There has been a lot of teeth-gnashing lately about how we have become a nation of non-readers, in danger of spawning a backward, oral-based culture characterized by inspirational phrases such as, “You want fries with that?”
Since the National Endowment for the Arts released a report in November that linked a decline in reading for pleasure, especially among young people, to a decline in reading scores, there has been a lot of freaking out about why Johnny won’t read.
Of course, we already know the answer: competition from other media, ranging from TV to Game Boy Advance, and the pace of modern life. But maybe it’s the wrong question.
New kind of reading
How about: What is “reading for pleasure?” Johnny and Jane do read quite a lot when you figure in blogs, Facebook pages and even the post-literate world of text messages. NEA Chairman Dana Gioia has said this isn’t the kind of sustained reading that pulls you into a separate world as books do. True, but it’s a lot better than not reading at all.
And here in Silicon Valley, where so many worship at the temple of all things wired, there still is plenty of reading going on. Two years ago when business consultant Ann Kent founded the Book Group Expo in San Jose, more than 1,000 people showed up to talk about literature with authors and other book lovers. Last year the expo drew 1,600 avid readers, and Kent expects even more at the next one this summer.
“I think we’re reading differently,” she told me. “More people are doing audio downloads or even downloading PDFs of book chapters.” In her book group of 11 people, three “read” the books via audio downloads.
Meanwhile, Karen Bricker, children’s librarian at the Mountain View Public Library, said she and her staff have seen an increase in parents reading to their kids. The library runs a summer program called Reading Families, which requires every member of the family to read a book in order to be eligible for a prize. Bricker said it has spurred some adults to get back into reading for pleasure.
Recommendations, please
Both Kent and Bricker agree that one of the stumbling blocks for would-be pleasure-readers is that they need more personal recommendations, books vetted by people they trust. Witness the success of Oprah’s book club. “In a way, librarians have to become like personal shoppers,” Bricker said. “This is the future, even for adult readers.”
And that brings us to the Kindle, Amazon’s new electronic gadget that aims to update the book, if not replace it altogether. The stubborn Luddite community, of which I usually consider myself a member, is saying that no one will read books on-screen no matter how user-friendly the device is. It is devoid of tactile pleasure! It has no nifty cover art, all the better to advertise what you’re reading to strangers on a plane!
Yeah, well, it’s also how most people under the age of 25 are doing their reading: on screens. And they want to instantly chat, link and share what they’re reading with their friends. What’s wrong with that?
So bring on the Kindle, but bring down the price from its lofty $399. Who knows what could happen with Generation Y and Z if reading literature goes digital and interactive – an instant book group for everyone?
As Kent said, “Maybe the future of reading will be more social and not such a solitary experience.”
Imagine a “tween”-age universe where kids are texting or linking to their favorite passages from “Treasure Island” or “Little Women.” Hey, stranger things have happened.
Contact Sue Hutchison at shutchison@mercurynews.com.
