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On the Decline of Reading
Nov. 25th, 2007 07:44 am♠
The question of whether reading, or reading books in particular, is essential is complicated by the fact that part of what draws people to books can now be found elsewhere — and there is only so much time to consume it all.
Readers who want to know they are not alone are finding reflections of themselves in the confessional blogs sprouting across the Internet. And television shows like “The Sopranos” or “Lost” can satisfy the hunger for narrative and richly textured characters in a way that only books could in a previous age.
But books have outlived many death knells, and are likely to keep doing so. “I’m much more optimistic than I think most people are,” Mr. Díaz said. Reading suffers, he said, because it has to compete unfairly with movies, television shows and electronic gadgets whose marketing budgets far outstrip those of publishers. “Books don’t have billion-dollar publicity behind them,” Mr. Díaz said. “Given the fact that books don’t have that, they’re not doing a bad job.”
-- Motoko Rich for The New York Times
Even watching a show like "The Sopranos" is a passive comsumption. Reading a book has the advantage of drawing your active imagination. I think the problem of a declining interest in reading has more to do with laziness (or exhaustion from the real life mania of modern times). To enjoy a book requires more effort, you get more out of it for that effort, but some people may need that meaningfulness more than others.
xXx
The question of whether reading, or reading books in particular, is essential is complicated by the fact that part of what draws people to books can now be found elsewhere — and there is only so much time to consume it all.
Readers who want to know they are not alone are finding reflections of themselves in the confessional blogs sprouting across the Internet. And television shows like “The Sopranos” or “Lost” can satisfy the hunger for narrative and richly textured characters in a way that only books could in a previous age.
But books have outlived many death knells, and are likely to keep doing so. “I’m much more optimistic than I think most people are,” Mr. Díaz said. Reading suffers, he said, because it has to compete unfairly with movies, television shows and electronic gadgets whose marketing budgets far outstrip those of publishers. “Books don’t have billion-dollar publicity behind them,” Mr. Díaz said. “Given the fact that books don’t have that, they’re not doing a bad job.”
-- Motoko Rich for The New York Times
Even watching a show like "The Sopranos" is a passive comsumption. Reading a book has the advantage of drawing your active imagination. I think the problem of a declining interest in reading has more to do with laziness (or exhaustion from the real life mania of modern times). To enjoy a book requires more effort, you get more out of it for that effort, but some people may need that meaningfulness more than others.
