There’s
a statistic that’s been floating around for a few years that is
disturbing. Approximately 1 in 4 people
last year in the United States did not read a single book. Not a single celebrity biography, not a cheap
romance novel, not a book about one’s hobby, favorite sport, or even a
self-help book. Sad as that is, it’s
gotten worse.
40
years ago, 8% of Americans said they didn’t read a single book in the past
year. This means the rate of non-book
readers has tripled over that time.
If
the rate triples again, that would mean that in 2058, 3 out of 4 Americans will
not have read a book that year.
I am
proud that I work for a company – Media Connect – that celebrates the written
word and promotes a wide variety of books to the news media and the masses.
Everyone in the book industry should be involved in not just marketing their
own books, but in promoting all books to all people. For nearly 30 years I have championed over
1,000 books as part of my career, but as a private individual I passionately celebrate
the power of books as well.
Of
course the country is deeply invested in bringing about 100% literacy –
otherwise, society can’t fully function properly. But once we find a way to
improve overall literacy, how will we encourage more book readers – and why is
that important?
If
people can read and comprehend at a high enough level, they’ll be able to
contribute more to society, from their jobs to how they interact with
others. But in order to be a savvy
consumer, informed voter, active citizen, and someone on a path to deeper
understanding of the world we live in, one has to venture past short-form reading. Here’s why:
Blogs,
Facebook posts, and tweets are not reflective of deep research, complex
thought, or unbiased viewpoints. They
often are written by ordinary people, without the benefit of an editor,
fact-checker or special training in writing or expertise the subject area that they write about.
They fill a purpose and can be useful in the dialogue that takes place
daily, but books, they are not.
Real
journalism – newspapers, magazines, newswires, trade journals, and newsletters
– are a step up. Typically, those pieces are produced by professionals, with the help of editors, researchers and
fact-checkers. They may have access to
interview leading experts and they have a sense of duty to truth, justice and
fairness. That isn’t to say they are
perfect or accurate all of the time, but they certainly provide daily insight
on the state of society from a trained eye’s perspective.
Then
comes the book, a magnificent presentation of facts, data, opinion, analysis
and theory – based on lots of research and professional scrutiny. Not all books are written by qualified
experts or even good writers, especially self-published books, but books offer
us the best chance to get a fuller picture and deeper understanding of an
issue, event, person, or thing. Reading books helps us understand who we are
and shows us what we could become.
Novels
provide us access to other worlds and help us imagine ourselves a bit
differently. They have proven to be far
superior to essays, short stories, and poems in terms of giving the reader a
rich, deep story – an escape from life as we know it.
So
when tens of millions of Americans don’t pick up a book, they deprive
themselves of appreciating life on a different level from one they might get
out of short-form reading – if they do much reading at all.
So
what can be done to encourage more people to read books?
If
economics are the issue, we must play up the access to libraries and the trove
of free books available online. We
should also champion used-book stores.
If
language is the issue, we must publicize the availability of books in other
languages, primarily Spanish, and to also hold special classes to teach English
to everyone in this country – legal or illegal immigrants.
If
lacking a computer is the reason, we should fund a program to get every man,
woman and child an e-reader.
If
competing forms of content is the issue, we must highlight the value of a book
over other forms of reading, as well as other forms of consuming information or
entertainment. Enjoy going to see a
play, downloading a video, attending a concert, or binging on a Netflix
series. But go read a book, too.
There are many, many reasons that people don’t read books, ranging from incapacitation
– blind, in a coma, dementia, mental illness – to learning disorders, such as
ADHD or dyslexia. Others, as they get
older or have a lot of stress, will say they don’t have the patience to
read. Some may simply suffer from poor
eyesight and without glasses, won’t read a book. Others may just have exhausting schedules –
holding down multiple jobs, lacking sleep, acting as a caretaker, or confronted
by a major task. Some may have long
driving or walking commutes, leaving them without the time others may use to read
a book while on a train, bus, or plane.
Still,
whatever the cause – and sometimes it’s merely an excuse – we need to find a
way to get a greater percentage of the population to read a book this year. We need more tutors, teachers, mentors,
parents, grandparents, babysitters, and anyone who is responsible for a child
to encourage book reading. The more kids
that are turned on to books, the more likely they’ll be adult readers. Even if we can’t save adults – though we should
try – we should be able to raise the new generation to love books.
How
terrible it is to raise a non-reader? To
think that a child today won’t read a single book in a given year of adulthood
is really unthinkable. To those who love
reading books we can’t imagine how one lives without a role for books in their
life. But maybe we need to understand
why and how we developed into a society, where 2% of its citizens did not buy,
borrow, steal or download a single book in 2017.
We
can’t dismiss non-readers. They not only
do a disservice to society and themselves, they may end up reproducing and
raising non-readers, spawning a multi-generational book deficit. Not everyone can do or like the same thing –
whether it’s about sports, travel, careers, relationships, hobbies, food or
anything. But we should all have a
consensus that books are good and positive and important, that we need and
should want books the way we need air, water, food, shelter, and clothing.
We
all fall into patterns. A long year gets
shortened by daily repetition. If our
daily approach to life is without books, when do we sneak them in? Weekends?
Vacations? Travel? We need to
create a pattern that is book-inclusive, one where books are seen not as an
obligation or chore, but as a right, a pleasure and a reward. As a way of being. Books are beautiful ways to learn, feel,
think, dream, debate and feel beauty, inspiration and faith.
It
helps when an organized effort, one coming from the government, non-profits,
and the book industry, puts forward encouragement and opportunity for book
reading for everyone. But it also will come down to others – whether it’s
institutions like religion, business and education – or to
household inspiration or personal responsibility – to inspire the nation to open
its hearts, minds, and souls to books so that we can grow, heal, change, and
unite.
Read
a book today. Encourage others to read
one tomorrow.
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