4 ms·
That seems reasonable - anecdotally I know many graduates from both sides of the pond who have never read a book they didn't have to - for instance, in the UK,
by madaxe_again 10y ago
That seems reasonable - anecdotally I know many graduates from both sides of the pond who have never read a book they didn't have to - for instance, in the UK, fifty shades was broadly heralded as the first book many had read in their adult lives.
From within our intellectual elite bubble it's easy to go "surely it ain't so", but there it is. Hell, my ex business partner who was a highly educated and intelligent man doesn't own a single book and hasn't read one since "animal farm" at school.
The sad reality is that the vast majority of people have absolutely no interest in reading. It's not a question of access, rather perceived effort.
- icefo 10y agoI think school is partly responsible for this. I had to read many terrible books in school. French is my mother tongue and I had to read stuff written in ancient French where a third of the page is definition so you can understand. Most of the time the book is just uninteresting. In my 5 years of high school, there are 3-4 books out of the 20+ that I consider worth reading. And the worst thing for me is the Analysis that come out of nowhere. I actually liked to read when I was a kid but now when I see a book I just have French class flashbacks and a feeling of disgust. People told me it goes away after a while. I hope it's true.