I was amazed by some statistics that I read recently. According to the book
I’m currently reading, “Shut Up, Stop Whining & Get a Life” by Larry Winget,
(www.larrywinget.com) on average people spend about 100 hours a year reading, yet they spend nearly 2,000 hours a year watching television. That adds ups to 40 hours a week in front of the television and only 2 hours a week reading something.
YIKES! Not that all television is garbage, but most of it is. And not that all books are great, but at least they aren’t nearly as passive as watching television. Besides, I like the fact that books can now be “on the go” with downloads to your computer and audiobooks available in just about every digital format making them available to you while you drive to work or cook dinner. I guess what I like the best about books and reading is that you can absorb the information at your own pace.
I read a lot. I always have a book or two laying around, but what I don’t do is vary my genre often enough. I still have the Hawkings books to finish and a few fiction works that I’ve started, but the book I’m currently reading caught my eye and although much of it seems to be common sense and things I’ve heard myself say to my own children, sometimes you need soemone else to remind you to kick yourself in the butt.
According to the American Booksellers Association:
Eighty percent of Americans did not buy or read a book this year.
Seventy percent of American adults have not been in a bookstore in the last five years.
Figty-eight percent of American adults never read a book after high school.
Forty-two percent of university graduates never read another book.
According to USA TODAY:
43.6 percent of all American adults read below the seventh grade level.
Over half of all high school graduates could not read their own graduation diplomas or even fill out a simple application for employment.
Blows my mind!!
Snippets and Tidbits 