Read my lips. Oh, sorry: you don't read.

There was a recent poll that says that 1 in every four Americans has not read one book in the last year.

''I just get sleepy when I read,'' said Richard Bustos of Dallas, a habit with which millions of Americans can doubtless identify.

Mr. Bustos, I know people who claim to get horny when they read (particularly philosophy). This may pique your interest. On the other hand, I once saw Bertrand Russell's Principia Mathematica at my dad's bedside table. It was his cure for insomnia.

Whites read more than blacks and Hispanics, and those who said they never attend religious services read nearly twice as many as those who attend frequently.

There was even some political variety evident, with Democrats and liberals typically reading slightly more books than Republicans and conservatives.

The Bible and religious works were read by two-thirds in the survey, more than all other categories. Popular fiction, histories, biographies and mysteries were all cited by about half, while one in five read romance novels. Every other genre -- including politics, poetry and classical literature -- were named by fewer than five percent of readers.

This is why we have the leaders we have and the culture we have.