The narrator reports that when she was a little girl, she used to love the "book of hair" at her mother's stylist's shop, which included "colorful, tactful samples, little loops of real hair that were organized by gradation . . . You could hold a curl of your new color in your hand, hold it up to your face, see how it changed in the light" (38). She goes on to report that she was "fascinated" by "all these selves you could put on" (38).
Some might say that reading stories--like this novel--or hearing them also provide ways to "put on" different selves, take them for a turn, see what it feels like to be someone different, to face different kinds of challenges, and to make different kinds of choices. While some think of reading as nothing more than mindless entertainment, critic Kenneth Burke once observed, fiction provides readers with "equipment for living."
Do you think it is concerning that fewer people read novels these days than they did in the past? That Americans read less than Europeans? That men read less than women? (Click here to read more about recent trends.)
Why do you think readership rates are declining? What role do schools play in this trend?
What is the next book you want to read? Can you recommend a book you've recently read?
I think it is concerning that we see fewer people reading novels these days. I think there are a lot of factors that go into this. One example is the internet. It is obvious that children have much more access to the internet then their parents ever did. Some could say this is the child’s fault for not “putting the screen down,” but I think that the parents should also be assigned blame. Most of our parents did not have screens growing up, so there was no way for them to see how their parents regulated them. Having children in a completely different world than one you grew up in, I am sure it was difficult to decide how to manage screens and the internet. Parents are undoubtedly going to make mistakes white figuring out how to guide their children through the internet at young ages. So, are we victims of our parents’ mistakes in how they regulated our internet access? Maybe. While we are ultimately responsible for our own choices, the boundaries that are placed on us during children have a lasting impact on our relationship with technology. - Nina Benton
ReplyDeleteThe biggest issue around declining reading rates for me is two-fold: 1. The popularization and ease of access of other mediums of art and entertainment in movies, television, and especially video games. The other is simply a compounding effect of schools and parents reading to kids less and not requiring them to read as much respectively. This has lead to kids just not picking up reading as a hobby early on in the same way they would for more interactive, stimulating mediums.
ReplyDeleteYes, I find it very concerning that people read less than they used to. I think it represents a psychological (and potentially evolutionary) change in our how our mind operates. When you read, you create the world and characters from your minds eye - building the world based on your past experiences, your hopes, your ideals. But today people tend rely on others to create that world entirely for them. Reading is effort, Creating that world is effort - but I enjoy so much the process of developing a character and their world in my minds eye. I am continually reading, and always have about 50+ books to choose from in my library awaiting for me to pick it up. My process is to finish reading a book and then by the next day go through all the potential options and pick the book that catches my interest at that moment. In terms of who is at fault, I would say it is a combination of many factors. What I see with my kiddo (who is only 8 but is an avid reader) is that he needs encouragement to read but that when we engage together with that experience, he wants to red more and more. He also sees us read and I think that is a large part of the encouragement. I read a lot, and watched my parents read a lot. I know my kiddo sees me read regularly and he reads a lot. I think it is hard to get anyone interested in an activity if you avoid that activity yourself.
ReplyDeleteI find it concerning that people do not read as much as they used to. Reading has slowly been replaced by so many other ways to spend free time. Whether it is playing sports, hanging out with friends, or just relaxing. Books often get pushed aside. I believe schools play a huge part in this; reading is often treated as just another assignment filled with quizzes and deadlines. Reading starts to feel like another chore instead of something enjoyable. I think this is when students start to lose interest in reading and choose other activities instead.
ReplyDeleteI find it very concerning that fewer people read novels these days than they did in the past. I believe that this is most likely because people nowadays are more interested in internet videos than they are in pages of a book, especially Americans. People always seem to make the argument, "Why would I read a book if I could just watch the movie?" In response, I believe that reading the book provides so much more than a movie ever could. It helps with vocabulary, imagination, and provides an escape from reality and screens. The next book that I want to read would definitely have to be 'How to Make Friends and Influence People.' Additionally, a recommendation I would always give is the book 'The Giver.'
ReplyDeleteReading has a wealth of benefits, regardless of nationality or gender, so I definitely find it concerning that fewer people are engaging in it. Not only does it encourage empathy, but it also enhances imagination, a crucial tool for innovation. Many technological advancements have stemmed from ideas encountered in literature. As for why readership rates are declining, I would point to social media as the most obvious contributor. It has had detrimental impacts on attention spans, especially in children, and it promises dopamine in abundance. A good literary alternative to that is honestly short story collections. One gets the satisfaction of finishing something semi-quickly, and the entertainment tends to feel less shallow. The most recent short story collection I read was 'Nine Bar Blues' by Sheree Renee Thomas, and I’d recommend it to anyone interested in speculative fiction.
ReplyDeleteI think it is concerning that people are reading less than they used to, however, there are so many more things for people to do now besides read books. I think reading doesn’t have a very big place in American culture. Everyone wants everything in an instant and I feel like people would just rather watch a two hour movie rather than spend a week reading a book. I think it is interesting that women read more than men do. I’m not sure why exactly this is but I know I have a short attention span and it's hard to sit and read for a long period of time. I think people are reading less simply because there is just more to do now. You can get on your phone and talk to your friends, watch videos, or play a game whenever you want. I do see some schools starting to push reading less and less. During my junior and senior years of high school whenever we’d read books in class, our teacher would put on an audio book version of it and we could follow along if we wanted to, so I do think that schools are playing a role in people reading less and less. I don’t really know what book I want to read next, however, my go to book recommendation is Brandon Sanderson’s Steelheart. It’s probably my all time favorite book.
ReplyDeleteIt is very concerning that people are reading less and less each year. I think that readership rates are declining due to the rise of short-form content on the internet. Many kids would rather be on their device than read a book. I think that most kids are allowed too much screen time very early on. If kids had a set screen time or had it as a reward for reading, kids would be more into reading, and the literacy rates would significantly increase. The next book I want to read is The Hunger Games. A book I would recommend is Gone Girl. I read it over the summer and really enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteThe influence schools have on reading enjoyment, and thus amount of reading, can be either positive or negative depending on the kid. This is all anecdotal, but I feel like it’s relevant to the question of school impact on reading rates. At least at my school, we were required to read and take AR tests to get enough AR points. My best friend used to love reading, until the AR point system made her stop reading for fun. Her dislike of being forced to read got to the point where she didn’t read at all when it wasn’t required. Nowadays she’s reading more, but the way schools force reading made her nearly quit entirely. I, on the other hand, loved AR tests. I love test-taking in general, and the point system made me happy to read more. With the AR point rewards and constant library access, I started a love of reading that I’ve maintained to this day. Although it was great for me, I fully understand that the way schools handle reading can be very detrimental to students’ desire to read. Many kids hate being forced to read for school, and it can prevent or ruin a student’s love of reading. Encouraging students to find book series they like and helping them find new series within their reading level would be much better than forcing them to read whether they like to or not.
ReplyDeleteI find it quite concerning that fewer people read novels today than they did in the past. I think readership rates are declining because of the increasingly easy access to the internet and social media at younger ages. I also think that the attention span to read novels has decreased because the overall attention span of people has decreased due to social media platforms that feed on inattention. Schools are not always helpful with readership rates, especially with the increased frequency of using tablets rather than actual text books. The next book I would like to read is Theo of Golden. One book I would recommend is The Bean Trees by Barbra King Solver.
ReplyDeleteI would say it is very concerning that people recently haven't read as much as past generations, but it is something that is not entirely the generations' fault, because especially people born after 2000, they were born into technology and its rapidly developing social media spheres.
ReplyDeleteReadership rates are declining because people are being told to turn to technology and A.I. Schools unfortunately add to this in the way that they, too, have also turned into technology, and less hands on. All notes, books, resources, etc, are online.
I would love to read any book, honestly! One book I can recommend is Orphan Monster Spy by Matt Killeen. It's dark, but it's really interesting. The details of things are immaculate; not overly detailed, but enough to let you understand what's happening.
It is very concerning that fewer people are reading novels. In the past, reading was a very popular hobby. Now, people consider reading boring and for “nerds”. Kids should not be looked at differently for something they enjoy. A large reason reading is less common is because of social media. Social media has allowed kids to just sit around doom scrolling. When in reality, children should be reading, letting their brains follow high complex story lines. Schools need to require more reading grades and writing assignments.
ReplyDeleteI really want to read the Odyssey. I hope enough people voted for that option, because I am really looking forward to it!
I do think it is concerning that people are reading less novels than they used to. Reading stimulates the brain in a different way than TV, and social media since we must physically imagine things in our head instead of just viewing it with our eyes. I think a lot of knowledge and creativity stems from reading, and it's sad to see how it has declined. Reading rates without a doubt are declining because #1, phones and TV, and #2, there are less requirements in school when it comes to reading. Due to the access of educational videos many teachers no longer have their students reading but instead watch videos as their form of education. I recently read both Nantucket books written by Elin Hilderbrand and although they were very different from what I am used to reading they were very enjoyable and I grew a desire to go and visit Nantucket.
ReplyDeleteI remember reading books all the time during elementary and middle school. It had definitely shaped me into the person I am today, especially academically. I used to struggled a lot with my English classes. However, I found that after I became obsessed with the Percy Jackson series my grade mysteriously improved. The decline in book reading is concerning. I think that schools should try to make reading something enjoyable so more children can develop an appreciation for it.
ReplyDeleteOne book I read a few years ago that I would recommend to anyone is "When Breath Becomes Air". Reading it humbled me and gave me a new perspective to life.
-crissi tubbesing
DeleteI do think it is highly concerning that few people read for pleasure in modern times. The knowledge and wisdom available in the works written by some of the greatest thinkers and authors in human history makes reading an incredibly powerful source to draw from. The modern self-depriving of literature is a travesty and should be treated as thus.
ReplyDeleteI think the most obvious answer as to why readership rates are declining has to do with technology, particularly social media and the large reliance of short-form content as the primary means of entertainment. These apps are designed to be highly addictive and to keep you occupied for as long as possible. They also have the propensity to be so stimulating that it could be difficult for someone largely accustomed to that kind of content to switch to a much more relaxed form of media. Short-form content has also shown to severely decrease attention spans over time, which compounds the difficulty of picking up the habit of reading. I think that schools make reading too much of a chore en masse, something that must be done to pass a class or complete a curriculum rather than encouraging the joy of reading. Things like Accelerated Reading (a program wherein books are worth points based on their difficulty and students must accrue a set number of points to pass a semester), most widely implemented during elementary school, establish early on that reading is done with a goal or reward in mind instead of for pleasure or personal growth.
I read Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry over the course of the summer and I thought it was really incredible. I want to re-read Lord of the Rings or the Crystal Horizon by Reinhold Messner next.
I think that it is very concerning that fewer people enjoy reading willingly these days. Reading is one of the best ways to gain knowledge and without it, education as we know it would fail to exist. I believe that the main reason readership rates are declining is the use of social media. Social media has completely ruined people’s attention span and imagination. It is so much easier and more enjoyable for some to just doomscroll all day instead of opening a book. I sadly have fallen victim of this, and I don’t read as much as I wish I would. However, I believe that schools could do something to combat this declining rate. In elementary and middle school, I remember having AR points and reading logs. These oftentimes weren’t huge grades, but they helped encourage reading outside of the classroom. Currently I don’t have any books in mind that I would like to read next but I am definitely open to suggestions.
ReplyDeleteI am absolutely concerned with the decrease in readership rates. As of 2022, less than half of adults in the US reported that they read even one fiction or nonfiction novel for pleasure. There are many credible theories as to why this is, especially in comparison to many European countries, where reading for pleasure is encouraged far more in school systems, curriculums and exams are more focused on long-form reading and essay based answers rather than multiple choice questions which are more commonly found in the US. Other reasons for this disparity may include the difference of importance placed on funding libraries and similar institutions that provide affordable opportunities for students and adults alike to read at their own discretion, the growth of technology, and language diversity. Another consideration within the growth of technology is individualized algorithms and content restriction differences across different regions of the world. I believe the lack of importance placed on properly funding libraries, school curriculums neglecting reinforcement of independent reading habits, and the rise of social media for entertainment rather than solely communication are the cause of the extreme decrease in voluntary reading across the world.
ReplyDeleteThroughout my childhood, books with their diverse collections of characters settings and stories had a huge impact on my development. Reading allowed me to consider situations that I had never thought of, especially at such a young age. I found that I would constantly be asking myself what it is that I would do or what I thought the characters could have done differently. I feel that this helped by critical thinking process and helped me view the world from a variety of perspectives and I put on and took off the glasses of looking through different characters and learning more of their circumstance. That fewer people are having these experiences as the general literacy of the world declines, especially in the United States, is very concerning. I fear it makes us as a country more susceptible to polarization and the negative impact of biased feedback loops as we lose the ability to put ourselves in other people's shoes.
ReplyDelete