Why don't people read more?

[Coito ergo sum]

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

http://www.hotforwords.com/2011/04/11/4 ... ce=twitter

These stats are abysmal.

I'm not surprised, though.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

People are stupid and lazy. This makes life more difficult for the humans amongst them.

[klr]

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

http://www.hotforwords.com/2011/04/11/4 ... ce=twitter

These stats are abysmal.

I'm not surprised, though.

Abysmal and depressing. I doubt Ireland is much better, or the UK.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Abysmal and depressing. I doubt Ireland is much better, or the UK.

tl;dr

[Rum]

I think modern teaching methods, the internet, TV and computer games have resulted in mosquito like attention spans for a lot of people and they simply don't have the concentration. Personally unless a book hooks me pretty quickly I tend to leave it these days. A weakness I know, but I am a victim of this even at my age!

[egbert]

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

http://www.hotforwords.com/2011/04/11/4 ... ce=twitter

These stats are abysmal.

I'm not surprised, though.

Why waste energy reading when Glen Beck and Rush Limbaugh will read the books for you, and then tell you about them!

[Coito ergo sum]

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

http://www.hotforwords.com/2011/04/11/4 ... ce=twitter

These stats are abysmal.

I'm not surprised, though.

Why waste energy reading when Glen Beck and Rush Limbaugh will read the books for you, and then tell you about them!

The stats don't just cover Beckians and dittoheads. They also cover the MSNBC crowd and those who get the bulk of their news from the Daily Show.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

The stats don't just cover Beckians and dittoheads. They also cover the MSNBC crowd and those who get the bulk of their news from the Daily Show.

I don't get "the bulk of my news from the Daily Show."

I get it ALL from the Daily Show. Jon Stewart Mocks Glenn Beck's Flight from Faux News.

[amused]

I'd fallen out of the habit of reading until I bought a Kindle a few weeks ago. Since then I've read more than in many years before, combined.

[Clinton Huxley]

As Bill Hicks said, "What you readin' for?"

[devogue]

If I discover that someone I know doesn't read books I instantly lose all respect for them and want nothing to do with them. The ability to read and understand is an incredible human facility.

Anyone who disregards it is, quite frankly, a cunt.

[Bella Fortuna]

Thanks to the forum my reading of actual books has plummeted abysmally! I keep wondering where the smileys are in them...

In fact, that gives me an idea for a thread...

[Rob]

I think modern teaching methods, the internet, TV and computer games have resulted in mosquito like attention spans for a lot of people and they simply don't have the concentration. Personally unless a book hooks me pretty quickly I tend to leave it these days. A weakness I know, but I am a victim of this even at my age!

Well I'm 26 but I think I still am within the modern teaching age and the internet age and I read quite a bit. As does my sister. My girlfriend barely reads though.

[Ian]

Why waste energy reading when Glen Beck and Rush Limbaugh will read the books for you, and then tell you about them!

The stats don't just cover Beckians and dittoheads. They also cover the MSNBC crowd and those who get the bulk of their news from the Daily Show.

Oddly, it turns out that those who frequently watch the Daily Show tend to be better-informed than people who get most of their news through cable news networks.
But I can't be arsed to find the polls which prove that at the moment.

[Gallstones]

I started reading at five and was a voracious reader for most of my life. I go through periods where I have three going at once followed by periods where I just don't have the attention span to read even one. I have to go with the flow in that regard.

I just finished a good book and am jonesing for another. But it has to be a good one. I like non-fiction and am currently in a history/memoir/biography mode.