Hey, Hoover said it, not me. This time. But seriously, I guess this means they are a people who like to mispell their “donuts” and eat them too.

Our obsession with weight is well established, obvious from the steady drumbeat of medical studies warning about the dangers of extra pounds, the multimillion-dollar diet industry and the news pictures of our favorite young female stars hollow-eyed in the grip of anorexia.

But, it doesn’t really matter. Every American, young and old, today is heavier than ever.

As for reading, there should be no excuse for what is perceived as the fatal decline of books, the death rattle of fiction and the total capitulation to the computer because there are free literacy programs for every age coast to coast.

Alternate headline for this piece: Today’s reading-in-crisis article! (P.S. Boy, I could sure go for a tasty doffnut right now.)