It’s going to get worse. My daughter was in a ballet program for five weeks this summer. She was the only reader in her “suite.” The rest of the girls (13-14) hated reading. When she got her copy of Harry Potter, the girls all thought she was a child prodigy because she finished her book within 24 hours of getting it. And she did attend class that day! One had an assignment to read 1000 pages, and moaned about it. And they all had no interest in LOTR, and one had only seen the movies of Harry, and had never read the books!
The next generation will not have a majority of readers.
My daughters love to read as well. I can’t tell you how many other parents make fun of me because me and my two youngest crawl into bed my early every night and read stories together before they go to sleep. They also laugh at me because I read pretty much every book I buy for my teenage daughter. Well, they can laugh all they want, because she and I have nightly conversations about books, and they always lead to insights into her life and her thinking. These same parents are the ones who complain that their children never seem to have any reason to speak to them. Thanks to books, I always have conversation starters for mine. I hope your daughter continues in her love for reading. When she gets a little older, try the Twilight series by Stephanie Meyers. I thorougly enjoyed reading those books after my 17 year old finished them. Vampires and Werewolves, but not your typical storyline about them.
We had our eye on a nice young man at church as a potential match for our daughter ... cute, smart, excellent grades, Eagle Scout, religious, likes girls with blue hair ... but then we found out he doesn’t read!
I blame the parents. We sat down at the start of summer vacation with our 9 y/o daughter and 7 y/o son. She had a goal to read 25 books during summer vacation. His goal was 10 books. I'm not talking Cat-in-the-Hat either. I'm talking real books...Black Beauty, Swiss Family Robinson, etc. She hit her goal with two weeks to spare. He hit his goal with three days to spare. He doesn't particularly care to read...would rather play video games and watch TV, but that doesn't fly in this house. Our little girl is already a book worm.
I disagree. The pendulum swings both ways. The TV generation is aging rapidly and will soon enter our nursing homes.
The appreciation for books will return, once the novelty of technology wears off. (or, perhaps, in conjunction with new technology!)