Does anyone read books anymore?
 

Bookstores are leaving the malls, perhaps to go to stand-alone sites as Barnes and Noble, whose numbers are falling. Stephen King notes in his newest book about losing art forms (i.e. radio stories[Mystery Theatre, et al.] and short story magazines). With the influence of the internet, many are losing basic communication skills. We no longer write sentences, just lines w/abreviations. In this high-speed world, people just seem to want to know, not consider. It's faster to download than read (?)
So my main question is this - is the written age on the verge of extinction?

not in my house! I love books - I have a substantial collection of my own. I love to read books multiple times too (if I enjoyed them the first time).

I have been known to go to the library and randomly choose books to borrow, without regard for subject or author. There is nothing like broadening your reading horizons!

I am also collecting children's books for my child (and his yet to be born siblings).

I love to read and I can create sentences without using any abbreviations of acronyms.

I read between a book a day and a book a week. I have had difficulties at work because sometimes I send people running for the dictionary to look up words I find pretty elementary. Until recently, Every wall in the master bedroom was lined with full book cases (Now they are mostly in my office, with just a few left in the bedroom). There's even a book in my avatar.

I generally purchase between $10 and $100 of books in a month, averaging around $30. The big problem is that my favorite authors are dead, so they don't publish much any more.

i have two bookstore ladies that know me by my authors...get in there at least once a week...went to school with one of them and she still calls me by the last author i bought...

I read every night in bed.
Besides the books we buy at our local sellers, I buy from Amazon and two bookclubs that I'm a member of that have online services.

I wish I could live in a library or bookstore. :)

Although I havn't had much time since college started, I love to read.
I love collecting them almost as much.

There's a bookstore in the airport I'm in every week, and I swear I had read everything there was to read, so I saw someone else do it a few weeks earlier, just walk into the store, and say to them -- tell me what to read - -just pick a book and I'll read it - -I've done that approach a bunch of times - and have gotten some great books out of it, stuff I normally wouldn;t have chosen to read.

I love to read and always have a book with me...

I used to read a lot more than I do now... I was reading at least a book a week, usually more. Now its more like one a month, and I hate it. Im thinking Im gonna make myself read for at least an hour every day to get back into it.

*Sigh*... I hate not having time to read anymore.

I read when ever I could, haven't read much recently though. The fucked up thing is my "friend" makes fun of me because I enjoy reading, what an ass....

I read about 50 books last year during college, none during the summer (it's summer!)
and I'm starting back up again. Hopefully I'll finish the 15 I have up here before
Thanksgiving... Starting to get lazy with the reading.

And yes, it is sad that most people don't have a very large vocabulary, they can't
spell, can't use proper sentence structure (although I'm sure I even have flaws there)
and the fact that people are losing their minds because of the Internet.

If you read *most* of my posts here at TFP, they're all long, and... well, long. There's
just so much to say, how can you hold back!? Whatever happened to the good old
two hour debates of old... =( I'm just lucky my best friend back home reads alot, too.

I love reading! When I was in my last years of high school I didn't read much, partly because there was so much work to do, and partly because I couldn't find anything good. I broadened my horizons soon afterwards and now I read as much as I can.

The last books I can remember reading:
'And The Ass Saw The Angel' by Nick Cave
'Being Dead' by Jim Crace
'The Old Man and the Sea' by Hemingway
'The Catcher in the Rye' by JD Salinger
'Death of a Salesman' by Arthur Miller
'On The Beach' by Nevil Shute
'The Company' by Arabella Edge
'Evolution's Captain' by Peter Nichols
'Perfume' by Patrick Suskind

At the moment I'm reading 'Brother of Sleep' by Robert Schneider but I'm not totally into it. I'll finish it though.

I used to read a book a week when I was a kid, and usually pretty thick, adult books too. Reading when you'e a kid does all sorts of good things. Your vocabulary is increased a hundred times more than other kids', your spelling ability goes up, your imagination gets a good workout, you learn to entertain yourself. The benefits of reading when you're young are countless.

When, or if, I have children, I'll be reading to them every night, and they're going to be the best readers in the world. I hope they have a great appreciation for it. I thank my parents for it, they are big readers too and the house is lined with bookshelves, full of every kind of book you can imagine. The bookshelves are even in alphabetical order, in their own sections!

When I'm not actually attending a school, I love to read. But with the advent of being in college, other that the books I must read.. I really don't read much unless I'm bored or need to do something to pass time.

In way I would say that it is on it's way out slowly, but much like the art of photography... there will ALWAYS be film.. because a digital camera can NEVER match up to the amount of information contained on film... no matter how many megapixels it may be, there will ALWAYS be film. As I believe there will always be books and no lack of hand-written communication.

People who love to read are blessed with the ability to learn, imagine and feel. Please find a copy of this book and read it. "Guns, Germs, and Steel; The Fates of Human Societies". Written by Jared Diamond. His theses is an eyeopener.

I read an enormous amount and this is the best book that I have read since college's "Amerian Lit".

The vast majority of the world love their news and information in bite sized chunks. It's easier to remember and easier to digest. This is the same cadre who download e-books or listen to audio tapes of books in their cars because they just can't be bothered taking a few minutes out of their day to actually pick up a book.

Not that there aren't merits to audio books. Just thought I'd head that one off before someone gets something stuck in their craw.

I don't think books will every really go away. A book is solid. You can feel it, manipulate it, smell it (Yes, there is something magical about the smell of a really old book :) ) It's like you can feel the intent of the writer and the passages of time with every careful turn of a faded yellow page. I get goosebumps. I take full advantage of the local library, both public and campus, and donate as much as I can, be it time or money, because it isn't a real labor at all.

Newspapers will fall, cable news will continue the downward spiral, and media conglomerates will continue to push the agenda of their owners with a callous smirk on their faces, but books.....are books. To be read, to be digested and above all, to be enjoyed.

I haven't read a book in a while (as in actually read through it) but I think many stores are leaving largely because of the ease of buying it online..

Going on eBay or Amazon I can literally find any book I need at a very cheap price compared to stores out there now... and its convenient though you have to wait. If I can't wait, i'd probably go to the store.

It seems odd that Stephen King would lament about the internet when he was the first author to release a new work strictly through internet downloads.

I almost never buy my books at a brick-and-mortar store, but rather order them online.

I am always on the lookout for good books to read. I've got a queue of about 10 books waiting right now, so I should probably stop purchasing more, at least for a while :)

There will always be a demand for books... but unfortunately not everyone can (or wants to) permit themselves break out of their routine and squeeze some reading time in.

I read anatomy and statistics books today, does that count?

One one book with you? I keep a book bag with me, with a couple of different things in it. And I recently re-subscribed to Asimov's, though as of last night, I'm thinking my original reason for dropping them still applies. I hope the new main editor changes the magazine for the better.

I have three paperbacks in the pack I commute with to make certain that I never run out of something to read on the bus. I'm usually reading two books, on the bus and on at home. Hell, I'm a writer. I read all day long.

I, too, doubt that books will disappear. But the number of people able to make use of them except as kindling is decreasing in the US.

Literacy is decreasing rapidly as verbal language diverges from the written. It's becoming a cultural separator, a class dividing line. The literate will become an over-class of people able to keep records and read instructions. While those who are not able to read will become a permanent underclass, an immense waste of humanity possibility.

I don't think that dead-tree-format literature is going anywhere anytime soon, but for sure the distribution system has changed. As much as I love my local bookstores (and I do love them!), they just can't touch the scope and reach of big-box bookstores (B&N, Borders, etc) or online vendors (the 500-lb gorilla of All Things E-Commerce, Amazon).

There's also a whole world of new literary and artistic media being created all the time, much of it using the Internet. Online serials and novels are largely replacing the classics as popular reading. I went through a phase where if I couldn't carry the book I was reading on my laptop, I wouldn't read it. Ultimately, the immediacy and portability of the trade paperback proved the deciding factor.

I had an E-Book for a while, and used it a lot (not even sure if they're still around) It was great because I could carry around 15-20 books at once without breaking my back -- but I couldn't take it into the bathtub, and there's not a lot of satisfaction to next paging without turning a page --plus the backlight was killing my eyesight. (plus e-books got expensive, it was 10-20 dollars for a book, that I couldn't resell if I wanted to)

I like curling up with a book, and turning pages, and skipping ahead -- I like the smell ofa new book, and the first crack of the binding..

"The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who cannot read them" -- Mark Twain

I must say I like to pick it up and read a few pages before buying. You can see the size of the text, how many pages etc. which you can't get from an online store. I hate to order something, and only read the first few pages cause it sucked - I usually read those pages before leaving the library/bookstore :)

I'm one who much prefers having it on paper.

I need the tactility, and the ability to curl up on the sofa/in bed with it.

I *prefer* real bound books, but i also enjoy the ease of getting eBooks, and will print them out for reading.

I work at a Barnes and Noble store and I have yet to see a significant decline in sales - with school starting the sales are probably going up.

Back in highschool I used to devour books, I'd go through a 500 page book in a few days. With my full time work and full time school schedule I'm lucky if I can manage to read 25 pages a day. It's a shame because I can borrow almost any book in the store free of charge...

I'm trying to turn things around so I'm reading 2 books at a time:

Dostoevsky's "The Adolescent"
Kalle Lasn's "Culture Jam" (as recomended by several people in the philosophy board)

I share the same sentiments with those who'd much rather have the real book in their hands.

I can't stop reading. Never have been able to. Last year I think I spent more at Borders than I did at the bars, and thats saying a lot for a college student in a big city.

Lately I've been putting in a good 2-3 hours minimum a day, but that will slack once tests start up again, which is like next week. :( I'd rather read than study.

I have to be reading something. I can't just sit down and not read.

Books and music are necessities for me. Can't live without em.

I don't think a week has gone by in the last 30 years that I have not read for pleasure.

The bookstore situation in Indianapolis is better now than at any other time in my life. The small bookstores in the malls still exist, and we now have lots of large bookstores all around town.

There are certainly a lot more things that compete with peoples time, but I thikn the bookstore situation is great.

Even with an assload of classes to bust through, I still read for pleasure. Hell, reading for pleasure loosens me up to reading for study. I also think everyone here should try to remember to encourage their (future) children to read. Don't shove it down their throats, just give'em a taste of the good stuff and let'em go on their own after that.

Nothing beats a good ol fashion book.


For some reason book stores are so appealing to me, I surely hope they all don't dissappear.

I do spend alot of the time on the net that I used to spend reading for pleasure, but I still read 10-12 books a year. I buy most of my books at Sam's Club at a nice discount compared to the stores. I also use the local library several times a year when I am looking for a specific book.

I read everyday, right now I'm 750 pages into Atlas Shrugged, and I have another 1000+ page book waiting for me.

Nope, no books here.

I do purchase books online, occasionally, but there is something about the scent of a bookstore, especially the small stores that are the purveyors of used books. Bookstores are my holy places, places where I can go and lose myself in the worship of the written word. I collect the works of the authors I love, and I am compulsive regarding finding new things to read.

I always have a book with me. I've ruined more than one purse trying to shove a book in it that's too big. I've gone through more book covers than purses even... I read at red lights, I read on lunch breaks, I read at my husband's bar.

I just went back to school, majoring in English, with a goal of obtaining a master's degree in education, so that I can share my obsession with others. *grins* Not that high school students in general are interested in my compulsion to read, but hopefully I can inspire a few to cultivate a love of books of their own.

Bryn

I read all the time, usually sci/fi or fantasy or a mix. I don't go to the book store much cause I'm usually broke,but I have collected so many books, that I can read them again and it seems like I'm reading them for the first time because it's been so long since I read them the first time.

Why Bother?
 

Well, if reading skills go down, it's a direct result of less necessity of reading in society. In that respect, it makes perfect sense. If human beings didn't communicate through writing, people would never develop reading skills in the first place. Now, william, I know you want everyone to realize how smart you are because you're well read. But the fact remains that people read because it was an essential part of becoming a member of society. If it's not, then people won't. And if you disagree with me, let me ask you this: why don't you read, say, hieroglyphics(sp?)? Because it's not important.

Unfortunately, now that I have the computer/internet, I don't read as much. I don't really have any time or privacy to lay down and read a good book. I'd rather be on the computer talking to nwlinkvxd anyway.

I'm collecting quite a library of books. I don't have enough shelf space for them all. My goal it to aquire ALL the Caldicott and Newberry Medal winners. Lots of others on my list as well.

I don't find near as much time anymore but that's mostly since I'm with kids all the time and no quiet to concentrate on a book. I love reading in the car on trips though.