PremiumOpinionOpinion byJonathan AylingColumnist·NZ Herald·15 Jul, 2026 05:00 PM5 mins to readJonathan Ayling is a strategy consultant and professional director. A free society cannot function without informed citizens, and reading develops the required skills: the ability to follow an argument, weigh the possibilities and make a balanced decision, Jonathan Ayling writes. Photo / Getty Images“The man who does not read has no advantage over the man who cannot read.” This saying is often attributed to Mark Twain. Whether Twain actually said it matters less than the truth it expresses.
I am writing this column while waiting for a flight in Los Angeles. Around me,
