Book vs TV

During my high school years, I never had time to watch TV. I didn't even know what shows were on. During college I didn't watch any television either. Then I got married and I got a job. . . I still didn't watch any TV. That job didn't last very long (I quit) and I found that I had a lot of time on my hands. I was expecting my first child, and I decided I would relax, teach myself how to sew, and not worry about commuting to work an 8 hour day any longer. This was the first time in my life I really started watching a lot of TV. There were even a few shows I got addicted to. I don't like to admit this. Once my son got to an age where I didn't want him staring at the TV all day, I turned it off and started watching it only after he went to bed. But I still felt like a TV junkie and I didn't like that feeling. I hated knowing that I had completely wasted 2 hours of my life sitting in front of a metal box letting garbage seep into my brain. I've realized that there is hardly anything worth watching on TV, and I now resort to it a few nights a week when I am completely spent and I don't want to lift a finger. I've found that I feel more relaxed and at peace when I spend my evening reading, but only if the book is uplifting. The following quote is from the Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson, p.304

"With the abundance of books available, it is the mark of a truly educated man to know what not to read. 'Of making many books there is no end' (Ecclesiastes 12:12). In your reading you would do well to follow the counsel of John Wesley's mother: Avoid 'whatever weakens your reason, impairs the tenderness of your conscience, obscures your sense of God, takes off your relish for spiritual things, and increases the authority of the body over the mind."