I know reading stats haven't necessarily gone down over the years (possibly even up), and it's a hard thing to track as it is, but I don't personally know many people who even read casually. What are your own circles like?
Hmm... honestly, for most of my friends and such, I really don't know, but I rarely hear anyone talk about what they're reading. And most of my friends who do read say that they can't or don't make as much time for it as they used to (I definitely fall into that camp myself). I do have two hardcore reader friends, one of whom is a writer herself, but they're the exception, not the rule.
I don't think anybody I know reads for pleasure. Wait, no, there is one guy who said he likes Steinbeck (everything but Grapes of Wrath). I only found that out when I told him I write. And I'm not sure if he still reads, or did when he was younger. I think between television, cell phones, and computers (intrenet/social media) oh, and video games, reading is pretty much squeezed out. Except when people are reading something on a screeen, and that's usually a tweet or a text message.
I used to think that reading is dead too. I thought that video games and the like are simply superior mediums to reading, but that's just not true. Reading evokes imagination and that's what I love about it. When I read, its like getting lost in a dream, and being in that world myself. That's the great part, and I like it better than today's digital media. Its so quiet, too. No noisy movie or video game. No stupid sound effects and visuals designed to grab your attention and manipulate your mind. Just blissful words and descriptions. So, is reading dead? When I was at the airport last year, I did a little experiment. I decided to find out whether people look at their phones more than they look at books. And you know what? There was a shocking amount of people that read books. Sure, more phones were out, but there were plenty of books too! This was a reassuring experience. Reading is not dead! The youth is obsessed with video games though, that part is true. And video games are very addicting. They're designed to provide you with reward, and that means constantly generating dopamine in your brain. When you are playing a first person shooter and you run around maps killing others and winning, that provides you with a lot of thrill. And that thrill is what you're addicted to. I'm part of the youth and I can attest to this. I played a lot of video games as a kid and it really wasn't healthy. I feel I could have done so much more with my time now. But video games aren't bad. They can be part of a healthy life-style. It's just that I was addicted to the rewarding experience they provided. I am grateful for some gaming moments though. Like when I was out in school trips with my DS and I played witlessly with others on the bus. That was worth it. These days I don't play much at all, and I avoid digital media like Netflix. I have a pile of books for the summer instead. Although lately I got back into a childhood game, Mario Kart Wii. It's fun but I limit it severely so I don't fall for the same trap. I just play it every once in a while, and its really nice that way. As long as I don't fall behind on my writing and reading.
My circle is varied. My mother reads a lot, my brother reads. Two of my three closest friends read (even gave them the fourth draft of my book), though one of them has started reading less fiction because he's studying. My girlfriend doesn't read much right now, but her mother reads a ton.
my mom and brother used to. My mom would read ALL THE TIME when i was growing up, then she stopped. She's very recently started getting into audio books, so i share a couple with her hoping they'd be of interest (the last 2 audiobooks i picked for her, she thoroughly enjoyed, lol!). My brother used to read the animal books (Redwall, Warriors, Nightwing, Guardians of Ga'Hoole, etc.), then jumped to manga. But he stopped when he hit high school. My dad and sister have never read for pleasure. My husband reads for pleasure-- Star Wars. Those are the only books I ever see him reading. He did take a break from them to listen to an audiobook i was listening to once. he said it caught his attention.
Everyone I'm close to reads. And I don't have any friends who play video games. In fact, a good amount of my friends (myself included) don't own a tv. But every single one of us has a library card and knows where the best bookstores are. I have a lot of writer friends and our reading tastes are similar, which is good because then we have people to talk to about the books we read. Most of the time we are reading and writing literary works. I'm sort of the only one who dips into genre a bit, but my last zombie story was published in a good and known literary journal. That surprised me a bit, but I'll take it. I think reading is important, and I'm not sure how much I would have in common with someone who flat out doesn't read.
A friend of mine does "read" for pleasure, in that they consume audiobooks. I don't know if that counts as reading.
I think it counts. It's consumption of literature. The rest is splitting hairs. I go through about a hundred audiobooks a year (sometimes a paper book or two as well.) I thought when I bumped up my titles per year from a handful to a ton, I'd have more to talk about. I do, but no one wants to hear it. I have a few friends who read some (or used to and got too busy or whatever,) but they're not reading what I'm reading for the most part. Now I'm that guy. Someone mentions a movie or show, and I have an opinion on the source material. People get tired, I think, of hearing me say, "Ooh, that was a good book." I try to at least not be the "the book was better" guy, because that's plain annoying.
My parents read mostly non fiction and my dad in particular only reads fiction that I write [] My siblings read for pleasure, and I obviously do as well Some of my friends read a lot and others don't, but the ones that don't read a lot are willing to read what I write as well and love hearing about it [I love them for it, they've even dubbed the Shaded Secrets trilogy the 'cat stories']
Amending this... My dad did read when i was growing up. He read vintage car magazines. He collected car miniatures and had magazine wrack full of car magazines and manuals. That was his pleasure reading, i guess. He'd got so mad when i cut up one of his magazines for a collage once --------- You would think working in a library, you'd be surrounded by readers. My coworkers read.... But A LOT of them book shame. I only feel comfortable talking about what i read with about 3 of them. And thats because their reading tastes vary, like mine.
