Who Reads Books?

“If anyone reads books, it’s probably you guys. But according to some recently-gathered (and frankly startling) statistics, you’re a dying breed. To wit:

• One-third of high school graduates never read another book for the rest of their lives.
• 42 percent of college graduates never read another book after college.
• 80 percent of U.S. families did not buy or read a book last year.
• 70 percent of U.S. adults have not been in a bookstore in the last five years.
• 57 percent of new books are not read to completion.”

Some startling statistics
by Robyn Jackson

“The following statistics about book publishing and reading were found on www.parapub.com, the Web site of self-publishing guru Dan Poynter. They’ll give you an idea of what you’re up against if you want to write books for a living.

1/3 of high school graduates never read another book for the rest of their lives.
42 percent of college graduates never read another book after college.
80 percent of U.S. families did not buy or read a book last year.
70 percent of U.S. adults have not been in a bookstore in the last five years.
57 percent of new books are not read to completion.
70 percent of books published do not earn back their advance.
70 percent of the books published do not make a profit.
(Source: Jerold Jenkins, www.JenkinsGroupInc.com)

53 percent read fiction, 43 percent read nonfiction. The favorite fiction category is mystery and suspense, at 19 percent.
55 percent of fiction is bought by women, 45 percent by men.
(Source: Publishers Weekly)

About 120,000 books are published each year in the U.S.
(Source: www.bookwire.com)

A successful fiction book sells 5,000 copies.
A successful nonfiction book sells 7,500 copies.
(Source: Authors Guild, www.authorsguild.org)

On average, a bookstore browser spends 8 seconds looking at a book’s front cover and 15 seconds looking at the back cover.
(Source: Para Publishing, www.parapub.com)

Each day in the U.S., people spend 4 hours watching TV, 3 hours listening to the radio and 14 minutes reading magazines.
(Source: Veronis, Suhler & Associates investment banker)”

Good thing you can read more than books at the library!

Matthew,

Well thanks for thoroughly depressing me.  On the upside, I guess I can feel really special now whenever I open a book.

Whoah that's sad, but not surprising. It is part of a national tragedy that no one reads anymore.

I think comparing Obama to Lenin and Mao is going too far. As bad as Obama is, he's never starved or murdered anybody. At least I can agree with Obama on some aspects of foreign policy, which is more than I can say for the GOP.

Well, I'm not surprised you would have a strong opinion on this topic, Hobbles.

It is a unique contribution you make so selflessly to provide scans of your
impressive collection.  They're from an age within living memory, but fading fast.

We are truly given the grace to live in the generation of transition, when the old
is forgotten and the new is all the rage.  What a world.  

And for anyone who retains sentiments of attachment to the values of yesteryear,
this current society is a very hostile place to live.  Our children meet it from day
to day, everywhere they go.  The challenges they face to uphold Sacred Tradition
and yet not be an outright enemy to everyone that would be their freind is a
daunting burden to throw across their shoulders.  But we do it out of necessity.

This explains everything: from the ascendancy of a socialist regime tyrannizing the American Republic with artificially construed political agendas imposed upon the dying middle class by leftist elitists who surpass Lenin and Mao in their cloaked machinations, to the fact that most people need flashing lights and shiny things to get their attention nowadays.

In such a hyper-textualized age as ours never before have people been so unlettered and brainwashed as now: easy prey for the power that be.

These are the true "Dark Ages."

So true, so true.

I had an acquaintance in 1993 or so, who was a Hollywood elite.  He was a man
who ran the circuit of fancy parties putting ideas in the minds of writers.  Their
careers demanded constant new ideas.  The "Industry" is a monster with a
voracious appetite for everything new, as you can well imagine.

So a guy like Ron Graham, whose personality was rather "off the wall" and high
energy, was an ornament at parties that sprang to life new concepts and
thoughts in the minds of his listeners, many of whom had to go home that
night and stay up typing screenplays.  And they had better be "good" product
or their careers were on the chopping block.  The competition is constantly
nipping at your heels, so to speak.  No matter who falls down, there is someone
new and up-and-coming who is ready, willing and able to take your place in
a heartbeat.

My acquaintance, Ron, told me that TV was going to transform our culture.  
That this black box was going to be the key instrument of major societal
evolution, and virtual reality would soon become more real in the minds of
people than the conversation we are having right now, and he was really
present, three feet in front of me.  He hob-nobbed with those who were in
complete accord with this "infallible" dogma, this pretext of prosperity, this
ticket to the "A" list in the books of the movers and shakers of
Entertainment.

Then I have another figure of more recent vintage.  She is in her dotage, but
her working life was spent in Hollywood, in the offices of the movie stars in
the 50's and 60's and 70's.  Her whole life is "entertainment."  She met all
the stars, and knew their personal life details as if they were the saints of
her religion.  And they were, really.  All of her social interaction was with
friends who worshipped the false god of Entertainment, which translates in
practical terms to TV now, because that's how you spend your Holy Hour
in front of satan's tabernacle.

But it's more than an hour.  People will spend ALL their available time, and some
of the time they don't have, in front of the tabernacle of satan, the media
box, the one and only Object of their Devoted Attention.  It is the source of
their joys, fears, imagination, hopes, desires, passions, opinions, planning,
diversion, consolation.  Everything.  

And then along came CathInfo ...............  Just kidding.  

But for what it's worth, this old lady never read to her children out loud.

Now, reading aloud to children IMHO is one of the most important precepts
of our culture and non-negotiables for our future.  

That bears repeating.


Reading aloud to children is one of the most important precepts

of our culture and non-negotiables for our future.


But this woman disdained books.  Her god (and she's Catholic BTW) is and
always has been Entertainment.  I went to help her take care of her home
because she was having trouble keeping up with the most basic things of
life, and there was a time when all the chores were done and she needed
to have someone there to call for help or whatever, so I had an hour to
take a "break."  I had a lot of reading to do, so I had brought a book with
me.  She sat nearby, and I offered to read to her, but she was not interested
in hearing me read.  So I read to myself, silently.  She was beside herself.
She could not stand the thought that someone was more interested in
wasting their time on staring at a book instead of talking to her.  But we
had already had a lot of conversation, and it was frankly going nowhere,
because all she wants to talk about is movie stars, and I have absolutely
no interest in the personal details of the lives of movie stars.  I had already
told her all my stories about the several Icons of Hollywood whom I had
known.  There was no more to say.  It was a topic that was a dead end
to me.  I was more than willing to talk about religion, but she would have
none of that.  So as I attempted to read to myself, she would sit there
and ask me a question every 3 to 5 minutes:  "What are you reading?"
"Is that a good book?"  "Have you read that book before?"  "Does your wife
like to read?"  "Do you read by yourself in front of your wife?"  "Do you
read like this at home, too?"  "Are you sure all the chores are done?"  
"What time is my son coming home?"  

I'm used to interruptions: I raised several children.  But it was not just the
interruptions.  It was her objective to pick, pick, pick, until she got to
something about you that she could accuse you of having done "wrong" in
her estimation.  Some aspect of your life that she would have done
differently if she were you.  She would ask personal questions, and in order
to participate in her conversation, you would have to provide personal
answers, or else you were not "cooperative" and "distant."  But her
inordinate curiosity was a means for her to exercise her ad hominem
arguments against you.  She was combative, belligerent, petty, and
generally miserable.   And she could not stand the sight of someone
daring to waste their time reading a book.

When I asked her son about this, I was surprised to find out that not only
had she never read to him as a child, but she was wont to turn the pages
of a magazine and only look at the pictures.  Suddenly, I realized that
when I had offered to him one of my favorite religious books, I think it
was Preparation for Death by St. Alfonsus Maria de Liguori, Doctor
of the Church, his first comment, flipping through the pages was, "But
there are no pictures."  

I thought he was joking, but no, he was most serious.

This intellectual plague has a way of invading one's whole life.  One who
suffers from this spiritual malady, when it comes to using an Internet
computer for example, will be unable to avoid clicking on the image of
every pretty girl he sees, if you know what I mean.  And then what
do you do with all the viruses - the STDs of cyberspace?!

Why, then you obviously have to go to the doctor and get a prescription!

You call the Geek Squad, of course, and they find Trojans (horses?) hiding
on your hard drive, like as a driver for your mouse pad.

I think comparing Obama to Lenin and Mao is going too far. As bad as Obama is, he's never starved or murdered anybody. At least I can agree with Obama on some aspects of foreign policy, which is more than I can say for the GOP.

You don't seem to know much about the Windy City, where he's from.

He managed to avoid all-out war for the first 4 years but now he has nothing
to keep him from "letting it all hang out" for the next 4.  

He is responsible for the brutal torture and murder of millions of the most innocent.

I am not sure whether that is a reference to abortion or the drone attacks. Nevertheless I do agree, but if we are talking of actual torture in wartime harsh tactics must be used.

Like I said I agree when it comes to abortion, but I was speaking of the harsh tactics of actual torture against adult human beings.

Anyway I agree that Obama has been a horrible President and no Catholic could vote for a man who allows abortion, I was just talking about comparing him as the next Communist dictator.

Most admirable stuff, there, sir.  So much so I copied it wholesale into a new
thread, FYI.



                                            Much obliged!