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1 in 4 Americans don't read-CNN article

abecedarian said:
Right on! I think some of best things we busy parents can do for our kids is A. Read to the kids, and B. Allow them to see us reading for our own pleasure and edification. They NEED to see us reaching for the printed word for all the reasons we all do..If they don't, they're much more likely to 'get' the message that reading is optional at best.
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Amen to that. My wife read to our children a lot when they were younger, and still does even now (they are 9 and 14 - the 9 year old appreciates it more I think). OK, I admit, I could too, but I'm lazy...and she reads aloud better than me - honest! And she and I always have books on the go, or use them for reference - I try to steer the children away from the idea that "the internet is the best source for everything".

I wish I had more time to read, but that's life. Although I will have nine hours to kill on Delta soon...some people might work on the flight (HA!) but I am a notorious slacker for that :D
 
PhilW said:
Amen to that. My wife read to our children a lot when they were younger, and still does even now (they are 9 and 14 - the 9 year old appreciates it more I think). OK, I admit, I could too, but I'm lazy...and she reads aloud better than me - honest! And she and I always have books on the go, or use them for reference - I try to steer the children away from the idea that "the internet is the best source for everything".

I wish I had more time to read, but that's life. Although I will have nine hours to kill on Delta soon...some people might work on the flight (HA!) but I am a notorious slacker for that :D
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My 14 year old son, who reads just fine on his own, still enjoys being read to. Of course, the ritual around here involves mom holding the book while two or mor kid jostle/fight to sit on either side so as to get their back scratched by mom..who is by now wonder how in tarnation she's supposed to hold the book and scratch TWO backs at the same time! Dad sometimes will read aloud..usually at Christmastime, as he has a few favorites he likes to read to us by lanternlight. That's always nice, as he is much better at it than me.
One way I measure sucess in this realm, is when the kids spot a critter they don't reckognize, and they run in a grab a fieldguide to solve the mystery...that's like getting a gold star on a spelling test.

BTW-read aloud for the day for younger kids:Night of the Moonjellies by Mark Shasha
Mitch and Amy by Beverly Cleary for the 10 and 12 year olds-we're on chapter 5
 
While it doesn't shock me, it does flabbergast me. My initial reaction was four books in a YEAR? I read four books in a MONTH. Easily. I can understand actually not having time but honestly most people do. They just devote it to other things. Thankfully I live in a very reader heavy area but I do know that people who don't read are out there. Don't ask me what they do though.
 
(Actually, he's been dead for 13 years, so he doesn't make a living at all. And I personally wouldn't form an opinion on someone's entire career based on ONE joke, I think.)

Anyway, back on topic....

...I got nothing just now. I'm reading.
 
alliterati said:
I do know that people who don't read are out there. Don't ask me what they do though.
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I know! I know!! Pick me! I live with a "non-reader". He'll read articles online all evening about sports, fantasy football, astronomy, meteorology and finance, but ask him to read a novel, short story or even an instruction pamphlet and he'll look at you as if you've just sprouted bunny ears and your nose is on fire. He just does not enjoy it.

What does he do instead of reading? He works 10 hours a day, has been working on our lawn nearly all spring and summer from the time he gets home until sundown, and after he's either online reading about the above-mentioned topics (especially fantasy football this time of year), playing poker or watching a ballgame on TV. I can't complain because he does do all the yardwork, the dishes, cleans the bathrooms (a task I despise) and spends time chatting with me about various subjects, mostly poker (we're both avid players), the weather (we're both weather junkies too) and work (though mostly to bounce ideas off of one another). When he's not doing that, he's sleeping. If he sits down to watch a movie or TV that's not sports-related, he falls asleep. He's just too active to sit and read. I pick on him all the time that he's ADHD because sitting still is not something he does well.

The upside is that he understands that I love to read and doesn't require my attention all the time and doesn't get offended when I have my nose in a book from the time I get home until time for bed.
 
BeerWench13 said:
I know! I know!! Pick me! I live with a "non-reader". He'll read articles online all evening about sports, fantasy football, astronomy, meteorology and finance, but ask him to read a novel, short story or even an instruction pamphlet and he'll look at you as if you've just sprouted bunny ears and your nose is on fire. He just does not enjoy it.

What does he do instead of reading? He works 10 hours a day, has been working on our lawn nearly all spring and summer from the time he gets home until sundown, and after he's either online reading about the above-mentioned topics (especially fantasy football this time of year), playing poker or watching a ballgame on TV. I can't complain because he does do all the yardwork, the dishes, cleans the bathrooms (a task I despise) and spends time chatting with me about various subjects, mostly poker (we're both avid players), the weather (we're both weather junkies too) and work (though mostly to bounce ideas off of one another). When he's not doing that, he's sleeping. If he sits down to watch a movie or TV that's not sports-related, he falls asleep. He's just too active to sit and read. I pick on him all the time that he's ADHD because sitting still is not something he does well.

The upside is that he understands that I love to read and doesn't require my attention all the time and doesn't get offended when I have my nose in a book from the time I get home until time for bed.
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When I started reading this, I thought you were talking about my SO. Apart from the sentence I highlighted, everything else is an excelente discription of my husband. He hates reading, except magazines (once and a while) and is glued to the computer all the time except when he eats and sleeps... *sigh*

Dharma
 
My mom was a single parent and there was 3 of us. She made up reading hour, where all four of us would do nothing but read for an hour, with no interruption. It worked and my brothers and I are avid readers.[/QUOTE]

What an amazing Mum and a brilliantly simple idea.
 
"A Lebanese newspaper report that Arabs read an average of seven minutes in a year. !"

I just feel so sorry for any society that doesn't embrace reading.
 
I heard this morning on XM radio that when kids are forced to read books like The Scarlet Letter and Moby Dick in school, it turns them off to reading and that schools need to revise their reading lists. I did read a lot of the classics, but never read either one of those, so I can't comment on those specific books. If the books are read by the whole class, a good teacher can make them interesting. I loved Great Expectations, which is not a book that is loved by a lot of people. I would hate to see the classics eliminated from schools, but maybe they need to bring in Harry Potter or something else that is not so "heavy."
 
You know how on MySpace, there's a section in your profile for books?
It's sad to see so many of my friends have only things like this to say in that section:

"What are books?"
"Ha! That's funny!"

etc.

And many of my other friends just skip that section all together. But of course they have a long listing for TV shows and movies...
 
Libra6Poe said:
You know how on MySpace, there's a section in your profile for books?
It's sad to see so many of my friends have only things like this to say in that section:

"What are books?"
"Ha! That's funny!"

etc.

And many of my other friends just skip that section all together. But of course they have a long listing for TV shows and movies...
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Well, in my humble opinion, in any society there are different kinds of people. In one division, you have people who read and are more intellectual than others, while others they are just satisfied to watch movies and shows and are interested in show-off stuff. Now the bad thing is when there is an unbalance from the latter side. What is even worse is when the latter type are dominating and are defining the society they're in, in which people stop reading or even caring about books.

Annie said:
"A Lebanese newspaper report that Arabs read an average of seven minutes in a year. !"

I just feel so sorry for any society that doesn't embrace reading.
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What do you do if you are living with them :eek:
 
Samerron said:
What is even worse is when the latter type are dominating and are defining the society they're in, in which people stop reading or even caring about books.


What do you do if you are living with them :eek:
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Here's my strategy for situations like this: When gift-giving opportunities present themselves, give a book. Even if the recipient is not a reader, try to find a book on a topic they enjoy. I do this specially for my children's friends. I refuse to buy yet another Barbie Doll or action figure, when I know that child has a roomful already, and too few books in the house.
 
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