Why don't people read books anymore?

Question

now, don't be hostile, people. i live in the city and i love reading books. i actually work with books. but years ago, i've observed that much more people read books. technology today is slowly taking over the "old-fashioned", cozy/quiet way of learning something through books. there are a lot of books in the market or the public libraries; but do they actually reach most people who should be truly benefitting from them?

Answer 1

People don't make time to read. Life is so hectic, but until a person realizes they need to slow down and take some "quiet and down" time to themselves they won't make time to read.

Watching TV is easy, the stories are told for us, and after all day rushing to and fro, it is convenient. So many people make that choice, another very VERY big difference, is that parents no longer take the time to read to their children. When a child learns early how to visit another world through the pages of a book, they become hooked. For a while they might stray away or get too busy, they typically start missing "their friends."

Yet for the others the only reading they did was required, and teachers typically pick books that are not good for making future readers. Or they pick apart a book to the point, they destroy the story.

So without parents reading to their children, teaching the power of books, the children become adults who don't read. With teachers requiring reading of "boring old" books the pleasure of reading is not taught, or when the reading is okay the teachers destroy the pleasure of reading.

(My 9th grade teacher had us read Tale of Two Cities, we had to KNOW the sections inside and out to pass a test. We had to know hidden meaning of things. Then the whole book when we reached the end... And it was not the best of times, but definately the worst of times. I love to read but I won't read that EVER AGAIN!)

I currently read James Patterson, Dean Koontz, Patricia Cornwell, among others.

Answer 2

The ability to read is one of the most precious gifts that life has to offer. Think about how you can become lost in the book, identifying with the protaganist or the voice of the book and that feeling like you can't wait to find the time to read again. I read "The Hobbit" a few weeks ago and absolutely loved it. The fantasy and adventure kept me glued and I'm looking forward to starting "The Lord of The Rings" which I have never read before. Reading allows one to escape reality for a while that I have found cannot be accomplished by more modern technology. I haven't turned on a tv in over a month and really could care less if I ever turn it on again (once in a while I enjoy mindless television or a good Alfred Hitchcock movie). News comes for the computer and relaxation and exploring the imagination comes from reading.

Answer 3

Literature?

Is over. Over. The artform was only ever around to satisfy or enliven the leisurely classes through metaphor and the flowerist prose. Genius! Godly! Writer!

The roman, the novel was perfect for a historical time. It had to be invented and stylized. When explorations into dark continents could be brought back to those at home, thrilling perspectives! Tales of woe and courage!

Nabakov destroyed it. The whole idea of the omniscient narrator is played out. The fantasy is gone. It's all ruse and subterfuge-- hopeless ideologies and ulterior motives. Unpacking metaphors is a ****** chore. We have SO much text in our private life as is-- LAST thing I need is for someone else to complicate my personal space with their selfanalysis of the world through a FICTION. We have lost that will to suspend disbelief.

Hollywood movies are made for the masses, by the elite.
And people don't question them. We categorize it as "entertainment" but it's ALL advertisement for global agendas.
It's subliminal messaging-- making the crowd accept the world constructed, then playing out the character flaws in the most Boring of attempts at Greek tragedy.

The hero myth-- deconstructed
Oedipus complex-- please.

The Matrix? Justification for war. Same old zealous christian BS.

I can't think of one book worth reading that in the last 20 years that isn't self-reflective, ironic and derisive of it's own textuality. I've got ENOUGH going on in my life. I don't need other "narrators" to tell me how it really is.

Answer 4

I think with the information age that we live in now, there are just so many more things people are doing that they don't take the time to sit down and read anymore. I used to read all the time, and I still love to read when I get a quiet weekend afternoon, but there are a lot of other things that I'm doing now as an adult that are taking up more of my time. Plus, I have a three-year-old, so she keeps me pretty active :) I'd love to just read and read and read again and not have to do anything else... :) Currently I'm working on trying to get through the complete collection of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes mysteries...never read any of them before :)

Answer 5

I guess everyone knows the answer. Television, computers, need for instant gratification which creates short attention spans etc. The saddest consequence of this generations reluctance to read is the inability of young people to write effectively. I've seen high school and college graduates that cannot write a letter or memo without glaring mistakes. There is a direct correlation between reading and good writing. Just ask anyone who makes a living at it.

Answer 6

what? people do read books, look at all the different places that sell books by mail, the large number of book stores, and just go to a public library or collage library. books are still alive and growing. PS: just look at all the new books that come out each month.

Answer 7

I love books!
My love of reading began as a small child - I wasn't given many toys, but I was given a lot of books!
I love to read - it is my favourite hobby.

Today, most kids play on the computer, watch TV, play Xbox or Playstation, so there isn't really time for reading.

I think parents should encourage their young children to read books - it helps with their early development and schooling.
They will develop a wide vocabulary and they get to use their imagination!

Answer 8

They do. I read 3 childrens' books to my 2 yr old every day. I read every chance I get. Anything and everything. Right now, I'm working on Songs of the Doomed by Hunter S. Thompson. I just finished War and Peace.

Answer 9

Some people have a short attention span. Some just don't like them. Others rely on the internet or tv too much. Still sadly some aren't well educated enough to read.

Answer 10

I don't know why, they think its a "waste" of time or alot say they just don't have "time" for it, which i think is silly and selfish, studies show that everyone has time in their day to do what they want, they Had show and this mom WHO claims "she has no time to herself" they found out she has 2 hours all together.Alot say"why read the books, the movies re better, why use your imagination when you can just watch the story", which again is silly, books are more better,detailed, creative and just better, way better
love/Dee