Sir: It is rather sad to realise that our society is moving far away from the habit of reading, or was it always this far? If we ask our parents or teachers, they would tell us how this generation is different and how children and teenagers used to be in their time. It is pretty evident that the reading habit is flowing away from our generation as new technologies and addictions are emerging. The people nowadays are busy in the virtual world they have created for themselves. Before it is too late, there must be something done about it. Many NGOs are working towards different causes in our society and promoting a reading habit should be one of them. More public libraries should be opened and they should be accessible for people so that they could borrow books. Campaigns should be launched across educational institutions to offer separate courses or classes for reading. A very ideal example is the Reader’s Club in Karachi University that offers students a chance to enter and enhance their reading, writing and speaking skills as it is considered an important aspect of a student’s growth and success. Educational institutions must play their part, not only at university level, but starting from the primary level. The realisation of the importance of reading will bring the change that we are looking for. We have almost forgotten the importance of reading and that can be one of the reasons we are lagging behind in many areas. ZAINA QASEEM RIZVI Via Email