It will take some time to figure out what this really means but, according to the National Endowment for the Arts' report, issued today, fiction reading is up for the first time since 1982, when it began tracking the gorgeous pastime. Motoko Rich, who covers publishing for the NY Times (thanks, Motoko, for all the great articles), has a good piece in today's paper, "Fiction Reading Increases for Adults," about the NEA report.
Given the beginning of the week rush, I can't stop right now to sort through all the implications and causes, especially in the downmarket for book buying. Off the top:
- Despite all the hand-wringing about the quality of books declining, maybe there's some really great stuff coming out after all that people find irresistible and thus they are word-of-mouthing it to their friends;
- 9/11 caused Americans to seek more meaningful pursuits than videogaming (though isn't that industry soaring, Jessica?);
- The significant increase in the number of book clubs (ours meets again this Wed at our house);
- Harry Potter;
- Something is wrong with the stats and/or it's an anomaly
Patricia Schroeder, former Congresswoman from Colorado and vigilant head of the Association of American Publishers, points out that the number might be higher as some may not count their Kindle/e-reading as "reading." And, American Library Association President Jim Rettig says this: "...the 2008 data would not reflect a recent uptick in circulation at libraries. As the economy has soured, Mr. Rettig said, 'people are discovering that you don’t have to spend anything to read a book if you have a library card.'”
Read on, Americanos.
