Book News and Reviews » reading

Depressing Statistics

Julia — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 15:00:11 +0000

I just read that:
- One-third of high school graduates never read another book for the rest of their lives.
- Forty-two percent of college graduates never read another book.
- Eighty percent of U.S. families did not buy or read a book last year.
- Fifty-seven percent of new books are not read to completion.
- Seventy percent of Americans haven’t visited a bookstore in five years.

Anyone have an idea on why these statistics are so awful?

Bye-Bye Books

Julia — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 15:28:35 +0000

I read an article that discusses books being replaced by video games. I’d love to know people’s response on this. Personally, I don’t think this is the case at all. I know a lot of gamers. Most of whom read books. Most of them adore books – because they love getting lost in a fantasy land, like World of Warcraft or Everquest. If a book hits home to that person, they will read it, love it, and go buy more.

I also do know a lot of people who play old school video games, and they also seem to love books. The one “gamer” type that I know who doesn’t read often (and this is only in my experience, so let me know if I’m wrong) is the video game player who plays games like Halo II, Grand Theft Auto and similar games almost exclusively. I had a friend (I won’t name any names here) who played these kinds of games only and he was almost illiterate. BUT, I did get him to start reading the books written about Halo. To me, those books were insufferable, but he really liked them. So, I think it’s great that books are coming out based on video games. These books catch the attention of an audience that rarely reads and gets them to join the enormous community of readers we have in this world.

What do you think? Have I missed anything? Have I got it wrong? Let me know.

Poll: How Many Books Did You Read Last Year?

Julia — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 23:32:00 +0000

The “How Many Books Did You Read Last Year” poll has closed. Thank goodness for all you avid readers out there! You’ve restored my faith in humanity. The following are the results:

53% voted that they read ten or more books last year
30% read between five and ten books
23% read somewhere between three and four books

Thanks to everyone for voting. Happy reading for 2008! I hope you will include my short story After the Bombs – due for release in a couple of months – as part of your 2008 reading material.

(I know, I’m shamelessly plugging, but hey, it’s my website)

Only Three Fourths of Americans Read

Julia — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 17:56:00 +0000

This statistic is freaking me out. Apparently one in four Americans read no books at all last year. What is up with that? Also, the typical adult on average read only four books last year. Four! I read at least four books in a month, usually more like six. What do these people do with their time? It seems that it’s people like you and me who keep the publishing industry afloat!

Now that I’ve tsk tsk’d the American people, how much do you read in a year? I’m setting up a new poll to ask everyone this question, so check it out.