You may have heard/seen this piece on NPR last week: Why Women Read More Than Men.
The article talks about the gender gap between men and women when it comes to reading fiction. But it also has disturbing statistics about reading in general. Last year the typical American read only four books, and one in four adults read no books at all. Isn’t that awful? I can’t imagine not reading — what wonderful places you go and people you meet, what beautiful sentences by masterful writers…
Apparently reading has been on a downward spiral for awhile, and I find it interesting that we’re actually reading less, what with all the citywide reading programs, Oprah, and all these book clubs everyone seems to belong to, myself included.
And it gets worse: Kids read less than adults. The statistics show even Harry Potter may not be able to reverse the trend.
What book would you recommend to someone who hasn’t picked up a book in a year or three? (I bet all of my friends can guess what my pick would be without clicking the link….)
Responses to “Buck the trend, pick up a book”
September 10th, 2007 at 1:23 pm
If you’re looking for enlightenment from someone whose life is even more of a mess than yours, pick up one of Anne Lamott’s luminous trilogy of memoirs, starting with “Traveling Mercies,” moving on to “Plan B,” and ending with “Grace, Eventually.” She’s so on point that I read her every other year or so, and cry every time.
And for fiction, “The Secret Life of Bees,” by Sue Monk Kidd, is still in my brain, even three years after I first read it.
September 10th, 2007 at 1:34 pm
Although I liked it, I don’t think I’d recommend The Kite Runner to someone who never or rarely reads books. It’s really a “hard read” and the main character is not very likable. That said, I would recommend Hosseini’s A Thousand Splendid Suns, especially for female readers. Both books made me very interested in Afghanistan. I followed up those with two memoirs: My Forbidden Face and West of Kabul, East of New York.
September 10th, 2007 at 2:15 pm
Tiffany, that is so interesting that you think Amir is not likable. You’re the second person I’ve heard say that.
I loved Amir, with all of his flaws. I kept cheering for him to do the right thing, but even when he didn’t, I still loved him. I wonder if it has something to do with his relationship with his father — how he always tried to win his father’s love. I felt that way when I was growing up.
My father was kind of detached from us figuratively, and then literally when my parents divorced. I remember always wanting to impress him or please him. Now that I’m an adult and my own person, I have no trouble connecting with him. I think he didn’t really know how to be a parent when I was growing up — his dad died when he was very young and he had a terrible relationship with the man his mother married.
In any case, I kind of identified with that part of Amir, how he would do anything to win his father’s love. But he changed, too, when he became an adult and his own person…
Anybody else want to weigh in? Was Amir likable or not?
September 10th, 2007 at 2:21 pm
I tried to read The Kite Runner, and put it down because I wasn’t liking Amir, either. I just wasn’t interested. But there have been scores of times that I put down a book, uninterested, only to pick it up later and love it. With all of these people so fond of TKR, I’ll bet a second try will get me through it.
You know–I wonder if the reason kids aren’t reading as much has something to do with the emphasis on testing in schools. There seem to be so many drills that test comprehension and other reading skills, but little time to just sit back and explore books. There seems to be little time for children to explore anything, really. I understand why, but it seems sad.
I love Robertson Davies, but I don’t know many other people who do.
September 10th, 2007 at 2:31 pm
Janet, I’ve never read either of those authors. I just took a peak on the Web and vaguely remember some buzz about “Animal Husbandry.” The Gwendolyn Gross book looks interesting. I read an excerpt online. I might bring that up for a possible book club read. Thanks!
September 10th, 2007 at 2:34 pm
The Diva, I liked “Secret Life of Bees,” too, and much better than her next work, “The Mermaid Chair.” I’ve tried to read “Traveling Mercies” before but just couldn’t get into it. Maybe I wasn’t in the right mindframe. I might try it again this winter during my break between classes.
September 10th, 2007 at 2:58 pm
Kell, I do hope you try “The Kite Runner” again. Part of what I liked about it was the wonderful descriptive writing. The “Wall of Ailing Corn,” reading under the pomegranate tree, watching Western movies at the theater, the way Amir feels when he again looks at the photo of his father standing between him and Hassan…
September 10th, 2007 at 10:20 pm
Jeni!
I don’t think you’ll be disappointed with The Other Mother by Gwendolen Gross (and it is available at Davis-Kidd). I gave it to my best friend (who just had a baby) and she liked it as well.
Very poetic.
~~J
September 14th, 2007 at 4:07 am
I just finished “The Memory Keeper’s Daughter” and found it as well-written and magical as either “…Bees,” or The Kite Runner. I would highly recommend it to those who have read and enjoyed the other two. I do think it will remain as haunting as “The Kite Runner” was for me.
September 10th, 2007 at 11:16 am
I love to read…
anything by Laura Zigman (Animal Husbandry, Dating Big Bird, Her or Piece of Work) will keep you laughing and saying “That’s so me!” because her stuff is witty and relatable.
The last book I read was The Other Mother by Gwendolen Gross and it was definitely poetic and mysterious.
~~J