Every once in a while I'll be speaking with someone who will sort of incidentally remark, "I read A LOT" or "I read voraciously." It rarely has anything to do with the conversation and is sort of smug and standoff-ish.
What I really don't like about this claim is that it comes across as both preemptively defensive (as if those who still read comprise some sort of vulnerable bastion of culture and education) and arrogant (as if readers are constantly having to deal with the pernicious effects of, sigh, TV, film, internet, etc).
I read a fair amount, consider myself well-educated, but as a 21st century boy I'm open to (have been raised on) other forms of media. I love to wake up in the morning and hold the newspaper in my hand, and I even enjoy reading books in bed and on the weekends. But when I have a free moment at work, I like to scan headlines on CNN.com and generally soak in bits of information in the easiest, most cursory way possible. And when I finish eating dinner, I love flipping on the TV and getting to that point when my brain very passively absorbs the light and moving images at play in front of me.
Although I love to be informed in a way that demands setting aside time daily to read, you will never hear me say, "I always buy The Economist."
It's an issue of how to define cultural literacy. In my mind, those who need to affirm that they zealously consume books are the same people who are uncomfortable with the fact that to be 'literate' in today's world means a whole lot more than reading books about economics or American history. Literacy implies a whole lot more: The John Stewart Show, not because of its comedic or educational value per se, but because, as was determined a few years ago, a huge number of Americans get their news from that type of show. Wedding Crashers, not because it is a remarkable film, but because it is remarkably helpful in thinking about a number of things (pop attitudes toward marriage/bachelorhood, the joke veneration of essentially worthless people [Christopher Walken], etc). Lil Wayne, not necessarily because he is great, but because it is worth thinking about how former drug dealers who still espouse drugs on all levels can manage to be so charismatic and influential.
Listen: I'm glad you read. I also read. But I consume a lot of other media to further my education. I think you should, too, if for no other reason than to experience how most minds are shaped and informed today.