This is probably the reason why there are so few readers out there

[Dopedangel]

I know many long time readers turn up their nose at Rowling and Meyer. But I am thankful to them as they turned many people into avid readers. My younger sister had never picked up a book to read for pleasure till she was about sixteen even though all the rest of us are prolific readers and always tried to get her to read or get interested in books.
One day out of the blue she asks me can you get me Stephenie Meyers in ebook and now a few years later she avg a book a week.

[Jack Tingle]

Originally Posted by Steven Lake

One of my favorites comes from a comic book convention where I asked a guy, "Why don't you read books" to which he replied, "Oh I do. But I want mine to have pictures in them.

Uh, isn't that what your imagination is for? And no, just because a comic book has the word "book" in its name doesn't mean it's truly a "book" by the proper definition of the word. Ugh. Sorry for the rant, but this just bugged me.

Coming from an author, I find this disturbing:
1) The guy at the comic convention gave you an honest answer, with no possibility of a quibble.
2) The guy's imagination may be stimulated in whatever way he finds acceptable, not the ways you find acceptable.
3) You're wrong. Comic books are books.
"A book is a set or collection of written, printed, illustrated, or blank sheets, made of paper, parchment, or other various material, usually fastened together to hinge at one side. A single sheet within a book is called a leaf, and each side of a leaf is called a page." - Wikipedia, 1st sentences of the entry "Book".

The world is a diverse place. Get used to it.

Regards,
Jack Tingle

[slayda]

I'll relate two incidents about reading from my college days:

1. I took a speed reading course & the class was asked "How many books have you read in the last year?" All answers were in the single digits until it got to me. Since I spent some time studying, I estimated my reading was down to about 50.
2. Later after college while on a business trip to a very small town in the west a friend (who was also a reader) told me about another coworker who had made it through college without reading a single book, even for school work.

I found both of these to be totally astonishing. I can't imagine life without reading.

[boxcorner]

Originally Posted by patrickt

If schools taught sex ed the way they teach reading the kids would not want to have sex when they reached puberty ...

At least not until they discover that book is a 4-letter word.

[GraceKrispy]

Originally Posted by slayda

[*]Later after college while on a business trip to a very small town in the west a friend (who was also a reader) told me about another coworker who had made it through college without reading a single book, even for school work.[/LIST]
I found both of these to be totally astonishing. I can't imagine life without reading.

I am on a board with some teachers, and many apparently only read a book or two in the summer (they look forward to summer, when they can read) and that's about it. HUH? I don't get it either, but then again, I'm a bit of a freak. No one I know irl reads as much as me except my mom and my own kids. I just don't get how you could *not* read!

[kindlekitten]

Originally Posted by Jack Tingle

Coming from an author, I find this disturbing:
1) The guy at the comic convention gave you an honest answer, with no possibility of a quibble.
2) The guy's imagination may be stimulated in whatever way he finds acceptable, not the ways you find acceptable.
3) You're wrong. Comic books are books.
"A book is a set or collection of written, printed, illustrated, or blank sheets, made of paper, parchment, or other various material, usually fastened together to hinge at one side. A single sheet within a book is called a leaf, and each side of a leaf is called a page." - Wikipedia, 1st sentences of the entry "Book".

The world is a diverse place. Get used to it.

Regards,
Jack Tingle

many of us were taught in school and college that comic books are not considered books. it may be a generational thing, a regional thing... I dunno. I do know that most libraries do not consider comic books as books

[slayda]

Originally Posted by Jack Tingle

. . .
"A book is a set or collection of written, printed, illustrated, or blank sheets, made of paper, parchment, or other various material, usually fastened together to hinge at one side. A single sheet within a book is called a leaf, and each side of a leaf is called a page." - Wikipedia, 1st sentences of the entry "Book".

. . .

Regards,
Jack Tingle

I guess by that definition, what we read on our ereaders are not books.

[SDRebel]

Originally Posted by Steven Lake

It's probably due to idiot moms like this. Ugh.

http://creativeauthorsguild.blogspot...-buy-book.html

It's people like this telling their kids that books are stupid and not to read them that are making this world so bad, and reducing the total reading public. Of course, these guys aren't the only ones hearing that kinda stuff. I've talked with a lot of people at conventions, signings, or just on the street, and their general take on books is, "They're stupid" or "Nah, I don't read. It doesn't interest me." or excuses even more lame than that.

One of my favorites comes from a comic book convention where I asked a guy, "Why don't you read books" to which he replied, "Oh I do. But I want mine to have pictures in them.

Uh, isn't that what your imagination is for? And no, just because a comic book has the word "book" in its name doesn't mean it's truly a "book" by the proper definition of the word. Ugh. Sorry for the rant, but this just bugged me.

the argument that really bothers me (maybe a bit off topic) is that we don't need to encourage people to have a college degree because or an advanced degree because there's too many people with degrees but without jobs....

btw..I googled your books and found "the oort perimeter" and the description drew my attention...would you recommend it?
I really like my ebook reader but I hate that it's more expensive to "buy" a digital copy than to buy a used paperback (3-5 times more expensive)

any suggestions?
should I start with that book or is it part of a series?

do you sell your books(digital versions) directly?

Thanks

edit:
After some more searching, I found what might be your website (http://www.realmsofimagination.net/the_oort_perimeter/) ..where it says there's a free download...downloaded it and will try it. Not sure if it's a chapter (or a few) or if it is the complete book.

[DuncanWatson]

Originally Posted by slayda

I'll relate two incidents about reading from my college days:

1. I took a speed reading course & the class was asked "How many books have you read in the last year?" All answers were in the single digits until it got to me. Since I spent some time studying, I estimated my reading was down to about 50.
2. Later after college while on a business trip to a very small town in the west a friend (who was also a reader) told me about another coworker who had made it through college without reading a single book, even for school work.

I found both of these to be totally astonishing. I can't imagine life without reading.

I have read over 150 books in the last 6 months. Because of my nook I can actually get a number. I go through periods where I read a book or more a day and then slow down to a book a week or so. When I was a kid I used to conceal books on my person regularly. Mostly because I read in places where it was considered verboten. I read in the bathroom after I finished my meal but before the rest of the family did, I read during church (my Dad was a preacher and an English teacher), I read in class (sitting in the front row in Math class reading SF), I climbed trees and read 30ft off the ground. Basically I read everywhere. I also learned a certain amount of stage magic concealing books and other items.

I took a speed reading course in Jr High as part of a G&T program, I think everyone of us were avid readers and all of us read quite a bit. I find that the curve for reading is not a bell curve at all and has a definite second spike on the high side. People are readers or not, the non-readers may read a bit and fill out one bell curve normally but the avid readers are a different group altogether and have their own normal reading curve.

Unfortunately we have come as a society to value stupidity and ignorance. We elected a president because he wasn't a smart man and because he was someone that "the comman man" would like to have a beer with. We are constantly barraged by images in our media how smart people can't relate to everyone else and just have no "common sense". Smart people are given "make overs" and told to keep their vocabulary and thoughts to themselves so that they can be successful. It is sad. But that is why we have less readers nowadays.

OTOH, go to a large college campus and you will find communities that have lots of readers in them. At least I did when I went to VT.

[Fbone]

The blog writer didn't mention the title of the book. And we can't know if it was something the mother didn't want her daughter to read.

Also, the daughter is quoted as saying, "Mom, I like this, I want some more books, can you get me some?" She wants more books which may indicate she does have books at home but wants even more. Perhaps, the family can't afford to purchase any and the mother is embarrassed to admit such.

[boxcorner]

I really don't think it matters how many books someone reads, or how fast they read, in a given period of time. What they read and what they gain from the reading experience is probably more important than how many books they read. Different people read at different speeds. They speed at which they read also probably depends on what they are reading. I expect that I could whiz through a number of Harry Potter books, or The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, in a short period of time, but I doubt that I'd really gain much from the experience. Someone who only reads fiction might read more quickly than someone who reads a lot of non-fiction, or books written in a language that is not their mother tongue. Some people need to read a lot of technical books, for their studies or work and only get a chance to novels on holiday. Not reading a lot of novels doesn't necessarily mean that someone doesn't read a lot of books. I like to read a mixture of fiction and non-fiction. During some periods of my life I have read more fiction than non-fiction, and vice versa. I could read more quickly if I wanted to, but I prefer to read slowly, as I enjoy contemplating what I am reading. However, I understand that some people just want to get on to reading their next book. That's fine too, of course. Vive la différence !

[boxcorner]

Originally Posted by kindlekitten

... it may be a generational thing, a regional thing... I dunno. I do know that most libraries do not consider comic books as books

Whenever I visit different places, I like to look around their libraries, as much as the bookshops. Many of the libraries that I been in have had comic books. It think it's a cultural thing, at least here in EU.

European comics

[Richey79]

The story sounds true to me... just read a couple of the threads mixed in here to see that this attitude not only exists, but is pretty wide-spread.

See it as a good-news story: the mother hasn't yet managed to kill the daughter's inquisitive nature and thirst for reading matter.

I skim-read factual texts pretty quickly, but when it comes to fiction, poetry or graphic novels, I'm one of the slowest readers I know. I can't rush it, and dump anything where I feel like skipping sections because they're unnecessary.

[kindlekitten]

Originally Posted by boxcorner

Whenever I visit different places, I like to look around their libraries, as much as the bookshops. Many of the libraries that I been in have had comic books. It think it's a cultural thing, at least here in EU.

European comics

I don't believe I have ever seen a comic in a US library. maybe books of collected comics, but no comics.

now just to make sure... a US comic is a flimsy publication often not more than 30 or so pages, not like the Asterix (sp?) comics I remember from Germany that resembled an Analog or Amazing publication; usually at least 150 or so pages with an almost rigid spine, kind of a booklet if you will. this could be a matter of semantics

[Latinandgreek]

Originally Posted by kindlekitten

I don't believe I have ever seen a comic in a US library. maybe books of collected comics, but no comics.

now just to make sure... a US comic is a flimsy publication often not more than 30 or so pages, not like the Asterix (sp?) comics I remember from Germany that resembled an Analog or Amazing publication; usually at least 150 or so pages with an almost rigid spine, kind of a booklet if you will. this could be a matter of semantics

I've seen tons of comics in Canadian libraries. Many comics are issued in trade paperbacks, which are released containing 6-7 (approx.) single issues of a comic reprinted on better quality paper bound together in a single volume.