Reading is Fun-damental
Is reading going the way of the do-do bird? Are we becoming a culture enthralled only with gadgets and gizmos, iPods and YouTube? I often hear alarming factoids that indicate that books and reading are on a severe decline. According to the following undated statistics from the Jenkins Group, you’d think the dark ages were returning and that every precaution should be taken to preserve our tomes.
- 1/3 of high school graduates never read another book for the rest of their lives.
- 42 percent of college graduates never read another book after college.
- 80 percent of U.S. families did not buy or read a book last year.
- 70 percent of U.S. adults have not been in a bookstore in the last five years.
On the other hand, you can’t help but notice that bookstores, once small and cozy have been transformed into two and three story palaces, installed in every half-way decent mall. Or what about Oprah’s Book Club and the incredible success of Harry Potter? Something just doesn’t cotton here!
Thankfully I’m in a position to do a bit of research and launched a poll across a network of 100+ sites and blogs. The question: Do you read books for pleasure? A whopping 82% said yes, which is both promising and comforting.
However, as with any research or statistic there are caveats and ways to interpret the numbers. The biggest one here is that the online population is skewed toward those with higher education and income. So, it’s not cut and dry, just like a great poem.
