Books being cheap and more often than not free..

[Johnny Carson Whit]

Is something that amazes me the more and more I think of it.

 

For example, to rent a movie in the UK will cost you around

[Kimmy619]

hmmmm, good question! Although I love to watch a good movie, I would rather read a book. Maybe people would sometimes rather watch a film because it is something you can do with other people? I often go to the cinema on the weekend with my o/h.

[Johnny Carson Whit]

I can fully see and understand the lure of the cinema and DVD's/TV, what I am finding more and more difficult to understand is why reading itself seems to be so unpopular.

 

Over the last few months for example I lent my copy of The girl with the dragon tattoo to a friend, as I handed it over I said it didnt really get going for me for the first 100 pages or so, they looked at me in horror! and to this date they havent even attempted to read it.

 

If you say a similar thing about a film and say oh it's a bit slow for the first half but it gets a lot lot better, people would still watch it.

 

School's and the government in this country have a lot to answer for.

[Kimmy619]

I see what you mean. Maybe reading isn't as 'cool'? Not that I really care about that. People at work are usually shocked that I spend more time reading than I do watching the tv.

[Raven]

My question I guess is, why isn't reading more popular, and even in some environments seen as an inferior form of entertainment? There are so many people missing out on so much!

I would generally say that, for some, reading doesn't get the same look in as films/TV/computer games etc because it requires more effort - it is a lot easier to sit in front of the crystal bucket and switch off, especially of you are tired, than it is to read a book.

I can fully see and understand the lure of the cinema and DVD's/TV, what I am finding more and more difficult to understand is why reading itself seems to be so unpopular.

I wouldn't say reading is unpopular, in fact, I would say that over the last couple of decades reading has become more popular than ever.

Regardless of what you think of their quality, look at the success of The Da Vinci Code, the Twilight Novels and the Harry Potter books etc; look at the number of reading groups that have popped up and the success of Channel 4s Book Club (and this forum!).

I would say reading today is in rude health!

Over the last few months for example I lent my copy of The girl with the dragon tattoo to a friend, as I handed it over I said it didnt really get going for me for the first 100 pages or so, they looked at me in horror! and to this date they havent even attempted to read it.

Perhaps you need to improve your sales pitch!

School's and the government in this country have a lot to answer for.

They probably do, but I'm not sure how that comment applies in this instance.

[Johnny Carson Whit]

They probably do, but I'm not sure how that comment applies in this instance.

 

For seemingly making very little effort to make reading more appealing and to be a worthwhile pass-time for the younger generations,

 

I can walk into my local video store at any time of day and there will always be a handful of people there, everytime I have walked into my library over recent months it has been empty but for maybe 2 people.

[Raven]

I don't think schools and the government should have to carry the can for TV and computer games being more popular.

 

Schools do their best to get kids reading, whether they stick with it is something the book industry has to address by making their product more interesting (they managed it with Harry Potter, after all).

[Johnny Carson Whit]

Fair point, but I have my doubts as to whether Harry Potter would have been the success it is without the movies.

[Raven]

The films have certainly helped to raise the profile of the books, but the first four books were all published before the first film was released.

The books had kids turning off the TV to read long before Danny Radcliff's appalling acting was unleashed on an unsuspecting world! (to be fair, he has improved a lot since the first film!).

[Kell]

Ah, but you can't do other things while you're physically reading a book (unless it's an audio book). If you're watching a film, you can be getting on with the ironing or doing some other hobby (e.g. cross stitch) and still enjoy the action.

 

I'm a massive fan of both books and films - when I'm out and about, I always have a book with me in case I find a spare 5 minutes, and I love to read in the bath too, but in the evening, I like to stick on a film or a TV show and stitch to my heart's content.

[missybct]

I tend to disagree that children/teenagers are not being encouraged to read. Although I left school a long time ago, there were quite a few reading initiatives in place - book clubs, book catalogues and a well stocked library.

 

The main library here often has a lot of children and teenagers in; whether or not they are actually taking books home and reading them I don't know, but there is a special children's library and lots of events that encourage youngsters to dip into the reading world.

 

I think books like Twilight and Harry Potter have helped youngsters become more aware of the power of a good book, but like Raven said the HP books were in existence before the film, and I remember my friends reading them quite liberally. The same goes for the Twilight saga, and whilst a lot of youngsters are reading it as a follow on from the film, there were a lot of youngsters who read it before the film aired.

[Scarlette]

I would generally say that, for some, reading doesn't get the same look in as films/TV/computer games etc because it requires more effort - it is a lot easier to sit in front of the crystal bucket and switch off, especially of you are tired, than it is to read a book.

 

I agree very much with this, Raven.

 

I've asked a lot of non-readers why they dislike reading and the response is always either "I don't have time" or "Books are boring". I suppose it depends on the book in question, too - Harry Potter and Twilight are good examples, and have been mentioned already as getting people, who wouldn't usually, to read. Also, we have to keep in mind that many readers don't necessarily read books, but rather magazines and such - which can be entertaining in their own way.

[Steeeeve]

I wouldn't say it's my opinion but I do wonder if it's not the case that everyone would enjoy reading if they just found the right book for them. Sometimes I hate reading if I'm reading a book I don't like.

 

The only thing that gets my goat is people who are proud of not reading. I obviously have nothing against people not reading but to boast about it is another thing.

You see it on facebook a lot "i dont read! lol!!!"

Well done.

[ned]

The only thing that gets my goat is people who are proud of not reading. I obviously have nothing against people not reading but to boast about it is another thing.

You see it on facebook a lot "i dont read! lol!!!"

Well done.

 

 

In Frankie Boyles autobiography he tells about the time he was in a cafe reading a book. A waitress comes over and asks "Why are you reading a book?" Frankie replies "Because i don't want to end up as a waitress in a cafe"

[Johnny Carson Whit]

You see it on facebook a lot "i dont read! lol!!!"

Well done.

 

I know what you mean. When I used to use facebook I had a grown man touching 40 on my list who is married with kids, and he had written about himself 'I read books and collect stamps' obviously meant to be sarcastic and as if either would be pretty pathetic.

 

One of the many reasons I am not the biggest 'people person' on earth

[dave165]

your upbringing has a huge affect on what you do in later life. I was brought up in a house full of books and encouraged to read, my grandparents were also readers so I find it quite natural to want to read a book rather than say watch tv. It may be that if you only come across books at school you see it as learning, or something you have to do, rather than a pleasure.

Is it fair to say parents have the biggest impact on whether you read for pleasure?

[BookJumper]

I'd say so, Dave. I also grew up in a house full of books, everyone in my immediate family and nigh on everyone in my extended family is a reader so I didn't have much choice I don't think a couple of years ago one of my cousins (young teenager) was ranting to me about the mess filmmakers had made of Pullman's Northern Lights, it made me proud.

[Kreader]

Please don't forget that there are those who can't read or are barely illiterate. There's Dyslexia and some are new to the English language. Libraries do stock some books in different languages but there's no garantee they'll have ever language in the world stocked. Reading a book isn't as social as book reading since books will require swapping books, book clubs and family bedtime stories to make it more socialable. It's something one person can do excluding the whole world around them for a time.

 

You can watch a film or play computer/consol games with a group of friends in no time at all. You can even get some daily exercise by doing aerobics etc or action games like Wii sports. Reading isn't active unless you decide to hike somewhere for a quiet spot to read.

 

There's also those who find sitting and concentrating on a book hard to do. I know a person on medication for mental health problems who hasn't the concentration to read or even watch a full tv program. There are various reasons why some would read or why some don't. As for myself I am fortunate I grew up with a mother who loves reading and did read us bedtime stories. I was able to pick up reading from very young age with no trouble and I have the patience to stick with a book. As one of four children I realised reading meant not having to fight with other family members to decide what to watch on the tv and in a noisy family home, reading is the only time anyone's quiet time was respected.

[vinay87]

I have been confused with the same thing for years. People at my college deem it useless to have a habit of reading books. They call me a bookworm and label me a nerd for loving to read and write. I get irritated that they think reading is a waste of time when not more than a century ago, it was considered the most scholarly thing around.

[StephenKingman]

Very few of my mates bother with reading as to be frank, this generation of young people, the majority of them would rather vegetate in front of a dvd or cinema movie than sit down with a good book. Reading is a dying art, sad but true.

[BookJumper]

If one is physically unable to concentrate, fair enough, though I would distinguish between cases like that and dyslexia - we have dyslexic bookworms on this very forum; my sister's dyslexic and she's a bookwork also, like everyone else in the family - it was simply a case of finding teachers who believed she had just as much potential for creativity as everybody else . And, I would have thought that reading material in nigh on any language in the world would be available to pretty much anyone with an internet connection.

 

I also would disagree that reading is anti-social: I go bookshopping with my family, we recommend books to each other over meals and swap books we've found interesting when I go visit; also most of my friends are my friends precisely because they never thought of my reading as a nerdy activity for losers, so the same mechanisms apply with them. In fact, I find active pursuits such as sports & console games alienating because I've got no hand-to-eye coordination I would much rather sit down and read 'cos a book will never make me feel like a spaz.

[bethany725]

I think one of the answers to this 'conundrum' kicking off this thread is actually a pretty easy one... Reading is less popular with some people simply because they just don't find the same excitement in reading books. If you don't get that 'spark-y' feeling by thinking about curling up with a good book, reading a book of average size can be pretty daunting (not in a scary way.. it's just a lot of time to invest in something that may or may not light you up every day or even every week).

 

My husband is the perfect example.. He went to an IB school for high school that was very competitive to enter, has an MBA from one of the top 10 business schools in the US, and works in strategy in NYC for one of the largest banks in the world, so while he's obviously doing ok on the intelligence scale, books just aren't his thing. He's read 3 or 4 books that have really stuck with him (the most recent being "Pillars of the Earth") and during which he TRULY enjoyed the reading process.. but he just doesn't get the same *feeling* I get when I think of books. I'd venture to say you feel the same way about movies he feels about books: you probably don't think movies never have ANYTHING to offer, and you probably have a few movies that you REALLY felt a connection with, but overall... meh.. you could take or leave most of them because you don't feel this EXCITEMENT when you think of curling up in front of a good movie.

 

I say... to each his own. At the end of the day, for most people, books and movies are hobbies for people, and that's that. You can pick whichever speaks to you more, without looking down on others that chose a different hobby or form of entertainment.

Edited March 6, 2010 by bethany725

[StephenKingman]

I say... to each his own. At the end of the day, for most people, books and movies are hobbies for people, and that's that. You can pick whichever speaks to you more, without looking down on others that chose a different hobby or form of entertainment.

 

I couldnt agree more with this. I find that book reading tends to attract a huge amount of elitist snobs who think that by reading a wide variety of books that they are somehow 'intelligent' and fit to look down their noses at people who are not as well-read as them. Certainly i have been at a few book club readings and witnessed many people who think they are above others and snort at their opinions just beaasue it is a bit different. I have no time for people like that and think that reading is just a personal hobby with no room for exclusion.As long as you are enjoying it and nobody is getting hurt then indeed-each to their own.

[Vladd]

I have been confused with the same thing for years. People at my college deem it useless to have a habit of reading books. They call me a bookworm and label me a nerd for loving to read and write. I get irritated that they think reading is a waste of time when not more than a century ago, it was considered the most scholarly thing around.

Now that is sad, if people at a college deem it useless to read what hope is there?

[sirinrob]

I'm a bit odd ( those that know me on here will confirm that ) in that I'm the only one in my family that reads. From an early age, my favourite activity involved reading. I see no point in TV or films, but let others follow that path if they wish - just don't force it on me or I get

 

I'll take issue with the point re reading is not active. It is if the reader interacts with the text and creates a world from the text and his own experiences.