far away from our own worries and problems.

The Ohio River Festival of Books began Saturday and will have events throughout the week. This is a time to remember how important reading is and get back into it. Authors will be meeting with the public at various locations and it's a great opportunity to go talk to them because they take reading and writing seriously and are good at it. Speaking with an expert has the potential to create some real inspiration to open a book as well. Some may be even interested in writing books of their own and talking with published authors could be a start to getting your own story on the way to being published.

A Marshall professor who is working on another biography, will be talking to people at 6 p.m. today on campus. Other opportunities will be available and can be looked up on the Ohio River Festival of Books Web site.