“Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.” – Sir Richard Steele

It’s been said that 2 out of every 5 college graduates will never read another book for the rest of their lives. What a sad waste of literacy’s gift! Reading is without a doubt my single biggest passion. Ever since I was able to, I’ve been devouring books like you won’t believe.

Nowadays, many people say they don’t have the time. They need to keep on top of all the goings-on in the world. While, that’s true, I don’t think it’s enough of an excuse. My solution was to switch to The Economist. Those of you who have been following Varsity Blah for a while know how much I love reading it. I can’t think of a more succinct way to get all your news. And the fact that the writing quality is always top-notch simply adds to my glee.

I’d recommend starting with the International feed. It takes a closer look at issues that might not always make headlines, be it prostitution or death. They’ve also got great feeds specific to your area. Obviously, you don’t want to overdo it. One hour a week has completely replaced all the broadcasts, magazines, and newspapers that used to take up at least an hour a day. That’s left me free to read 44 books in just under a year. It’s like Thomas Jefferson said: “The man who reads nothing at all is better educated than the man who reads nothing but newspapers.”

(To download your completely free copy of the South African or International edition of Work in Progress, right-click and save the relevant link. Then open, enjoy, and repeat as needed. Check this and this out too.)

“As you journey through life take a minute every now and then to give a thought for the other fellow. He could be plotting something.” – Hagar the Horrible

There’s been a great deal of understandable concern over the rising price of food. It’s led to increasing conflicts all over the world (and even more confusion about what or who is to blame). Another less noticed problem is that of water. I recently read a fascinating article examining the possibility of water becoming more of a commodity than oil in the not to distant future. It’s a grim picture but it’s one we nevertheless need to be aware of.

(Eugene Yiga is the editor of Varsity Blah and his latest book is available free, exclusively from www.varsityblah.com/about)

They say you are what you eat. I guess that explains the concern over genetically-modified food. What do you think? Is all the fuss justified when millions of people are dying of starvation? Or is this another one of those things that simply should not be tampered with, not matter what?

(Eugene Yiga is the editor of Varsity Blah and his latest book is available free, exclusively from www.varsityblah.com/about)