And I Don't Really Like Oprah

I'll get to the Oprah bit in a minute, but let me start by saying that the results of this NEA survey were released yesterday and were based upon the 2002 census. The survey shows an almost 20% drop in the number of 18-24 year olds that read novels, short stories, plays, or poetry. The numbers are, of course, lower when the sample is broken down by race showing that Hispanics read less than African Americans who in turn read less than Caucasians. This article goes on to suggest that there is a direct correlation between reading and community activism, I'm definitely not too sure about that, but the issue of reading is an important one.

Now back to Oprah, Oprah Winfrey has had the greatest single effect on reading since the invention of the printing press. The little golden Oprah book club sticker on the front of a book insures that it will hit the New York Times best sellers list. Or in the case of Jonathan Franzen (The Corrections) the absence of that sticker and the controversy surrounding it can have the same effect. Oprah has made reading stylish again, her viewers read the books that she suggests and are actively discussing them. Oprah has made the book group popular again.

So, if this is the case why is it that reading in America is on the decline? Well, the study does say that reading is on the decline for 18-24 year olds and this is something that we in the university have known for a while. I have students tell me all of the time that they haven't read a book since they were in middle school. They make it through high school English classes on the backs (or spines) of Cliff's Notes. That is part of the method to my madness of choosing newly released popular books for my courses. New books mean no Cliff's Notes and no film version (usually). If I do choose one of the classics I make sure that the film adaptation is significantly different. This isn't to say that there aren't kids that love to read. There are. We still have adolescents walking around who are voracious readers. And hell, I'm not picky to me reading is reading. Read novels, read the newspaper, read graphic novels, read the back of a friggin' cereal box! Just read! Reading is good for you.

Reading is important because it makes you think. It stimulates the mind and the imagination. It informs. It entertains. Read with your kids (or someone else's), read in groups, read alone, read where wherever you can.

Okay, now I can put my soapbox away and get back to work!
The New York Times > Books > Fewer Noses Stuck in Books in America, Survey Finds