Quote:
Originally Posted by CommonReader
That study fails to meet basic plausibility criteria. According to the CIA World Factbook India has a literacy rate of only 61 %. Whatever the real figure may be, India obviously has a massive problem with illiteracy. Yet we are supposed to believe that of all countries people read most in India on average?
The same is true for Egypt, which also has major issues with illiteracy.
Venezuela also ranks very highly on that list. When I lived in Caracas in the late 1990s one of the most annoying aspects of living there was the extreme scarcity of bookshops in that major capital city. I am not talking about the sort of bookshop one takes for granted in cities like London, Paris or Berlin, but normal, well stocked bookshops. Finding one was like coming across a new oasis in the desert. There also was no culture of reading in public, e.g. in the parks or while riding the (absolutely first class) metro. So how are those figures supposed to add up?
This seems one of these studies where a lot of more or less trustworthy data is being added up without anyone ever taking a step back and asking if the figures are plausible at all.
|
I don't know about Venezuela, but you would be surprised about India, I would recommend you to come and travel around for a bit.
Even at the time when they didn't have *many* *bookshops London/Paris?Berlin like* (rather narrow selection, don't you think?) I could find books in bookshops which I never even saw in Europe. All in English! And prices were oh so good, compared to beautiful European bookshops...I used to buy books, pay overweight when flying back home, and still get them cheaper than in Europe.
Then, you have beautiful places where you can get second hand books, really old editions, great variety, again really really cheap. And I do believe much more people, thanks to that, read one copy of the book than anywhere in Europe.
Plus, you still have (and I am talking about 10 years back) people selling pirated paper books on the streets. To the people in the cars. I would have to think that is a very good business, otherwise, there would be no street booksellers.
Then, there are all the bookstores with owners working themselves in them, recommending you books, checking books out for you, ordering for you if they don't have them, calling you to tell you the book is there.
They also since around 2007 had a company selling books online, free shipping, cash on delivery etc.
And I am just speaking from an English speaker point of view. Imagine all the other languages
It is entirely possible that India is on top. Why, they have more English language speakers than UK. I will not even comment Germany or France. So the English speakers here read a lot of books in original and do not have to wait for translation...