I came across an interesting report today about "reading" in America. The National Endowment for the Arts released a report in November 2007, "To Read or Not To Read," which included results about the reading habits of Americans.
The percentage of Americans who reported reading a novel, a short story, a poem, or a play has increased but not to any significant degree. In 2002 the NEA survey found that 46.7% of adults Americans read; in 2008, 50.2 percent. What is important about the data is that this is the first INCREASE in readers since 1980! People, where have you been!
Now another side to this current survey is not so good. Of those who said they read a book in the past year, only 54% of them did so "for pleasure." What we library-speak people call volitional reading.
The first to be blamed for this dismal statistic are parents, teachers, and librarians. Well, it is true that they do have a major influence on the development of a child's reading habits. But many have noted that there are larger social issues going on which discourage adults from reading for pleasure. One reason given is that reading is basically an anti-social activity; we read alone and are thus, not engaged with others. This is not seen as a positive behavior.
Many see reading as frivolous, a waste of time. We could be doing something important such as painting the bedroom or going to a movie, instead of holing up somewhere cosy and reading a good book. Yet the NEA report goes on to note that people who read are also active in other extra-curricular activities such as playing sports, doing volunteer work, or engaging in exercise activities. So how does reading make a person "anti-social" given a reader's propensity to be actively engaged in the world?
OK. I am biased. I am a life-long reader with a personal library of more than 1000 books. I cannot imagine a life without reading, be it a book of poetry, childrens' literature, a really wonderful literary novel, a mystery, magazine, newspaper....get it?! Reading broadens my world; it stirs my imagination and is a source of dreams for my life. It keeps my mind active. It keeps me up to date with what is going on in the broader world beyond my home and work.
Reading is just plain fun! Can you imagine that???
