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The loss of literacy for enjoyment

Dameon

Dameon

Star
Joined
Jul 7, 2010
Location
Quebec, Canada
I've noticed more and more lately that people seem to associate reading with work and fact checking more than for enjoyment. I suppose it's easy to forget that the majority of the world barely reads when you spend a lot of time online with people who read, write and generally enjoy the use of the written word, that in reality, we are the minority.

I was in a friend's house in town, someone I had met through the College, and noticed they had a bookshelf. I thumbed through a few pages of a Terry Pratchett book they had because I'd enjoyed his Discworld series. I asked them if they'd enjoyed the book and they'd never read it. I asked why they had it, and they just shrugged.

I thought about how many people I'd met that had books that were most likely never read. Used as accessories, conversation starters, or at best, things to have around while they were sitting on the toilet with nothing to do. I wondered how many people had started books and just stopped part way through because they were bored, or got distracted, or whatever. It seems that in today's society, reading isn't really for enjoyment for the majority of the population, at least not in terms of creative literature.

The majority of it seems to be for work, and I guess that makes it associated with something most people don't exactly find enjoyable. I even spoke to a teacher about what I was interested in doing, and I'd made note of English Literature. "So you want to be a teacher?" was their response. It kind of surprises me how far back on the chain of thought creative writing's become.

Do you guys feel the same way? That writing and reading for the enjoyment of it has become as uncommon as say...painting?
 
I've noticed something similar and would have to agree that it does seem like reading as a pastime has dwindled in recent years. I've been trying to get a friend of mine to read this fantasy series I'm crazy about and they're more than interested in the plot and have plenty of sitting around time with which to tackle the books. But they refuse to pick them up, acting as if it were a chore or a cerebral activity that required more than what one would use for reading role-plays on a forum. We even had the power go out for half a day one time and rather than lose themselves in these books, they sat around and moped and eventually slept even though they weren't tired, just bored.

I also knew a person who couldn't sit still or tackle any form of writing that didn't have smut in it. Kinda takes the whole "reading for pleasure" thing to a literal level.
 
I think people have access to a lot more different ways of taking in stories these days. I mean, look at video games: you've got an interactive story right there. Books are generally more passive. In VG's, you are often controlling some flow of the action, sometimes even creating the whole story (The Sims, Morrowind). TV shows and movies offer more and immediate stimulus than books what with motion and sound and colours.

I know I get a lot of my reading quota filled from either work/school or social networking. So folks are still reading, they just might not be reading books all that often, but I'm not sure that's true, as I see a lot of people forking over money for Kindles and nooks. I don't think it's uncommon, reading for pleasure. It's just, you know, the sort of things we're reading might be changing.

PS: English lit is pretty boring and I don't know what you'd do with it for creative writing.
 
I would have to agree with Kawamura's observation; the alternatives that are provided these days have allowed people to have access to other forms of entertainment. In moderation, I feel that television, video games, and the Internet can all benefit and even enhance personal creativity. On the downside, it could be suggested that America specifically has become a nation that places a lot of emphasis on speed in terms of many things: fast food, fast cars, fast Internet access (Thought I might say fast women, didn't you? Ha!), so our ability to get things done quickly could be thought to have resulted in many of us turning our attentions away from hobbies and entertainment that requires too much time to accomplish.

Children of the video game era notably have lost more and more interest in reading, writing, or even playing "pretend" games outside sadly enough. As a child I concocted many fantasies when left to my own resources, but I have observed in the majority of the children I tutor that there is a general lack of enthusiasm in approaching reading or creative writing (with actual grammar and spelling rather than the text speak), and a rise in poor vocabulary, spelling, grammar, and reading comprehension. It's disconcerting, but more and more the "cool" thing to do is to simply avoid anything associated with learning or education, as reading and writing do often fall into that category I worry that our future generation of "authors" will leave us with books full of text speak and characters even worse than the "sparkling vampire."
 
Most people I know who don't read (practically never) say this:

"Why should I read when I can watch a movie or play a video game? I don't have to put any real effort into it."

Or.

"I already read for school."

But I've found that mostly my guy friends speak that way, as well as my female friends. Very few of them actually pick up a book because it looks interesting when movies have taken such a dive into 'what's enjoyable.'

I think some people are just lazy while some actually can't read very well or very fast and get easily frustrated when someone says they read this book or that book in one sitting or in a few days and they have been reading it for a week. Sometimes it gets turned into a competition and most don't want to participate.
 
I think there is also a bit of "it's been done before" with this. Why read a book about a princess and prince falling in love? There are so many of those! Why read the myriad knock offs of vampires and humans falling in love? There is the ONE series you need to read. Even when the reading is "fun" it is later delegated as a chore. Why re-read a story to try and comprehend the meaning? You read it once. Or, the ever present "I don't want to read that; I'll wait for the movie line."

Now, I am sure this may not be as big of a culprit as just being too lazy to read. I also have to think that perhaps what is published in the majority may play a part. It seems that fewer risks are being taken these days (at least that is my hope for all of these damnable remakes of movies and books instead of sheer laziness) or fewer people want to get into visceral reading. I've taken to ordering several books online that have actually been made just a few cities over from me yet don't appear in bookstores around here that break this mold, the most recent one being Angel Dust Apocalypse. Sure, there are definitely ideas in there taken from other writers but made the artist's own. Yet this book is so much better than elf fighting orc book number 11,876 or princess captured by witch 8.9.
 
I think an issue could be that we aren't the target audience of what sells best.

Most of us aren't interested in the latest techno-thriller or harlequin romance.
 
What disturbs me about the rise of new media over novels is the potential reduction in empathy. When you're reading a novel, you're effectively listening to one person for hours on end, absorbing their modes of thought and their quirks. Some movies can pull this off, but there's no equivalent need to get into somebody else's head to enjoy a movie.

Video games are even worse - they give you agency and control, which is great in some respects, but isn't exactly a recipe for mutual understanding. These are generalizations, of course, but they're worrisome.
 
I am the very definition of the bibliophile, so I can ready almost anything and everything without losing interest (seriously, I even like reading my student textbooks often enough). Only a few plot devices turn me off, such as the accidental Mary Sue or Gary Stu, excessive fluff, and dime store smut I wouldn't even publish anonymously on a website. Personally, I do love the classics because they are normally among the FIRST to create plot devices that are recycled and butchered today by modern authors.

I don't expect everyone to share my reading interests, even as varied and massive as they tend to be. However, the increasing lack of interest in reading concerns me also. I have to wonder if some of it couldn't be a result of the inflexibility that can often be found in the English classes of our schools; kids unable to have any say what-so-ever in what they read or would like to read would, understandably, become a bit jaded towards the idea eventually. Of course, I also have to agree that the sedentary life-styles of the typical American has resulted in a sad case of laziness.
 
Also- there's a conflict of interest.

Most commercials want you to get out and do things- like participate in sports and exercise. But then they put on commercials saying to pick up a book and support your local library. A lot of kids choose one over the other because being physically active rather than lay around and read becomes more important with parents and teachers- unless they teach English.

Parents (not all) want their kids outside and playing with friends. But then if their kid is reading, they are impressed but also not too keen on them simply reading. So it creates conflict. Most kids can't find a balance between playing outside and reading when they are younger- so they pick going outside because that's where their friends are and parents encourage that because socializing is healthy. But reading is also healthy. So how do you balance that out with an energetic kid? It's probably something parents need to encourage like "go play, but you know, pick out a book to read later." Or something to that extent because I feel like the classics and a lot of good literature is being lost because of sports becoming so huge. I love sports, but I love reading as well.

I mean, some of my younger cousins that are under the age of fourteen don't know about Edgar Allan Poe or even really about any famous authors. I was learning about them in elementary school.
 
Probably doesn't help that we don't really have any famous authors of our own.

Most of the authors I appreciate are dead.
 
It was the same in my case, I was learning about the classics from an early age. In fact one way of maintaining a balance is by encouraging small children to watch programs targeted towards inspiring an interest in reading. Does anyone remember Wishbone or Reading Rainbow? As a child I watched those, and out of curiosity I often searched for the stories in the library. That's why I was reading classics like Phantom of the Opera, Poe, and Cyrano de Bergerac when I was young, and why I still enjoy reading most classic literature more than many contemporary authors.

If I were to name "famous" modern authors I would probably mention J.R.R. Tolkien, J.K. Rowling, and (unfortunately) Anne Rice, and Stephanie Meyer. The last two I feel drew far too much fame for capitalizing on an idea that wasn't strictly original or "theirs" in the full sense of the word (as an author I also cannot respect Anne Rice for her treatment of her fans), but they would be the most commonly recognized names by most today. The notable lack of "famous" authors could also be evidence of America's declining interest in reading, once authors were more recognized in society than they would appear to be now. Excellent writers like Diana Gabaldon or Nancy Springer are known by "the people who like to read," but you'll not find them mentioned in the media alongside television and movie stars.

Many authors and books do not receive fame until after the stories are turned into movies, and generally the movies butcher the stories so that fandoms become divided between the "true fans who read" and the "idiot fans who watched the movie and can't appreciate the story fully," so that fandoms become pretentious and unnecessarily dramatic. I have hopes that technology like the Kindle will revive some of the people's interest in reading, but personally I enjoy the ability to turn the pages of a book and collect them on a shelf. So I hope that technology doesn't turn us so far down the "Star Trek" path that books go in the way of the fading newspaper and vanish entirely.
 
There are some popular authors, like Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. There is also Kathrine Coulter (I believe) for mysteries and Janet Evanovich. While Evanovich may not write the best of literature, it is entertaining.

But Morosa is right, most often you do not hear of authors unless it is on some show where they are being interviewed about their book becoming a movie. Which is really what reminds me of Gaiman I suppose, who got quite a bit of press for Coraline and maybe Stardust but who has written so many great things. I hear he (and Pratchett) are more famous in Europe, but have nothing concrete to back that up with.

I believe that there ARE popular authors of our era, from the grand Gaiman to the flabbergasted Rice who acts a prat. Now, they just aren't getting much press. I believe all my irl friends can name those authors, but there are some who probably can't. Maybe they will become classics in their time as well.

I also have to say school gave me a gigantic loathing for Shakespeare. Because we read the same stories over and over and over. I personally would have preferred to read Gaiman or Evanovich or really something else. Hells, Hemingway! Something besides the damn same bastard over and over.
 
Some people just don't like books because of how weighty they can be, I suppose.

But I love the way a book smells and how the pages feel when I turn them. But that's probably because I love paper and ink.

But the modern authors aren't all that famous, which is unfortunate. Movies and media hold too much sway over people.
 
Requiem: NEW BOOK SMELL ROCKS.

Also: New USED book smell rocks, especially when they have been housed with other antique books. There was some book I had shipped from Australia and it had this bizarre used book smell (like mothballs and aged parchment and just SOMETHING else) and I've kept it separate from all my books just to be able to sniff it for the scent for a long time. >_>
 
That makes me think of the two used books I found in a bookstore I recently discovered. In fact I plan to return to it this weekend to trade some extra copies of books I have (people usually opt to give me books as gifts that know me, but I have a large collection and often get doubles and triples of the same book). Last weekend I discovered a used copy of poetry by the Bronte sisters, and "The Celtic Twilight: Fairy and Folklore" by W.B. Yeats. The first thing I found myself doing when I got back into the car was sniff the pages. In hindsight, it may have been wiser to wait until I wasn't in a crowded parking lot; people gave me the o_O kind of stares.
 
I wish you could too, I have far too few friends that truly love to read outside of the Internet. I've been tempted several times to join a book club, because any attempts to start a conversation about books with many of the people that I know in my location earns me blank stares. I love collecting and reading books, but it would be nice to discuss them and trade them with people of a mutual interest and appreciation.
 
I have a co-worker that I lend books to all the time.

Got him hooked on warhammer 40.000, Sharpe and Song of Ice and Fire. Not the most impressive of literature overall; but it sure is fun to share.

Then my Kushiel books have been loaned out to most everyone I know.

Wouldn't mind joining a book club; but I doubt my tastes would match up with them.
 
I swear we should do a BMR book club thingy and ship books to each other and then talk about it.

But that sounds expensive and awkward at the same time~
 
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