http://blogcritics.org/ A sinister cabal of superior bloggers on music, books, film, popular culture, politics, and technology - updated continuously. en Copyright 2005 by the authors Mon, 12 Jul 2004 10:37:03 EDT http://backend.userland.com/rss Blogcritics.org custom software http://blogcritics.org/archives/2004/07/09/124254.php#comment-73623 I took a look at the report, and as an avid reader who can't imagine a life without books, I also find it disheartening. One thing parents can do for their children is model reading behavior themselves. I've heard too many parents bemoaning the fact that their kids don't read, and in the next breath admit that they themselves aren't readers. My son, who's 18 now, reads a lot. He also surfs the web, plays video games, and is as much a card-carrying member of the MTV generation as his peer group, but he grew up surrounded by books, was read to every night as a small child, and watches both his parents read on pretty much a daily basis. We trade books back and forth and discuss them at the dinner table. If parents make reading a part of everyday family life, I think the chances are better than even that their kids will turn out to be readers. Of course, the report points out that reading is declining across all age groups, so I'm not sure who gets to motivate the grown-ups... 73623@blogcritics.org Mon, 12 Jul 2004 10:37:03 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2004/07/09/124254.php#comment-73244 I think another major culprit is a general lack of spare time to read. Between work, school, routine everyday chores, and maintaining some semblance of a social life, most young adults simply do not have enough hours in a day to read, even if they were so inclined. 73244@blogcritics.org Fri, 9 Jul 2004 17:41:50 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2004/07/09/124254.php#comment-73218 I haven't read the report (pul-eeze, can we just get a summary like the rest of the ruling class), but I guess they discount cereal boxes, instructions on scratch and win tickets, and weblogs. What, they esspek me to read how some billcosby-oid tells me I'm not worth the stank of his gold-plated arse? Suck me grits thro a straw you cobnobbler. 73218@blogcritics.org Fri, 9 Jul 2004 16:29:50 EDT