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46% of Americans didn't read a book in 2023

nathanbransford.com

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Re: 46% of Americans didn't read a book in 2023

#161

Post by amenhotep »

mattlondon wrote: post #99
fifilura wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sadly, I agree with you. Between work and kids it just has to go. I am also blessed with no sleeping problems which means that I fall asleep the moment i go to bed. I try to read at least one book per year during vacation. I read so much when I was younger. I am not certain I will get the habit back when I get older.

Same. Can't say I miss it, either. Reading a book at this stage in my life (busy with kids) feels self-indulgent and selfish.

What a ridiculous and sad thing to post.

Re: 46% of Americans didn't read a book in 2023

#162

Post by olddustytrail »

BoiledCabbage wrote: post #159
olddustytrail wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> What makes LotR a "great artistic work"? That's a great question. It's a mixture of technical skill and intellectual depth. For example, throughout Scotland placenames are a mixture of old Gaelic, modern Gaelic and Norse, and then there are the Anglicised versions on top. So learning what placenames mean is something I did in school and it's a fascinating subject. So when Gildor is talking with Frodo, and mentions…

LotR is not a "great artistic work". It's beloved by many (myself included), but the fact that it's detailed doesn't make it a great artistic work. As literature goes it has tons of shortcomings.

Everything has shortcomings but as a work of literature lotr is very obviously a great artistic work and the fact that you don't know that tells me immediately that you've never produced anything worthwhile.

Tell me I'm wrong.

Re: 46% of Americans didn't read a book in 2023

#163

Post by catbird »

galleywest200 wrote: post #83
BadHumans wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is gaming more active than reading? I ask this as a gamer because I genuinely don't think it is. I feel more involved reading than I do gaming.

It suppose it depends on the game genre. In some of the more difficult puzzle games I have played I certainly feel pretty engaged.

Any suggestions on a puzzle game like that? I recently finished Stephen's Sausage Roll (excellent game!) and I've been looking for something else that will let me feel clever.

Re: 46% of Americans didn't read a book in 2023

#164

Post by emj »

faeriechangling wrote: post #149

People are lying about how much they do read books, and for me, it's not that books are bad but books simply have more competition than they used to. There are multiple history podcasts, some of which are made by actual historians, which go for hundreds of episodes. It might not be "reading a book" but I really fail to see the big difference between that and an audiobook. Except that it's cheaper/easier/better than u…

> Is x,y,z worse than reading books? [..] People fetishise them.

If you chose not to read books yes it is worse. There are many books you can read that will give you a massive amount of information about a subject, not only hard facts but soft philosophical issues. I've experienced The Trail by Kafka as radio/play/movie/book, it is amazingly good as a book.

I do not care if you do not think the same or if you can not experience the same thing as I can when I read books. I do not want you to deprive others of that feeling though.

Re: 46% of Americans didn't read a book in 2023

#165

Post by UtopiaPunk »

Swizec wrote: post #61
arnaudsm wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Of the past yes, but what about the present and future?

The depth of a book is vastly different than the 10min youtube video summarizing said book. I’ve tried both modern and legacy form factors and honestly I’m on camp book more and more as the years go on. The modern stuff feels like total fluff compared to a book, which in turn feel like total fluff compared to the academic papers it is based on. These days I would rather spend 2 hours reading a good book or paper than…

Do you read fiction?

Re: 46% of Americans didn't read a book in 2023

#166

Post by emj »

SoftTalker wrote: post #106
maximus-decimus wrote: post #73

I have a hard time believing 54% did read a book. 18% of the U.S. population is functionally illiterate, and I don't know for you, I really don't feel like reading a book after I work the whole day at a computer.

I used to read quite often, in the days before YouTube and internet. I still read a lot online, but it's not the same experience as getting deeply absorbed in a book for a few hours. These days I'll often read a book or two on vacation, but not always.

I have a curated list of books from Gutenberg on my phone and read them when I have 20 min to spare. Works really well. Sure I also spend hours just reading every now and then, sure I do not read many books but a lot more than two per vacation.

I've actively come back to this way of reading books the last 15 years, the key is to make it easy to read books and not having any notifications.

Re: 46% of Americans didn't read a book in 2023

#167

Post by UtopiaPunk »

VoodooJuJu wrote: post #94
arnaudsm wrote: post #8

Why do we obsess so much over legacy form factors? Watching movies, listening to 2h conference talks, playing a 60h narrative videogame, and reading scientific papers in PDF may not be as noble, but they are equally meaningful to me.

Neil Postman's Amusing Ourselves to Death makes a good case about how long-form written exposition is uniquely superior to all those modern mediums. There's too much that's either unsaid or can't be said in those other mediums. The mediums themselves even preclude any kind of depth due to their very nature, constraints, whether they be financial constraints, distribution, time-slot scarcity (as in a T.V. series), etc…

I thought Amusing Ourselves to Death was really interesting. I almost agree with it, but I reject his basic thesis that the medium so rigidly defines the form of content. It was written in the 80s, and he seems to say that television shows and broadcast news, as they existed in the 80s, are the only way way for video to exist (namely, episodic TV shows and news made of short and jarring cuts). I basically agree that that format is less intellectually sophisticated than longer forms, but I don't think that form is limited by the television set. As time has passed and "television" is a more amorphous concept, maybe that is clearer. But that short, attention-getting format is driven by profit, especially ad revenue. I think one only needs to watch a good documentary to challenge the author's central thesis. But I think a lot of the book actually holds up well and can be mapped onto streaming and social media. I think it pairs well with Manufacturing Consent.

Re: 46% of Americans didn't read a book in 2023

#168

Post by Swizec »

UtopiaPunk wrote: post #165
Swizec wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The depth of a book is vastly different than the 10min youtube video summarizing said book. I’ve tried both modern and legacy form factors and honestly I’m on camp book more and more as the years go on. The modern stuff feels like total fluff compared to a book, which in turn feel like total fluff compared to the academic papers it is based on. These days I would rather spend 2 hours reading a good book or paper than…

Do you read fiction?

Yes. Same thing applies: the book is deeper and more nuanced than the movie. There’s just more room.

Modern 8 to 10 episode series can get close to being as nuanced as a good book. You simply need space to go deep, no amount of cleverness will help you do that in a short format.

Re: 46% of Americans didn't read a book in 2023

#169

Post by ajsnigrutin »

ffgjgf1 wrote: post #66
ajsnigrutin wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But a lot of modern knowledge is in a form of youtube videos and a lot of trash is in a form of cheap airport-kiosk books.

> knowledge is in a form of youtube videos Hardly it almost always a shortened more approachable summary of something described in a book. Also (IMHO) videos are a horrible format for transferring knowledge, it’s slow AF compared to reading and impossible to search, you have to consume it mostly sequentially

Sure, but if when are you going to open a book on SNES (super nintendo)? For comparison, here is a very interesting video series for anyone with at least some programming knowledge: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57ibhDU2SAI&list=PLHQ0utQyFw...

Sure, you could buy a book about snes (not even sure if any good ones exist) and read about that... but you're not that interested into the topic, because it's something old and not something you'll actually do... but here's a 6 minute video, that you'll probably watch... and if it's interesting, you'll go down a playlist and see "how thing were done" "back then" and learn something new.

Ever heard of Tefifon music player? Neither have I, until i saw the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqfVS6ahArs ... i would have never bought a book on ancient music players, but I learned something new by watching a short video.

Ever heard of purple gold? Neither have I, again, until the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6Pcp944sRI

Compare this to eg. book bestsellers: https://www.nytimes.com/books/best-sellers/combined-print-an...

Sometimes all you need is a summary, you're not a chemist, SNES programmer or an old music player collector, but you still learn a lot, and all those things are topics, where you just don't buy a book, because th 10, 20 minute video covers all that you need and want to know.

Re: 46% of Americans didn't read a book in 2023

#170

Post by interbased »

Scubabear68 wrote: post #75

I have found a high correlation in my life between book reading and general happiness. When I am in a period when I am reading books regularly, I am generally happy. Things are going well, I have good life balance. When I go a stretch without reading books, I am generally stressed out and in burnout mode at work, and home life is not great. Note - this is generally fiction. I read very little non fiction. Note 2 - mo…

I feel the same way. I think part of it that I’m not being drained by doomscrolling and instead, engaging my brain in a positive way. Another part is knowing that I’m using my time in a way that I value. I feel inspired.

Like going to the gym, it’s easy to go a long stretch without reading once you stop, and fall into effortless habits again.

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