Poll: 1 in 4 U.S. adults didn't read a book in 2007 - Page 3

DMcCunney · 01-25-2008, 05:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TallMomof2

My DH was read to as a child and he's not a reader in the sense of reading for pleasure and not for learning. Even then he reads little in his spare time.

I never said reading to kids was a surefire way of instilling a love for reading. But every voracious reader I know was read to, and everyone I know who reads little wasn't, so I'd calling doing it a worthwhile thing to do.
______
Dennis

TallMomof2 · 01-25-2008, 08:44 PM

I wasn't disputing that reading to a child is not worthwhile just that doing so does not guarantee an adult reader. I read to both my kids and one is turning out to be a reader and the other not. A lot of it is how much other entertainment there is around us. Television with hundred's of channels, video games, and computers take away a lot of impetus and time to read.

I encourage both my kids to read, I don't care what they read as long as they read. The older, a boy with learning disabilities, sticks with graphic novels and books that he has watched as a movie. The younger, a girl, loves to read and needs very little encouragement to pick up a book.

And of course my original example of my DH. His mom bought a set of books when he was a baby that consisted of a dozen or more volumes of reading material suitable for very young children through adolescence. She read to him all the time and he has very fond memories of that but he has no desire to pick up a book now and read for pleasure. My son will probably be like that.

Utahcowboy · 02-17-2008, 11:51 PM

I think I alone will change the stats that this thread is based on. over the past year I have probably read nearly a hundred books. And that is not a lie.

RCR · 02-18-2008, 12:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Utahcowboy

I think I alone will change the stats that this thread is based on. over the past year I have probably read nearly a hundred books. And that is not a lie.[/I]

Probably? Probably? Probably? Doesn't anyone except me keep a list of books they've read?

I've been keeping a list since 1990, inspired by a librarian friend. It's interesting to go back and see what subjects interested me in years gone by. Last year I read 43 books, nine of them library books, the rest purchased.

DMcCunney · 02-18-2008, 01:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Utahcowboy

I think I alone will change the stats that this thread is based on. over the past year I have probably read nearly a hundred books. And that is not a lie.[/I]

You aren't alone. I haven't hit 100, because there haven't been enough spare hours. But I usually manage a book a week, and try to manage two.

My SO would change the stats by herself. She probably averages one a day.
______
Dennis

Graham · 02-18-2008, 06:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RCR

Probably? Probably? Probably? Doesn't anyone except me keep a list of books they've read?

I've been keeping a list since 1990, inspired by a librarian friend. It's interesting to go back and see what subjects interested me in years gone by. Last year I read 43 books, nine of them library books, the rest purchased.

I've finally started keeping a list a few weeks ago - largely prompted by my buying an ebook that I'd read in paperback only a year before...

I've read ten books so far this year, but the interesting statistic is that two thirds of them were ebooks, up from probably 1 in 4 over the last couple of years. It'll be fascinating to see if that trend continues.

Graham

zelda_pinwheel · 02-18-2008, 07:00 AM

i just started a list today, after reading this thread. i should have done years ago, then i would be able to remember the title of that book i wish i could read again...

i don't live in the US but i will share my stats too. so far this year i have read approximately 13 books. i say approximately because :
- 2 of them i am reading now, and i have not finished them yet,
- 2 of them i started but did not read to the end, i will probably go back to them
- i may have forgotten a few (the ones i'm sure of, are all on my eb1150, so i just went through the library and listed the ones i finished already)
- i know i had some library books in january, but i can't remember what they were (or how many)...

except for the library books, two books lent by a friend, and an omnibus paper edition i bought in december and am 2/3 through, all of them were ebooks.
most of them were Gutenberg texts, a lot were "classics" or fiction (Jane Austen, Charlotte Brontë, Jerome K. Jerome, Thorne Smith...) and the rest were mysteries, except right now i am also reading "the easy way to stop smoking" by allen carr.

actually i'm pretty surprised ; i know i read a lot, but i didn't think i read *quite* so many books. thank god for my public library (and now, my eb1150 and PG !) or i would not even be able to get inside my appartment !

Utahcowboy · 02-20-2008, 04:00 PM

I think keeping a list sounds like a really good idea. I think I will start. Maybe someone could start a thread of book lists where people post a list of all the books they have read so that everyone else can see. It may help people find the names of books they are looking for.

By the way, when I said that I alone would change the average book reading stats, I didn't mean that I am the only one who reads that much, but rather if I had been contacted in that poll the stat would change. It seems that the big readers are never contacted when these polls are taken. It makes me wonder who gets polled and where do they get the stats from.

zelda_pinwheel · 02-20-2008, 04:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Utahcowboy

I think keeping a list sounds like a really good idea. I think I will start. Maybe someone could start a thread of book lists where people post a list of all the books they have read so that everyone else can see. It may help people find the names of books they are looking for.

there's a thread where people say what they're reading *right now* already (it's so long i gave up on trying to read it from the beginning...), but a list thread would be fun too. you could start it, it would give you an excuse to start your list...

Quote:

(...) It makes me wonder who gets polled and where do they get the stats from.

i wonder that about most polls.

HarryT · 02-23-2008, 04:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Utahcowboy

It makes me wonder who gets polled and where do they get the stats from.

If the poll is conducted by a reputable polling organization this information will be supplied.

Utahcowboy · 03-01-2008, 12:55 AM

[there's a thread where people say what they're reading *right now* already (it's so long i gave up on trying to read it]

Yea, that is what I mean, the thread is random posts and I gave up trying to read it too. I thought that maybe there would be a place for something like this on the wiki. Avid readers could compile a list of books that they have read that could be posted under their name and each person could continue to add books to their own list. That way it may stay more organized and it could be more helpful for other readers to find something new to read that someone else recommends. Each person could also divide up their books by genre and an extra level could be added so that a reader looking for something else could click on a book in one of the lists and could then go to a review by the person that read it. I don't know, it sounds like a good idea. Does anyone else think so?

02-18-2008, 07:00 AM	#37
zelda_pinwheel zeldinha zippy zeldissima Posts: 27,827 Karma: 921169 Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Paris, France Device: eb1150 & is that a nook in her pocket, or she just happy to see you?	i just started a list today, after reading this thread. i should have done years ago, then i would be able to remember the title of that book i wish i could read again... i don't live in the US but i will share my stats too. so far this year i have read approximately 13 books. i say approximately because : - 2 of them i am reading now, and i have not finished them yet, - 2 of them i started but did not read to the end, i will probably go back to them - i may have forgotten a few (the ones i'm sure of, are all on my eb1150, so i just went through the library and listed the ones i finished already) - i know i had some library books in january, but i can't remember what they were (or how many)... except for the library books, two books lent by a friend, and an omnibus paper edition i bought in december and am 2/3 through, all of them were ebooks. most of them were Gutenberg texts, a lot were "classics" or fiction (Jane Austen, Charlotte Brontë, Jerome K. Jerome, Thorne Smith...) and the rest were mysteries, except right now i am also reading "the easy way to stop smoking" by allen carr. actually i'm pretty surprised ; i know i read a lot, but i didn't think i read quite so many books. thank god for my public library (and now, my eb1150 and PG !) or i would not even be able to get inside my appartment ! Last edited by zelda_pinwheel; 02-18-2008 at 07:32 AM. Reason: thought of one more.

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01-25-2008, 08:44 PM	#32
TallMomof2 Kindlephilia Posts: 2,017 Karma: 1139255 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Snowpacolypse 2010 Device: Too many to count	I wasn't disputing that reading to a child is not worthwhile just that doing so does not guarantee an adult reader. I read to both my kids and one is turning out to be a reader and the other not. A lot of it is how much other entertainment there is around us. Television with hundred's of channels, video games, and computers take away a lot of impetus and time to read. I encourage both my kids to read, I don't care what they read as long as they read. The older, a boy with learning disabilities, sticks with graphic novels and books that he has watched as a movie. The younger, a girl, loves to read and needs very little encouragement to pick up a book. And of course my original example of my DH. His mom bought a set of books when he was a baby that consisted of a dozen or more volumes of reading material suitable for very young children through adolescence. She read to him all the time and he has very fond memories of that but he has no desire to pick up a book now and read for pleasure. My son will probably be like that.

02-17-2008, 11:51 PM	#33
Utahcowboy Connoisseur Posts: 52 Karma: 52 Join Date: Feb 2008 Device: Cybook Gen3	I think I alone will change the stats that this thread is based on. over the past year I have probably read nearly a hundred books. And that is not a lie.

02-20-2008, 04:00 PM	#38
Utahcowboy Connoisseur Posts: 52 Karma: 52 Join Date: Feb 2008 Device: Cybook Gen3	I think keeping a list sounds like a really good idea. I think I will start. Maybe someone could start a thread of book lists where people post a list of all the books they have read so that everyone else can see. It may help people find the names of books they are looking for. By the way, when I said that I alone would change the average book reading stats, I didn't mean that I am the only one who reads that much, but rather if I had been contacted in that poll the stat would change. It seems that the big readers are never contacted when these polls are taken. It makes me wonder who gets polled and where do they get the stats from.

03-01-2008, 12:55 AM	#41
Utahcowboy Connoisseur Posts: 52 Karma: 52 Join Date: Feb 2008 Device: Cybook Gen3	[there's a thread where people say what they're reading right now already (it's so long i gave up on trying to read it] Yea, that is what I mean, the thread is random posts and I gave up trying to read it too. I thought that maybe there would be a place for something like this on the wiki. Avid readers could compile a list of books that they have read that could be posted under their name and each person could continue to add books to their own list. That way it may stay more organized and it could be more helpful for other readers to find something new to read that someone else recommends. Each person could also divide up their books by genre and an extra level could be added so that a reader looking for something else could click on a book in one of the lists and could then go to a review by the person that read it. I don't know, it sounds like a good idea. Does anyone else think so?