Since i can remember i loved reading books. It didn’t matter whether they
were crime novels, science-fiction, fantasy or a manual published by Microsoft.
I just devoured them. Nowadays, as my taste in books matured i prefer a good
thriller or crime sitting in front of a fireplace with a glass of red wine (unfortunately,
i often have to give up on that fireplace thing because i live in a flat).
Although i still sometimes use traditional books, most of my reading is done on
Amazon Kindle. Not only can i have hundreds of them stored in the memory, it
weighs less and occupies less space than paperback editions. Also i can order
what i want via Internet and start reading in seconds, it doesn’t matter if i’m
at home or I’m commuting to work, i can download them anywhere.
What really saddens me is that in today’s world not everyone sees books as
something worth spending time on. In a recently published study done by the
National Library(1), during the previous year, only 38% of our country’s
population read any book at all! That’s only 14 million of people in Poland who
read any book at all!
If we go further, we will find that only mere 9% of our population read at least 7 books! 
When trying to pin down the cause of such a horrendous statistics naturally
a couple of points spring to mind:
1) It requires time : It is so much easier to see a 2 hour movie and get
the same essence of the story than to read an entire book which can take
days (or if a book is long and time is sparse - weeks).
2) It requires brains : It is far less intellectually challenging to see something
in a movie than to understand and imagine what an author meant through words.
3) Ease of access : Books are just not that accessible. To see a movie
or a TV show you just need to turn on your TV or your laptop, whereas
a new book you usually need to buy from (either a store or Amazon or wherever).
Yes, you can download it on your Kindle, but electronic forms of reading are
still not that popular.
4) The social aspect : Reading books is essentially a solitary activity
(yes I know there are book clubs, but most people read books alone).
Going to the movies, watching a TV show with your family are social activities.
- Do you read books and if yes, how many (on average) per year, can you consider
yourself a “reading elite”?
- Do you think our society is on a crash course to becoming non-reading and
therefore slowly becoming illiterate with language becoming less developed
with each generation?
- What do you think would be a good way to encourage people to reach for a book and
give it a try?
- What in your opinion are the main causes of such low reading population number?
- http://www.bn.org.pl/w-bibliotece/3413-38%25-polakow-czyta-ksiazki.html
Do you read books and if yes, how many (on average) per year, can you consider yourself a “reading elite”?
ReplyDelete– Yes, I read books quite often. I would say I read 10-20 book a year. Such a score means I'm in these 9% people who read at least 7 book a year.
Do you think our society is on a crash course to becoming non-reading and therefore slowly becoming illiterate with language becoming less developed with each generation?
– No, I don't think we are on crash course. I don't spot any radical depletion in number of people reading books. In my opinion it's hard to count such a number therefore it not completely reilable. I have periods when I read for example 6 books in a month, but I have only periods when I read 0 book for half a year.
What do you think would be a good way to encourage people to reach for a book and give it a try?
– Hard to say. In my opinion choosing a good book as first book helps. So maybe help such a people to choose first book.
What in your opinion are the main causes of such low reading population number?
– I would say the way reading is perceived. It's not a cool thing to do. I honestly can't remember when someone asked me what I have read lastly. In opposite I can hear quite often questions about some cool movie to watch.
Thank you for your input. Congratulations on being in the "elite" group :)
DeleteI must say i don't have these periods of reading/non-reading. I can't remember when there was no book waiting for me to read.
I have read non-stop in the past. as soon as I had free time, I reached for the next title. And reading improved my mood. In the past I had more time. I had to go to school, clean the room and sometimes walk the dog. Now? When I get back from work, I'll do some shopping, prepare dinner, clean up, go out for a walk twice with the dog ... Time and energy is getting less and less..
ReplyDeleteNow I'm trying to choose a book, not netflix. But I read over 7 books for sure each year.
The problem with reading is related to concentration difficulties. And reading is an effort. In my opinion people need
calm and focus and an interesting book. I talk more often with friends about series than books.
Recently, the series began to win. They are no longer cheap productions, with local actors.
I totally agree with concentration difficulties having huge impact on understanding what the person read. I myself can't read in public transport because of surroundings and to not miss my stop (happened a couple of times in the past :) ).
DeleteDo you read books and if yes, how many (on average) per year, can you consider yourself a “reading elite”?
ReplyDeleteI read books, it depends as those I read and more educational so you come back to them, think about them. Bit hard to say how many, I would say above the average. Also own Kindle and that is one of my favorite gadgets as it makes reading so easy anywhere you are. I don’t think I’m reading elite but can really dig in a new series from good author.
Do you think our society is on a crash course to becoming non-reading and therefore slowly becoming illiterate with language becoming less developed with each generation?
I don’t believe that is happening. It changes. For example so many people read the books after they watch the movie that is based on the novel. I think it just varies and many books people read. In my family there was always something new to read and many of my friends are reading a lot as well.
What do you think would be a good way to encourage people to reach for a book and give it a try?
It reduces your stress a lot. Fills your head with new information that is verified. It extends your vocabulary. It’s sexy. It improves your memory. Improves your focus and concentration.
What in your opinion are the main causes of such low reading population number?
Like you mentioned the problem could be in accessibility. It is much easier to binge watch something on Netflix rather than spend some time with book. It is not that easy to just read a book by just staring at it. You have to connect facts yourself and imagine things, not just see them.
Good points with multiple ways to encourage people to reach for a book :) Unfortunately i can't agree with the point that it improves memory - mine is awful and i read a lot :) but i totally agree that it improves focus and concentration. I would also add that it has a positive effect on attention span too
ReplyDelete1.I read so. However, this is not a large number of books a year. I don't have time to read. This is sad but true.
ReplyDelete2.It seems to me that it's not that bad. People read books less often or more often. I think it depends on the amount of free time. Of course, there are also people who have never read anything but there are far fewer of them than the readers.
3.It is difficult to encourage people to read if I read only a little. I don't want to be a hypocrite.
4.People don't have time. They are tired of work and instead of concentrating on the book, they prefer to relax in front of the TV.
I can't agree with you. It is bad. only 38% read anything at all! In this survey one could say they read anything if he/she even browsed the book, one didn't have to read, just browse!
DeleteDo you read books and if yes, how many (on average) per year, can you consider yourself a “reading elite”?
ReplyDeleteI read about 12 to 16 books per year. Half of them are directly related to my fields of interest, through. Unfortunately I don't have enough time to read for pleasure. I used to read more entertainment books when I was younger.
Do you think our society is on a crash course to becoming non-reading and therefore slowly becoming illiterate with language becoming less developed with each generation?
Is there even a research that prove this statement? Or at least that the number of book readers is significantly decreasing every few years? What about the number of readers in general? I think people still read a lot just not necessarily books.
What do you think would be a good way to encourage people to reach for a book and give it a try?
Make a good movie based on a book series. Include only one volume. There is a chance will read the book to find out what happens next... :)
What in your opinion are the main causes of such low reading population number?
Reading books is time consuming and the fun part don't kick in right away. It also require more effort than simply watching a tv show or a movie.
Biblioteka Narodowa is performing such research. In the link i provided as source there is mentioned that after decline between years 2004-2008 amount of reading people stabilised at about 40%.
DeleteClever idea on how to encourage people to read. However i think Hollywood wouldn't pass that chance to make money :)
Well, if the amount of readers did actually stabilized then I think it is a bit over the top to claim that the society will become illiterate. Still it is a pity that such small percentage of people read books.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI read books, but I have tendency to read the book only partly from one page to the last. Sometimes I find a book which are very interesting for me and I read almost everything. When I base on your statistics I’m a reading elite and I’m proud of it! I often see ad about CEO’s of big companies and this ad is abut reading books by CEO’s. Ad present that every CEO’s read at lest one book for a year. It’s not a big number, I think it’s very little but statistic doesn’t lay! I think that our society is on crash course to becoming non-reading and we us a society becoming illiterate. It’s because of the fast and quick development of technology. I don’t feel to be obligatory to try convince to people to read books. It’s normal that people try to spent their time like they want and some of them prefer book, some films.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't dare to force reading books on anyone because that is not the point of it :) however i think there should be a campaign encouraging reading
DeleteDo you read books and if yes, how many (on average) per year, can you consider yourself a “reading elite”?
ReplyDeleteYes, I read quite a lot, I think I can say 20+. Mainly because I mostly chose books with quick action that are pleasant to read :). I also have, like the person above, periods of very intense reading, periods of reading nothing and peroids of reading lots of comics. What really made me used to reading a lot is a well equipped library that is just next to my house. They systematically buy books and you can even suggest on their site what books you wish they have, and it's possible that they will buy it!
Do you think our society is on a crash course to becoming non-reading and therefore slowly becoming illiterate with language becoming less developed with each generation?
I don't think so. There is possible, that number of reading people will grow as people will get a better education or have more free time. At worse case, it will stay at the same level.
What do you think would be a good way to encourage people to reach for a book and give it a try?
For me, best encouragement were parents and great library near house. I also notice that people who normally don't read will reach for book if it's very popular. Like "Twilight" - not the best example, but the point still stands.
What in your opinion are the main causes of such low reading population number?
Reading has been always some kind of luxury - luxury of education, free time, enough money to spend on pleasures and - something that was problematic for me - a lot of places for books in your flat or house.
Thank you or your comment. I totally agree that parents and the way we were raised have huge impact on what books and how many we read.
DeleteI'd like to have a "library" in home with lots of my favourite books but it's just not practical anymore. It's easier to download and read on Kindle or any other e-reader :)
You know, there were days when only few percent of people could read.. so it's not so bad at all. You can't demand from people to read books. Not everyone likes it neither consider it as fun. You can't demand from people to do it. I wouldn't judge people on this basis also - someone who reads 15 harlequins a year isn't more inteligent from someone who doesn't read at all - because he prefers movies.
ReplyDeleteI myself have read this year only three books so far and just started a fourth one.
I wouldn't dare to demand from anyone to read any books, we live in a free country after all (well... sometimes less free than we would like). I agree that reading the same book over and over again is near pointless. You don't learn anything new and i'm sure the fun you would gain from it would diminish over time
DeleteDo you read books and if yes, how many (on average) per year, can you consider
ReplyDeleteyourself a “reading elite”?
My kind of book is "technically materials" looks funny but for me there's nothing more interesting like some service manual for car or other petrol engine thing.
If we can agree that this is book i'm pretty sure that I can join "reading elite"
Do you think our society is on a crash course to becoming non-reading and
therefore slowly becoming illiterate with language becoming less developed
with each generation?
Yes ! I'm sure about it. The problem comes from internet and all "picture" information, tutorials etc. People start to be lazy and they don't want to read at all !
What do you think would be a good way to encourage people to reach for a book and give it a try?
I don't have any solution for it :(
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete1. When I have some spare time for myself, I like to read books just to relax and rest. I usually read several books a year during holidays or when I am sick. This year probably this number will be bigger due to my master's thesis.
ReplyDelete2. I do not think that in the past the number of people reading the books was greater, because access to knowledge was much more limited. Now it’s easier to gain knowledge thanks to the Internet and the opportunities it brings. I don’t think that we are becoming less developed with each generation.
3. First of all, we should solve the problem of overtime and overwork. I like the idea of open-air libraries being created in some parks, where books are stored in tree trunks. It is based on the idea of bookcrossing, or exchange of books and mutual trust. You can take literature that someone else stored, and after reading put it back on it’s place. It is also advisable to leave something from your own collection. People who have free time come to parks to relax. Combining this with reading books is a fantastic idea.
4. I think that one of the reasons for the low reading population number is that we work a lot and we have too many responsibilities. Work 8 hours a day is in many cases a myth. Most of my friends have overtime and when they come home they simply do not have the time and power to read books. There are weekends left, but this time we usually devote to catch up with overdue matters, family or social meetings, cleaning, shopping and so on.
Great idea with storing books in tree trunks, i've never seen it in real world but i have heard of it.
DeleteI agree, overtime is a big concern and i admit i sometimes am too exhausted to even reach for a book.
1. Unfortunately I haven't got enough time to read. Maybe because I have dog and I prefer to spend time with him. But it is changing. Few years ago I read maybe one or two books per year. Now it is something about 8. So now I not belonging to that elite, but maybe in 2019? :)
ReplyDelete2. I agree with it. Many people not reading books at all. I belonged to that group few years ago. It was because I don't like reading school books. So probably that it is reason why people don't like read books. On the other hand I know person who decided to challenge himself. He decided to read 49 books last year. He made it ;)
3. It's hard to say. I think that i belongs with age. If you are older you read more.
4. Time is changing. We have more entertainment. 50 years ago we haven't got Internet or TV, so we read more books :D
I agree that age and the type of books is a big thing! I remember i hated reading school books like "Pan Tadeusz" or "Nad Niemnem". I think it is also caused because we were not allowed to enjoy them, we had to analyze tiniest bits to know "what the author had in mind" which in my opinion is just stupid!
DeleteNowadays i think i might give them a second chance and try to enjoy some of school books :)
Do you read books and if yes, how many (on average) per year, can you consider yourself a “reading elite”?
ReplyDeleteThat's quite embarrasing, but I read few books per year. That's because of lack of time and also reading makes me nervous, I have a lack of patience in case of reading.
Do you think our society is on a crash course to becoming non-reading and therefore slowly becoming illiterate with language becoming less developed with each generation?]
I don't think so, maybe that can be a problem in future, but for now I don't concern it as a threat. We still have enough reading sources to prevent our population from being illiterate. Maybe in future when voice processing and other voice-tech branches will develop this can be a threat.
What do you think would be a good way to encourage people to reach for a book and give it a try?
Maybe some book fairs and wider offer book industry? I can't really say because reading is just annoying for me. That's not my way of relaxing or a good plan for a day :)
What in your opinion are the main causes of such low reading population number?
First of all a development of other ways of entertainment. Movies, games are far more interesting and less brain depended. Also we live in a fast world and people like me just can't get relaxed, they have to be busy all the time, so when you try to pull them out of that world of work - study - sleep, they just can't. It's very sad, that the world turned in that way, but we have to be inside society somehow so we have to work hard. So when you are after work, you just want something stupid to do, just to give your brain a break. But that's just my opinion, anyway I try to be better reader than I am now :)
Thank you for your honest answer :) Nothing to be embarassed about if reading books is not your thing no-one will force you to do it and no-one should expect you to enjoy it.
DeleteI also enjoy playing games but lately i see that i'm getting bored faster and faster and find myself on the couch reading book :)
I can’t name myself as a reading elite because I know people who reads much more than me. But it’s funny that I can be a part of just 9 percent of Poland’s population while I thought that I’m reading that small. I’ve never counted how many books I’ve read during a year because some of them are like “thing to forget” others were nothing special and only few was memorable stories. But I think that it’s at least 7 per year. Are the people are going to stop reading books at all? I don’t know. My case can prove that someone who always have problem with finding time to read anything can be the part of such small group who reads more than 7 books a year. Also, lot of my friends are book moles. I think that problem of decreasing number of readers I caused by education system. In primary school they forced us to read “boring” books for persons in that period of life. It takes me a lot of time to try find out book which I can stick to for more than reading the title site. If someone in school shows me entertaining book for young lad, reading would become my natural habit a way earlier.
ReplyDeleteExactly! I think that in school we are forced to read books we don't (yet) understand and because of that we can't really enjoy them and that causes a lot of people to be discouraged from reading books for a long time or not even a lifetime :)
DeleteI read a lot of books. However, the books I read are related to the subject of programming. I do not read dramas or thrillers as I find them particularly boring. I have a great app installed on my smartphone that helps me read books. The software features a blue light filter and the option to add notes. I try to use every spare moment to read books, including on my way to work or when I'm waiting for the train. I think I am able to read 300 pages per month. I do not consider myself a member of the readership elite as the topics of the books I read aren't particularly diverse. On the Warsaw underground, one can notice many people who are reading books. The Polish language is evolving but the current development results in its simplification. I think we should do more to promote reading books, encourage to read, the lack of such actions is the reason for few people reading books nowadays.
ReplyDeleteIt is sad, because from year to year I read less books, I would like to change it, but I have the impression that, by the development of social media I limit reading books because I am covered with information.
ReplyDeleteI think people are encouraging real benefits. A good campaign with celebrities connecting with a social family could encourage people to reach for books. The second idea is the possibility of publishing in the contents of sponsored link posts with the possibility of downloading a sample of the book
I believe that with the growing network and the digitalization of life, language is changing.
ReplyDeleteQ.1.Do you read books and if yes, how many (on average) per year, can you consider yourself a “reading elite”?
Q.2.Do you think our society is on a crash course to becoming non-reading and therefore slowly becoming illiterate with language becoming less developed with each generation?
Q.3.What do you think would be a good way to encourage people to reach for a book and give it a try?
Q.4.What in your opinion are the main causes of such low reading population number?
A.1.I rarely read books because I do not have much time for them though I try to read something from time to time. And from some time I also find reading boring. Maybe it sounds silly but it is true - it is hard for me to find nowadays an intelligent, stimulating brain good, deep, matural book.
But instead of reading books most often I read some elaborations and various texts in internet, or watch different speaches, lectures and tutorials via YouTube. I think they are a substitute for books in present times in a big part and sometimes better source of knowledge.
A.2.I think it is possible but I don't have such pessimistic look in this matter. Such people have been existed in a past and will be in a future, as well as those eloquent and educated. I think the biggest enemy to being such one is mainstream 'poop-culture' which makes mass off people a little dumb...
A.3.I think it would be some really good book. Maybe if reading would become trendy it would help also a lot ;P
A.4.Partially I already answered this question before. I think those are: little free time, not many good books, other substitutes for books as internet, movies etc., nowadays mainstream which makes people more and more foolish.