80 percent of U.S. families did not buy or read a book last year.

My bookshelves are packed and I have read every book on them at least once! I cant imagine not reading and one of my favorite things is hanging out in the bookstore LOL. I go through phases as far as the types of books I read.

I like reading books and playing/writing/listening to music for passtimes

I also don't watch television (that's one way to dumb down in my opinion).

to my fellow readers~!

This not surprising, but it is really sad. I have tried to instill my kids a love of reading. I myself have always loved to read.

Last year I read close to 100 books; about two a week.

Some were fiction and some were non-fiction. The topics were as diverse as Christianity, psychology, fantasy, historical fiction, nutrition, quantum mechanics, biography, and the occult.

I think that all along the plan has been to stupefy the masses and the only way to wake up is to learn to think for one's self. But I also think that it may be too late for that.

Originally posted by Merriman Weir
I'd recommend American Gods myself. It's a great book and quite different from a lot of the work he's normally associated with. There's quite a bit of 'mystery' involved in it too. In a sense, it's probably his most grown-up novel.

Blech! I hated American Gods. It was the first and only book of his I will ever read.

Purely a matter of taste, though. The quality of the writing was not an issue. I just didn't care for the style.

I too like to read a couple of books a day - it seems for its size people read more in the UK than the US, if you judge it by the amount of books published in each country:-

en.wikipedia.org...

Sad, sad, sad.

Avid reader here. I enjoy all types of books. I like to let them come to me, as in, I try not to look for any particular topic, but instead allow my reading choices to be determined somewhat by fate or accident. Some of the most rewarding information has come to me this way.

I think that the encouragement of the love of books is the single most important aspect of a child's education.

We read a ton of books in this house. We each have a book open every night. Our book shelves are full of well-worn books. We have plastic bins in the basement full of books we've read too many times to count.

I swear we keep Barnes and Noble up and running on our purchases alone.

reply to post by Grumble

I think that the encouragement of the love of books is the single most important aspect of a child's education.

I agree 100% but want to point out that it's something that parents should be responsible for not the schools. I am a firm beliver that a childs exposure to books and reading should begin within days of their birth.

Reading to children beginning at infancy helps the child associate reading with positive and comforting things. When parents don't read to their children or believe that it is the schools responsibility to encourage their children to enjoy reading, everyone loses.

The biggest problem that my husband and I have with books/reading is that we don't EVER go to the library. For some reason we both feel the need to purchase our books and constantly add to our personal libraries. We've passed our passion for books on to our four daughters so space is getting to be an issue!

Jemison

reply to post by badgerprints


Badgerprints,good post-thats truly a shocking statistic.
I love books,its the theatre of the mind and all that....beats mindlessly staring at the idiot box anyway.
Perhaps this says a lot about the unhealthy decline of imaginative freethinking creativity (and the proportional incline of manipulative televisual conditioning/conformity) in the westen world.
Your not wrong about Neil Gaiman either,American Gods is brilliant.
If you've not read it before then 'The book of lost things' by John Connoly is also a truly great book(as is Imajica by Clive Barker).
Cheers Karl

Thanks for the OP, interesting but pretty much what I would expect given the state of affairs I see around me. One aside to the fact that the general population doesn't read is that they can't spell either. And with the advent of text messaging and other sundry insults to language, I'm afraid that things will probably not get much better. Why read if you can't understand what the words mean?

Once upon a time (pun intended), I too bought books and acquired a considerable library that I was very proud of. I had my favorites that I would pull down from time to time to read again but many were just collecting dust.

Then I remembered reading a passage once that helped me change my mind on how I viewed my collection. In summary it went... A man went to visit his friend and they retired to the host's den to talk. As the man entered the room he was astounded by the multitude of books that filled numerous shelves along the walls. "Have you read all of these books?" he asked. "Now, my good fellow", the host replied, "what good would a library be full of books I've already read?"

With that, I boxed up all of my books and took them to my local library for others to enjoy. The librarian was somewhat taken aback when I told her that I had some books to donate and needed to know which door I should back my truck up to.

I live in semi-rural upstate NY and we don't have many large libraries around, unless you were to go to Rochester or Syracuse, but someone came up with the beautiful idea to combine all of the smaller libraries in the area into a collective network, accessible to anyone. There are 40 libraries in this network and all I have to do is go to the central database online to find what I want. A transfer order is filed for that book at whatever library it happens to be in, and then sent to my local branch where I pick it up.

I have fun wandering around the stacks of several of the local branches and finding some of the books that I've donated.

I don't buy "bookstore" books anymore. I read all I want for free from the library (outside the occasional late fee of which I am frequently guilty).

Happy reading. Oh, and I've always been a huge fan of Science Fiction, especially the short story and novella varieties. Set up the story, make your point, and conclude. It is quite an art when done well and which some of the more long winded authors should practice once in awhile (like this post for instance).

I think the statistic is wrong. The bookstore in my area is almost always full of people. Someone is trying to make people believe Americans are less literate than we really are.

reply to post by badgerprints


read The Gods of Eden, by William Bramley!!

if there's one book i can recommend to anyone, it's certainly this one!!!

...i guarantee you will NOT regret it - it's the best history book i know of, and if everything in it was common knowledge to everyone, then the world would surely be a better place!! sounds amazing right?! ...it is!!

[edit on 17-11-2008 by adrenochrome]

reply to post by badgerprints
Your post doesn't surprise me, most Americans are not acquainted with fine art, good music, reading and being able to converse in more then English.

Sad but true. Part of this can be blamed on our Educational system.

Now the trend I see particularly with our American Youth is hip hop and rap which to me is "ghetto culture".

Many times when I visit the art museums or go to see the Symphony in my city I am amazed how many young people are not there and missing out on refined art.

Read: The Dumbing Down of America by Charlotte Thomson Iserbyt and Cynthia Weatherly




[edit on 17-11-2008 by ofhumandescent]

I am an avid reader as well, I devour books lol, averaging 2 a week and in many cases I finish a novel in one sitting. I don't know my reading speed persay but I will say that I read "The Stand" in three days

There is much to be gained from books vs blogs, newspapers, magazines etc. In a book there is so much more depth to the story and characters and also time spent working on the piece vs a 5 paragraph blog post with someones opinion.

When reading vs watching television you are actively engaged in the story, having to use your own mind to create imagery, draw conclusions and have a level of comprehension that other spoon fed types of media and entertainment do not provide.

80 pages an hour? And I thought I read fast! If I'm really into a book I can read it fairly quickly, but for me it's more like seeing it in movie form in my head. I'm reading but I'm not actually seeing the words, I'm seeing a visual of it. Of course that's only if the writing is good and the topic interests me. Make me read something that doesn't interest me and it can take me 3 weeks to read a 300 page book. Took me all of 8 hours roughly to read "Gone With the Wind", so I do read fairly quickly when a book interests me. I recently bought a bookcase to put my books in once I realized that I had them stashed in boxes all over the house, which would be a good thing if I hadn't misjudged the size of my collection and bought a bookcase that's too small to hold them all. Oh well, at least they aren't in boxes anymore!

As for favorites Irving Wallace, Laurell K. Hamilton, Stephenie Meyer, Greg Iles, Dean Koontz and Keri Arthur are dominating my bookshelf at the moment. I tend to pick fiction novels, they are my escape from reality when I want to relax, but I literally do judge a book by it's cover. I've found that if the title doesn't catch my attention and the description on the back doesn't sound interesting, I end up not really liking the book.

Darn post button, I wasn't done yet... As for the severe decline in reading after high school, I believe it. Most of the people I went to school with didn't like reading when they had to and certainly would not pick a book up on their own to read. I've had many a conversation with my husband about why I like reading so much when he can't stand it. He's actually went and bought a few books but never actually sat down and read them. My oldest child loves books though. If I'm busy doing something he will sit and read to himself, well he tries to anyway.. He's still learning to read. Hopefully he'll continue loving to read when he grows up, and hopefully the youngest learns to love books as much as I do.

[edit on 17-11-2008 by Jenna]

Originally posted by badgerprints
I am an AVID reader.

I am a veracious reader. How many non readers use that word?

and it is more like watching the sentences than actively reading the words. I'm something of a book freak.

You have just hit the nail on the head for me. I have been trying for a way to describe how I read for such a long time.

Those figures are astounding. I'm Australian, so I dont know if those figures would apply to us, but I just took it for granted that most people read.

I'm also a music freak too.

Veracious, yes that is a reader's word.
An improved vocabulary is a very tangible side effect of reading, which results in an increased ability to express your thoughts, feelings, ideas and emotions. A good strong vocabulary and firm grasp of your own language is pivotal to success in one's adult life IMO.

wow this is truly a sad point made about americans and their total lack of desire to learn and understand new info. I personaly dont fit into this stat. I have read and purchased 5 or so books in the last 6 months

reply to post by badgerprints


I, Too, am an "Avid" reader, but have you seen the headlines of our newspapers and other released and documented reading material for entertainment!! LOl

Actually, the last 8 yr's have been filled with knowledgable reading materials from our onslot of growing news reports. After all, I am saving a fortune in book buying costs with the old Boob-tube in my face!!

But all joking a side, it is kind of sad that we have become the "Tech" age of our existance without the practice, or should I say "Regularly" pratice of picking up a good book. I taught my youngest to read when she was 2 1/2 yrs old, writing came shortly there after!!!

Um I believe the word some of you are looking for is voracious.

One thing that I think affects the amount of books people read is just how expensive they've become. Even cheap paperback books are up in the $7 - $8 - $9 range. Sadly I'm old enough to remember when they were like $3 for most paperbacks.
While there are still cheaper options available (libraries, used books etc.), I can't imagine that this is helping the situation.

[edit on 17-11-2008 by Resinveins]