The Decline of Reading

The NYTimes has a great article today about the decline of reading in America. (Reg. Req’d.) Apparently the decline cuts across all ages and economic groups. To quote some statistics:

Their answers show that just over half — 56.6 percent — read a book of any kind in the previous year, down from 60.9 percent a decade earlier. Readers of literature fell even more precipitously, to 46.7 percent of the adult population, down from 54 percent in 1992 and 56.9 percent in 1982, which means that in the last decade the erosion accelerated significantly. The literary reading public lost 5 percent of its girth between 1982 and 1992; another 14 percent dropped away in the following decade. And though the number of readers of literature is about the same now as it was in 1982 — about 96 million people — the American population as a whole has increased by almost 40 million.

So what do you think? Do computers (e.g. the internet) cut into your reading time? Or is TV more of a culprit in that area?

That reminds me, I need to update my reading list page over in the books section of this website. I started keeping a reading list this year to see what I’m reading—and I can see how computer time cuts into reading time. I’ve been reading 1 to 3 books a month this year, but my optimum level is 3 to 4 books a month. The most recent book I finished was a funny one called Eats, Shoots & Leaves by Lynne Truss. Perhaps you’ve heard of it.

A few months ago, I made a conscious decision to increase the time I spend reading in the evening. I started getting my favorite newspaper again (the WSJ of course), which keeps me occupied for a good hour each evening, various magazines that I keep up with—especially Columbia Journalism Review, Fortune, Print, Newsweek (a gift — thanks T & T!), the New Yorker (which John nicely passes off to me) and Bomb—and coming in third right now is my book reading. Maybe I need to adjust the percentages a bit, but mostly it’s a compromise with my computer time. I’ve cut way back on the number of blogs I’ve been reading—it had to be done. I’m gradually unwiring myself.