Earlier quoted context omitted.
You should fix that
Just to be clear you want OP to fix what? The quality of books they are reading, or the quantity?
Both
2 in 5 Americans did not read a single book in 2025
71–80 of 91 posts
Re: 2 in 5 Americans did not read a single book in 2025
#72Who cares? So much books are just slop (pulp), or, these days, over 70% filler. Even if they are "decent" fiction or non-fiction, the majority still are almost entirely shallow entertainment, whether explicitly or implicitly as simplistic "edutainment" of some kind. There are blogs, articles, technical papers, heck, even user discussions that contain far greater depth and/or demand far greater attention and mental wo…
I believe it would not be quite uſeleſs, to allow young ladies, according to their leiſure, and their capacity, the reading of ſome ſelect profane authors, that have nothing dangerous in them for the paſſions. This likewiſe is the means to give them a diſtaſte of moſt plays and romances: give them therefore into their hands Greek and Roman hiſtories, in the beſt tranſlations ...
Instructions for the education of daughters, 1750
Re: 2 in 5 Americans did not read a single book in 2025
#73Who cares? So much books are just slop (pulp), or, these days, over 70% filler. Even if they are "decent" fiction or non-fiction, the majority still are almost entirely shallow entertainment, whether explicitly or implicitly as simplistic "edutainment" of some kind. There are blogs, articles, technical papers, heck, even user discussions that contain far greater depth and/or demand far greater attention and mental wo…
I believe it would not be quite uſeleſs, to allow young ladies, according to their leiſure, and their capacity, the reading of ſome ſelect profane authors, that have nothing dangerous in them for the paſſions. This likewiſe is the means to give them a diſtaſte of moſt plays and romances: give them therefore into their hands Greek and Roman hiſtories, in the beſt tranſlations ... Instructions for the education of daug…
Right. It's not that you read (or where you read it, or how much you read), but what you read that matters. Always has been the case.
Replace "read" with "consume" for contemporary relevance, or to make it particularly clear how dumb "Reading [consuming] lots is good".
EDIT - A contemporary bestselling book example: https://www.amazon.com/Morning-Glory-Milking-Cambric-Creek-e...
Re: 2 in 5 Americans did not read a single book in 2025
#74I highly doubt 60% have read book.
If you click the article it actually says "read or listened", so this includes also audiobooks, which is cheating, those 60% would shrink significantly without audiobooks.
And I don't think this is really US specific, it won't be much better elsewhere, most of the people just don't have energy/time to read book, they will rather watch content or read shorter articles.
Me as European also didn't read (or listened) book in years, I don't see the added value. After working and taking care of kids I will watch movie/TV show and maybe short time Youtube. I have to read lot of law documents and user guides as part of my work, those can be longer than some short books though, so not sure what this tells about me.
Meanwhile my kids are bookworms, they can easily read 5 books per week and I read book to them every evening (I didn't count these as my books, it's books for kids, I read to them for sure at least 20-30 books per year).
Re: 2 in 5 Americans did not read a single book in 2025
#75The survey this is based on[1] counts listening to audiobooks as "reading", which can only inflate the numbers. I have nothing against audiobooks, but they are not the same as reading. It is a passive consumption of the content. You can daydream or lose focus and the story keeps rolling on. If you lose focus while reading, the story stops. You may find that you've "read" a few sentences, but it's quickly self-correct…
I used to think the same way as you about audiobooks but this year I had three weeks where I wasn't supposed to read a screen after eye surgery and so I tried some audiobooks. It took a few days but eventually I got to the point where it was indistinguishable from reading - where I could picture in my mind everything happening. This is quite different from tv and film where you're just watching and not using your min…
I think you are fairly unique in audiobook consumption though. I imagine most people (myself included when I do) consume audiobooks where they would have otherwise listened to podcasts or radio, meaning stochastically in the car, doing chores, generally during other activities.
If I were to sit down in my book corner chair, putting on an audiobook and leaning back, I can imagine I'd have the same experience as you, but that is when I would otherwise read a book the traditional way. Perhaps this will change when I get older and wish to rest my eyes and arms while taking in a book.
Re: 2 in 5 Americans did not read a single book in 2025
#76Who cares? So much books are just slop (pulp), or, these days, over 70% filler. Even if they are "decent" fiction or non-fiction, the majority still are almost entirely shallow entertainment, whether explicitly or implicitly as simplistic "edutainment" of some kind. There are blogs, articles, technical papers, heck, even user discussions that contain far greater depth and/or demand far greater attention and mental wo…
I find enjoyment in everything you mentioned (been reading since the Slate Star Codex days!) and I read a good mix of all book types, so I want to offer some gentle push-back. Reading fun fantasy books allows you to take your inner child and imagination out to play, not everything needs to be serious, intellectually challenging, or highly stimulating. Sometimes you have to let your imagination run free and just have fun. Holding space for your imagination to run free also opens yourself up to receiving inspiration or new unexpected ideas.
At the start of this year I read through Rick Rubin's book, The Creative Act: A Way of Being. This book wasn't telling me anything new, but it reminded me of a lot of things that I had forgotten while making me hold space for those ideas related to creativity.
Sometimes I encounter criticism of Newton for having "wasted" time studying and learning alchemy, and people lament how much more he could've gotten done if it wasn't for those distractions. But we don't know if those alchemy-related detours are load-bearing for his achievements!
The sweetest of fruits is fertilized by mountains of shit.
Re: 2 in 5 Americans did not read a single book in 2025
#77The definitions are a bit vague - does it have to be cover to cover or part of a book? I seldom read cover to cover these days because it's easy to just get the bits you are interested in.
Re: 2 in 5 Americans did not read a single book in 2025
#78Earlier quoted context omitted.
I used to think the same way as you about audiobooks but this year I had three weeks where I wasn't supposed to read a screen after eye surgery and so I tried some audiobooks. It took a few days but eventually I got to the point where it was indistinguishable from reading - where I could picture in my mind everything happening. This is quite different from tv and film where you're just watching and not using your min…
I think you are fairly unique in audiobook consumption though. I imagine most people (myself included when I do) consume audiobooks where they would have otherwise listened to podcasts or radio, meaning stochastically in the car, doing chores, generally during other activities. If I were to sit down in my book corner chair, putting on an audiobook and leaning back, I can imagine I'd have the same experience as you, b…
I think you are fairly unique in your inability to listen to audiobooks. I talk with a lot of friends about books and have been in very long-running book clubs. Almost nothing differentiates book readers and book listeners. Mostly book readers don't know how to pronounce some character names.
Re: 2 in 5 Americans did not read a single book in 2025
#79Earlier quoted context omitted.
I used to think the same way as you about audiobooks but this year I had three weeks where I wasn't supposed to read a screen after eye surgery and so I tried some audiobooks. It took a few days but eventually I got to the point where it was indistinguishable from reading - where I could picture in my mind everything happening. This is quite different from tv and film where you're just watching and not using your min…
I think you are fairly unique in audiobook consumption though. I imagine most people (myself included when I do) consume audiobooks where they would have otherwise listened to podcasts or radio, meaning stochastically in the car, doing chores, generally during other activities. If I were to sit down in my book corner chair, putting on an audiobook and leaning back, I can imagine I'd have the same experience as you, b…
I'll double up here. For me, audiobooks are 'the same' as reading a book. Yes, I know they are not exactly the same, but the experience for me is pretty darn close enough.
Now, I use audiobooks because I can then take the dog for a walk and do other chores while listening to them. For me, it's a good way to get my mind working while my body is too. Plus, you can speed up the narration to some multiple so you're at the same pace as if you were reading anyway.
For me, it's no different than if I were a cigar roller with someone reading out a book to the lot of us.
Is it exactly the same? No, of course not. But if the alternatives to doing chores is 1) doing them with no auditory enjoyment 2) doing them with some podcast/radio station blaring topical news 3) doing them with a classic book
then, I'm going for 3. It's just the best use of time
Re: 2 in 5 Americans did not read a single book in 2025
#80The survey this is based on[1] counts listening to audiobooks as "reading", which can only inflate the numbers. I have nothing against audiobooks, but they are not the same as reading. It is a passive consumption of the content. You can daydream or lose focus and the story keeps rolling on. If you lose focus while reading, the story stops. You may find that you've "read" a few sentences, but it's quickly self-correct…
I used to think the same way as you about audiobooks but this year I had three weeks where I wasn't supposed to read a screen after eye surgery and so I tried some audiobooks. It took a few days but eventually I got to the point where it was indistinguishable from reading - where I could picture in my mind everything happening. This is quite different from tv and film where you're just watching and not using your min…
The ability to picture the scene in your mind is not why listening to an audiobook is different from reading.
Put another way, reading involves:
1. Parsing and interpreting the words on the page.
2. Synthesizing the information in our heads (scenes, arguments, etc.)
3. Interpreting the synthesis (Does it work? Is there subtle or implied information in the synthesis? What comes next?)
My argument is that audiobooks drastically alter step 1.
Let's not denigrate any forms of media though. They all have their unique benefits. You can use your mind or not during the consumption of any of them.