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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

#81

Post by zemvpferreira »

rockinghigh wrote: post #67
hipadev23 wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> reading scientific papers Based on recent HN threads, sounds like a large percentage of scientific papers are pure fiction. At least books on Goodreads have public reviews and a simple star rating. Does similar exist for scientific papers?

Published papers have to go through a reviewing process. You can see peer review feedback here: https://openreview.net

The review process is generally garbage for everything below Tier 1 journals. The original point stands.

https://retractionwatch.com is a good one to read occasionally.

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

#82

Post by brigadier132 »

rockinghigh wrote: post #67
hipadev23 wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> reading scientific papers Based on recent HN threads, sounds like a large percentage of scientific papers are pure fiction. At least books on Goodreads have public reviews and a simple star rating. Does similar exist for scientific papers?

Published papers have to go through a reviewing process. You can see peer review feedback here: https://openreview.net

Yes, and those papers are increasingly being found to be fraudulent or not reproducible.

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

#83

Post by galleywest200 »

BadHumans wrote: post #76
arnaudsm wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Gaming is more active than reading. Maybe you're also thinking of imagination's involvment?

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.

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

#84

Post by freedomben »

brvsft wrote: post #18
silveira wrote: post #13

And worst than that, I wonder about the quality of the books for the other 54%. Reading a book by itself is not a virtue.

> ...visions of Benjamin Franklin danced in my head...

On a side note, Benjamin Franklin is a wildly fascinating person. I highly recommend Walter Isaacon's biography of him. One of the most interesting (in a good way) humans I know of. I think most people would be surprised at how well they can relate to a man who lived in the 18th century. Check out his humorous essay on farting[1] if you want to laugh.

[1]: https://teachingamericanhistory.org/document/to-the-royal-ac...

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

#85

Post by pb7 »

brigadier132 wrote: post #79
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.

This > reading scientific papers in PDF, listening to 2h conference talks is not equivalent to > Watching movies, playing a 60h narrative videogame

Why? All are important for a well rounded, interesting person.

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

#86

Post by fifilura »

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.

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.

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

#87

Post by TheCleric »

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 need it even more after all day on a computer. I need an off ramp for my brain to wind down. I read before bed every night. I honestly don’t understand how some don’t.

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

#88

Post by everyone »

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.

I agree, one could read a load of crappy books. The actual quality of specifically what you are reading / watching / playing matters a lot imo. You will learn a lot more playing Kerbal Space Program than you will reading Harry Potter books for example.

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

#89

Post by abtinf »

abtinf wrote: post #16

This is the source study and a much better overview: https://today.yougov.com/entertainment/articles/48239-54-per... And that also links to the real data. Toplines: https://d3nkl3psvxxpe9.cloudfront.net/documents/econtoplines... Crosstabs: https://d3nkl3psvxxpe9.cloudfront.net/documents/econTabRepor... 49% of Americans read at least 2 books.

Pages 124, 130, and 131 of the crosstab are fascinating.

From page 124, the 4 indicators that you probably read a book are Race (white), Income (100k+), Voter registration status (registered), and party/ideology (not a centrist).

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