kctipton writes “Here’s a NYTimes.com article dated July 8 stating, in part,
The survey, called “Reading at Risk,” is based on data from “The Survey of Public Participation in the Arts,” conducted by the Census Bureau in 2002. Among its findings are that fewer than half of Americans over 18 now read novels, short stories, plays or poetry; that the consumer pool for books of all kinds has diminished; and that the pace at which the nation is losing readers, especially young readers, is quickening. In addition it finds that the downward trend holds in virtually all demographic areas.
There are some other fascinating tidbits in the article. Hurry, only available for 7 days before it’s archived on the site.”
Another link to a very similar story
This is also based on the Reading at Risk report
The Corner…
has a couple of interesting posts on this today under the heading “You’re Not Reading This”. Scroll up for the 2nd one.