Once Upon a Time...

Source: The (New Orleans) Times-Picayune ^ | July 9, 2004 | Editorial

[Ebenezer]

With all the buzz about book clubs, including Oprah Winfrey's famous TV version, you'd think that reading was the hippest pastime around.

Not exactly. A survey from the National Endowment for the Arts shows that the percentage of Americans who read is shrinking rapidly.

Excerpted from: The Times-Picayune - click to go to the source

[Ebenezer]

Let's not forget "heavier" reading from disciplines such as history, biography, political science, and religion. Much of the mess we are in as a nation and society stems from our blatant ignorance of our spiritual roots, the historical characters who preceded us, the road taken by sundry nations and societies throughout time, and the system of government we have.

Regarding Oprah, one thing is to encourage reading, which is all fine. Another thing is the fluff her book club hawks.

[wideawake]

Good point.

I'd rather have an America where 10% of the population read only the Bible, Shakespeare and the Federalist Papers and 90% read nothing, than an America where 100% read every Oprah Book Club selection.

[Ribeye]

I agree with you regarding more cerebral reading matter. I read non-fiction 90% of the time. There's just not enough fiction being producred that I enjoy.

While I find Oprah's "selections" to be abysmal at best, if they are at least getting one person to pick up a book and read for the pure enjoyment of it I'm happy. It's a start at least. It's shameful how few people in this nation read for pleasure or to expand their knowledge. And it shows in our ever changing culture.

I'm not sure I'd like a nation of 90% illiterates/non-readers while the other 10% have only read the Bible, the Federalist papers and Shakespeare. Sounds like a stagnant state with a few extremely narrow minded, anti-science elites lording over the slack jawed proles...

[FierceDraka]

We've got somewhere around 1000 books in our house. There's the library on the 3rd floor, and then there are books scattered here and there. History, warfare and weaponry, reference, fiction, science, philosophy, linguistics, technical and survival manuals, etc.

I'm currently reading Mark Twain's literary criticisms (a rare find, original printing), Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged", the "Uplift" sci-fi series by David Brin, "Founding Brothers" by Joseph Ellis, and "Man-Kzin Wars III" by Jerry Pournelle and SM Sterling.

Both my sons are quite literate as well, with the younger one reading at a college level while in middle school.

The lack of reading by most of the American population certainly explains a lot. How people can consider themselves "informed" when their sole sources of information are the howling-mad leftists at CNNABCCBSNBC and The Daily Show? It boggles my mind.

[Foxfire4]

Gee, I would never have figured you for a Stirling fan. :-) Hope you're enjoying the Uplift books; they're some of my favorites.

There's books scattered around my apartment (kitchen, bedroom, bath, and some in the actual bookshelves) and 2 boxes (at last count) of things I'd read and didn't like enough to keep.

-Foxfire4, bookworm

[FierceDraka]

Hope you're enjoying the Uplift books; they're some of my favorites.

Oh, absolutely. I'm about finished with "Heaven's Reach". One of my favorite parts was in "The Uplift War", where the neo-chimps were cooking one of the Gubru invaders on a spit. LOL

[Bogey78O]

"Those who don't read good books have no advantage over those who can't."

[GSlob]

Well, ladies and gentlemen, not everything has been lost, not everything: everyone (with a checking account) still has a checkbook, and supposedly has to read it (occasionally) and even maybe balance. Judging from how poorly balanced the checkbooks frequently are, they do make for "heavier" reading.