Cheryl-Anne Millsap would be the Erma Bombeck of Spokane Public Radio, were it not for Millsap's signature smarts and high-mindedness. In this, her debut personal essay for KPBX, Millsap laments that everyday pressures and time restrictions make it hard to cuddle up with a good book. It turns out that she is a member of the Margarita and Salsa Book Club, but no matter. She'll sip a drink and munch a nacho with her fellow book clubbers, but does she have time to pore over a new novel by Paul Auster or peek into Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice? Alas, if there were a 30-hour day, the pile of unread books by her bed might actually get read. Although she never mentions them, TV, the Internet, and iPods -- plus domestic hassles galore -- may well be the main hidden dissuaders here. Fess up, who of you would choose Dreiser's An American Tragedy over TV's American Idol?

If National Book Month -- it's October -- had any real meaning in America, Millsap's wistful homage to the Gutenberg Galaxy would be required listening. Against the backdrop of indie book stores closing everywhere and HarperCollins threatening to hemorrhage every day, Millsap's essay hits hard, with plenty of street cred.