Finding time to read

On day one of A Circle of Quiet, we quoted from the book of the same title by Madeleine L'Engle. While re-reading passages today, I came across this L'Engle gem:

Another contemporary contradiction is that more books are being published today than ever before but educated people are reading less. Over a decade ago I was sent a questionnaire from college; the questionnaire, when collated, would give some idea of what we had done and become since graduation. One of the questions was, "How many books have you read in the past year?"

Most of the girls with whom I went to college were moderately privileged intellectually. Smith has never been an easy college to get into. I felt very ashamed when I answered that particular question, "Two or three books a week."

When the questionnaire was collated there was horror at the answer to that particular question: a high percentage had read no books at all.

All right: our children were little; this is not an age of many servants; most of us had a good deal to struggle with. But no books? I read while I'm stirring the white sauce, while I'm in the subway, in the bath.

I might add: at stopsigns, in the doctor's waiting room, in the restroom, in bed, up early, up late, on the way from here to there and everywhere.