I know. I've been prattling on lately about my latest book. I apologize. I am a voracious reader and it just seeps out sometimes. Especially when I haven't had anything odd happen at home -- not so much as a nicked nippled -- in days.
Apology aside, I found this interesting article on CNN.com about the reading habits of Americans. Did you know that one in four Americans did not read even ONE book last year? Not even one. How is that possible? I think even the hubby accidentally read part of a book last month. It was my fault. I'd left it lying open on the table and his inability to look away made it inevitable.
There are demographic factors to this phenomena as well. For example: Democrats and liberals typically read slightly more books than Republicans and conservatives.
So I'm a pretty liberal Democrat, so I have to read more than normal. It's a function of fact.
Among those who said they had read books, the median figure -- with half reading more, half fewer -- was nine books for women and five for men. The figures also indicated that those with college degrees read the most, and people aged 50 and up read more than those who are younger.
These facts make me wonder, though, about the New York Time's Bestseller List. Let me state for the record that I think that list is a bit of a sham, much like the Grammys. Obviously it's based solely on sales, and pre-sales, and half-sales and other than dollar signs, it has no real bearing on whether the literature is good or not. It's simply made a lot of money. Some great books make the list, but some not. Currently, Dog the Bounty Hunter has a top-selling book.
And then you have guys like Tucker Max and his book. I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell. The blogger at CUSS and Other Rants did an interview with him recently and reminded me of his presence.
His book made the list. And I wondered who the hell was reading it? He is the epitome of everything I hated about frat boys in college, but he is pretty damn funny, and thoroughly willing to throw his pride out the window. Read his blog about buttsex and you get the general drift.
According to the article on CNN the most-well read choices include, Popular fiction, histories, biographies and mysteries were all cited by about half, while one in five read romance novels.
So who is reading the wise words of Dog the Bounty Hunter and exploring the delicate intricacies of buttsex with Tucker Max?
That must be another survey -- for Republicans..
3 comments:
Hi! Clicked over from Plain Jane.
At least the list isn't trying to kid anybody: it calls itself the Bestseller list--the ones that sell best. That's what it claims to measure, so it isn't shamming anyone.
Agreed. My contention with it is the actually participants on the list. It's no real indicator of, well, anything. So who is buying that stuff?
I wouldn't buy a Tucker Max book (I'll read it at the store, thank you), but I think that the people who don't normally read books do because his stuff is very accessible. Funny? Check. Poorly written? Check. Recycled material so you don't have to worry about running into something new? Check. Still, I like him because he mocks himself as much as anyone else. Not that this post is really about Max, but I think that is how he wound up winning the popularity contest that is the best seller list.
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