Despite my heroic efforts, it appears the Year of the Book was not a nationwide project.

In fact, according to a new study by the National Endowment for the Arts, the percentage of adults who read any book not required for work or school dropped in 2008. While I knocked out 20 titles, only 54.3 percent of adults finished even one. The Washington Post has more.

Come on people!

It’s not like there aren’t amazing stories awaiting people’s attention. Maybe if people were inside reading books murder rates and overall crime would plummet. Maybe car crashes would be a thing of the past if people had a book in their hand instead of a steering wheel (hopefully not trying to do both at the same time). Perhaps ratings for TMZ and Access Hollywood would be taken to crushingly low levels if turned off in favor of literature.

I certainly won’t hold my breath. But I will do my part and keep reading.