Fiction Reading Is Increasing For Adults

An article in The New York Times stopped me from scrolling too fast on the Internet the other day. The article by Motoko Rich was published in January (I'm slow with my reading, but I am
reading).
Rich said, "...the National Endowment for the Arts says in a report that it now believes a quarter-century of precipitous decline in fiction reading has reversed." Well, HURRAH!
In 2002 the literary reading rate among adults in the U.S. was 46.7 percent. In 2008 it increased to 50.2 percent. Literary reading refers to the reading of any novels, short stories, poems or plays in print or online.
Four years ago the endowment released the report "Reading at Risk," which showed that fewer than half of Americans over 18 read novels, short stories, plays or poetry.
In each survey since 1982 the data did not differentiate between those who read several books a month and those who read only one poem. Nor did the surveys distinguish between those who read the complete works of Proust or Dickens and those who read one Nora Roberts novel or a single piece of fan fiction on the
Internet.
Dana Gioia is the chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts. It's under his leadership the NEA spearheaded "The Big Read," a program in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Sciences and Arts Midwest to encourage communities to champion the reading of particular books, like "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald and "Their Eyes Were Watching God" by Zora Neal
Hurston.
So, Mr. Gioia has attributed the increase in literary reading to community-based programs like "The Big Read," Oprah Winfrey's book club, the huge popularity of book series like "Harry Potter" and Stephenie Meyer's "Twilight," as well as the individual efforts of teachers, librarians, parents, and civic leaders to create "a buzz around literature that's getting people to read more in whatever medium."
The NEA report was broken down into various groups - Hispanic Americans (the group where reading increased the most), whites, men 18 and older, and women. At the same time the survey found that the proportion of adults who said they had read any kind of a book, fiction or nonfiction, that was not required for work or school actually declined slightly since 2002, 54.3 percent from 56.6 percent.
Patricia Schroeder, president of the Association of American Publishers, suggested that some people might not count the reading they do online or even on electronic readers like the Kindle as "book" reading.
And Jim Rettig, president of the American Library Association, said that the 2008 data would not reflect a recent uptick (that's a new word for me) in the circulation of libraries. He also said that as the economy has soured, "people are discovering that you don't have to spend anything to read a book if you have a library card."
Now...haven't I been telling you that all along?
But let me also tell you that if you don't have a library card and (for some reason) don't want one (I can't imagine why), there are books here at the library for a quarter or a dollar. Good books, great reads, good finds. Very inexpensive!!!
So, you really don't have a good excuse not to read, do you?
(Source: The New York Times, 01/11/2009, Motoko Rich)