5 ms·

Here is a source: https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/01/the-decline-of-the-american-book-lover/283222/ https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archi

Here is a source: https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/01/the-decline-of-the-american-book-lover/283222/ https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/01/the-dec... It seems like OP is accurate in their assessment, it's surprising to see how many people read ZERO books in the preceding year.

DennisP 6y ago
Your source also argues that the trend is probably turning around.
DoreenMichele 6y ago
I've probably read zero books in the preceding year. But I have the internet and I can access rich content at my fingertips on topics I care to educate myself on in a way that wasn't possible when I was a child. I use this to do things like say to my 32 year old son "I'm having X health issue. I recall reading something about (y health topic). Please see if x and y are related and if there is something I can do about it." An hour later, I have an email full of supporting links showing me that research shows there is a connection, these are the nutrients related to that problem and here is a list of foods with those nutrients. This has resulted at times in answer like "The answer to your problem is you need to eat a Reese's Cup." I eat a Reese's Cup and my agonizing, incapacitating pain drops dramatically to bearable levels. The old way isn't necessarily superior. I used to read a lot of books when my mother would take my older sister and I to the library so my sister could spend hours doing research for her high school papers. I would lay on the floor in the children's room and read Dr. Seuss or whatever. I can now access more high quality information on the internet via my cheap smart phone than probably any library has ever physically contained. And I spend large parts of my time reading on the internet and then I write to collate the information and keep track of the parts that matter to me. I am always baffled by people acting like spending all day on the internet means pissing your time away shit posting on Facebook or Twitter and not doing anything at all intellectually valuable. I'm doubly baffled when I see such sentiments expressed on Hacker News, where a bunch of smart people hang out to discuss mostly written articles (audio and video tend to do poorly here) and many people here read the comment first because of the calibre of thought the audience provides.
- the_af 6y ago
  What about reading Dr. Seuss (or similar books), where the goal is not to access rich content or solve a problem? Where there is no goal other than to enjoy a book? I agree with you there's all sorts of useful and interesting internet content that's not reading crap on facebook. There's even literary discourse on the internet! But what about books? Reading actual books is different.
  - DoreenMichele 6y ago
    I've read lots of books in my life. There's nothing wrong with reading books if that's something you wish to do. But not reading books doesn't mean you don't have an intellectual life and spending your entire day futzing around on the internet does not mean your brain is clearly and unarguably going to rot. That's all I'm trying to say.
    - michrassena 6y ago
      I sometimes am bothered with how reading, or reading books in particular is used as a proxy for that intellectual life. A significant proportion of anything ever published is absolute drivel and is no better than whatever proxy we wish to compare with reading, like reality television.
      - DoreenMichele 6y ago
        While I agree with you (that a lot of books are no better than the internet content and TV shows we decry so often as unintellectual), the other side of the coin is that one person's drivel is another person's necessary information. A lot of entertainment addresses deep topics as "humor" that are too uncomfortable to talk about via other pathways. When I was a child, I read a lot of comics. I also was one of the top students at school. The mother of a same-age friend didn't want him reading comics because it was drivel. She wanted him to be one of the smart kids and wanted him reading important stuff. My mother told her one day "What do you care if he reads comics? He's at least reading if he's reading comics." I don't know if that helped my friend. I don't know if his mother changed her policy. But it sure as hell stuck with me all these years and it's been probably 47 years ago or something like that. If I'm one of the smart kids, you can credit my mother's policy of letting me read drivel because it was at least reading.

DennisP 6y ago

Your source also argues that the trend is probably turning around.

DoreenMichele 6y ago

I've probably read zero books in the preceding year. But I have the internet and I can access rich content at my fingertips on topics I care to educate myself on in a way that wasn't possible when I was a child. I use this to do things like say to my 32 year old son "I'm having X health issue. I recall reading something about (y health topic). Please see if x and y are related and if there is something I can do about it." An hour later, I have an email full of supporting links showing me that research shows there is a connection, these are the nutrients related to that problem and here is a list of foods with those nutrients. This has resulted at times in answer like "The answer to your problem is you need to eat a Reese's Cup." I eat a Reese's Cup and my agonizing, incapacitating pain drops dramatically to bearable levels. The old way isn't necessarily superior. I used to read a lot of books when my mother would take my older sister and I to the library so my sister could spend hours doing research for her high school papers. I would lay on the floor in the children's room and read Dr. Seuss or whatever. I can now access more high quality information on the internet via my cheap smart phone than probably any library has ever physically contained. And I spend large parts of my time reading on the internet and then I write to collate the information and keep track of the parts that matter to me. I am always baffled by people acting like spending all day on the internet means pissing your time away shit posting on Facebook or Twitter and not doing anything at all intellectually valuable. I'm doubly baffled when I see such sentiments expressed on Hacker News, where a bunch of smart people hang out to discuss mostly written articles (audio and video tend to do poorly here) and many people here read the comment first because of the calibre of thought the audience provides.

the_af 6y ago
What about reading Dr. Seuss (or similar books), where the goal is not to access rich content or solve a problem? Where there is no goal other than to enjoy a book? I agree with you there's all sorts of useful and interesting internet content that's not reading crap on facebook. There's even literary discourse on the internet! But what about books? Reading actual books is different.
- DoreenMichele 6y ago
  I've read lots of books in my life. There's nothing wrong with reading books if that's something you wish to do. But not reading books doesn't mean you don't have an intellectual life and spending your entire day futzing around on the internet does not mean your brain is clearly and unarguably going to rot. That's all I'm trying to say.
  - michrassena 6y ago
    I sometimes am bothered with how reading, or reading books in particular is used as a proxy for that intellectual life. A significant proportion of anything ever published is absolute drivel and is no better than whatever proxy we wish to compare with reading, like reality television.
    - DoreenMichele 6y ago
      While I agree with you (that a lot of books are no better than the internet content and TV shows we decry so often as unintellectual), the other side of the coin is that one person's drivel is another person's necessary information. A lot of entertainment addresses deep topics as "humor" that are too uncomfortable to talk about via other pathways. When I was a child, I read a lot of comics. I also was one of the top students at school. The mother of a same-age friend didn't want him reading comics because it was drivel. She wanted him to be one of the smart kids and wanted him reading important stuff. My mother told her one day "What do you care if he reads comics? He's at least reading if he's reading comics." I don't know if that helped my friend. I don't know if his mother changed her policy. But it sure as hell stuck with me all these years and it's been probably 47 years ago or something like that. If I'm one of the smart kids, you can credit my mother's policy of letting me read drivel because it was at least reading.