Why Don’t Books Give Half The Country Pleasure?

 

 

Fewer Americans are reading books for pleasure, according to the Survey of Public Participation in the Arts from the National Endowment for the Arts.

The survey covered a 12-month period ending in July, 2022. It said only 48.5% of adults read at least one book for pleasure during that year. It was nearly 55% in 2012, a decade ago. It was 52.7% in 2017. So the numbers are low — and have been on a long downward trend.

Why?

We know one has many other options to spend their entertainment time on — from plays, television, movies, podcasts, and sports to other reading venues, typically free ones: online news media, blogs, and websites. But still, nothing is quite like the experience one gets from reading a book for pleasure.

It can’t be about money. Books are relatively cheap and readily available for free at libraries and various web sites.

It can’t be about time. Many fun books only take a few hours to consume.

It can’t be about availability. There are plenty of great books on any topic imaginable, available online, in stores, and at libraries.

So, what gives? What is going on?

I think the nation suffers from heavy ADHD tendencies. We have the attention span of a flea. We just live off of our phones — short texts, re-shared memes, emoji-filled emails instead of words, mindless bantering on social media posts, short podcasts, and 22-minute streamed TV shows our mindshare is controlled by our phones.

Who is going to actually sit down and read a 350-page book without images, sounds, and flashing colors, where your imagination has to work at making you dream and think?

 

It seems reading has become a sport. We read a blog or social media post or an article and share it with others. Or, we comment on it and enter into a dialogue/debate with another. This is more of what I call interactive or activist reading. Unfortunately, we don’t interact with our books in that way, save for some book review and comment sites. Reading a book takes time and focus -- but our smart phones are blinking and begging us to get a dopamine fix by sharing some quip or reposting an article or video link.

Only 37.6 percent in that survey said they read at least novels for pleasure.  9.2 percent said they read poetry books for pleasure. 2.4 percent said their reading books for pleasure came in consuming plays.

American literacy needs a boost. We have a nation of dummies, underachievers, poor readers, and those who are distracted by all things digital.  Reading can’t just be the domain of highly educated people, older Americans, and those who are lonely. We need people to find pleasure in reading more books, ones that invite stimulation, fun, and happiness.

Do you have any suggestions on how we can get people into reading books for fun?

Maybe we need radical incentives. Perhaps we should:

* Hand out free books in public places and hope that some recipients read what they were gifted — and enjoy it so much that they come back for more.

* Pay people to read a book, hoping that such an introduction will kick off a new-found habit and love.

* Have a book-reading challenge that rewards those who post on social media who discuss the books they read.

* Make stocking stuffers for Christmas only be books.

* Find a brand-leader to marry the public to books — get influencers, celebrities, models, pro athletes, and others to champion the joys of book reading.

Help get the word out and encourage others to read books for pleasure.

Need Book Marketing Help?

Brian Feinblum, the founder of this award-winning blog, can be reached at brianfeinblum@gmail.com  He is available to help authors promote their story, sell their book, and grow their brand. He has over 30 years of experience in successfully helping thousands of authors in all genres. Let him be your advocate, teacher, and motivator!

 

Read This!

Book Marketer Shoplifts To Save Humanity!

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2023/11/book-marketer-shoplifts-to-save-humanity.html

 

9 Steps To Authors Having Great Media Interviews

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2023/11/9-steps-to-authors-having-great-media.html

 

Is American Journalism Dying?

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2023/11/is-american-journalism-dead.html

 

Does Self-Help Advice Help Authors?

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2023/11/does-self-help-advice-help-authors.html

 

16 Author Success Principles

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2023/11/16-author-success-principles.html

 

Please Support Book Aid International

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2023/11/please-support-book-aid-international.html

 

Wall Street Journal Leaves Authors With One Less Best-Seller List To Manipulate

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2023/11/wall-street-journal-leaves-authors-with.html

 

Can You Discover Your Book’s Reader Identity?

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2023/11/can-you-discover-your-books-reader.html

 

The Author Viral Content Toolbox

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2023/11/the-author-viral-content-toolbox.html

 

About Brian Feinblum

Brian Feinblum should be followed on LinkedIn. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog ©2023. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in Westchester with his wife, two kids, and Ferris, a black lab rescue dog, and El Chapo, a pug rescue dog. His writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s The Independent.  This award-winning blog has generated over 3.4 million pageviews. With 4,600+ posts over the past dozen years, it was named one of the best book marketing blogs by BookBaby  http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs  and recognized by Feedspot in 2021 and 2018 as one of the top book marketing blogs. It was also named by www.WinningWriters.com as a "best resource.” For the past three decades, including 21 years as the head of marketing for the nation’s largest book publicity firm, and two jobs at two independent presses, Brian has worked with many first-time, self-published, authors of all genres, right along with best-selling authors and celebrities such as: Dr. Ruth, Mark Victor Hansen, Joseph Finder, Katherine Spurway, Neil Rackham, Harvey Mackay, Ken Blanchard, Stephen Covey, Warren Adler, Cindy Adams, Todd Duncan, Susan RoAne, John C. Maxwell, Jeff Foxworthy, Seth Godin, and Henry Winkler. He recently hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America, and has spoken at ASJA, Independent Book Publishers Association Sarah Lawrence College, Nonfiction Writers Association, Cape Cod Writers Association, Willamette (Portland) Writers Association, APEX, and Connecticut Authors and Publishers Association. His letters-to-the-editor have been published in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New York Post, NY Daily News, Newsday, The Journal News (Westchester) and The Washington Post. He has been featured in The Sun Sentinel and Miami Herald. For more information, please consult: www.linkedin.com/in/brianfeinblum.