Literacy and reading

There was this post on Knitflame stating a statistic that said that less than half of the Americans polled had read a book in the last year, where in Canada it was less than 20% that hadn't read a book in the last year.

So what does this mean? As an enthusiastic bibliophile, it's distressing but not altogether shocking. Watching TV is easier than picking a book and sticking to it, I suppose. I also know people who use their bookshelves for storing knick-knacks and other similar kitschy crap (ugh). I've known people who needed prodding to read, but got hooked on a series once they did (woo! I converted one!).

I'll have to admit that majoring in Lit cut down on my personal time for reading, but I did get to read many of the books that were on my "to read" list. Working full-time on a computer cuts down on it too; by the time I get home, my eyes have been fatigued by the screen too long to incite the desire to read (although I'm currently working on "Fat, White Vampire Blues" upstairs and "She's Come Undone" downstairs. I've read a bunch of romance novels, but don't count them as books.

With the onset of the internet, I think people are doing more reading than before. The existence of blogs- something somewhat personal that everyone can read- makes it so one would assume that people are reading more through the neccessity of having to do so online. I read the first 13 chapters of Pride and Prejudice online; I'm also reading the Court TV bits about various serial killers. Blogs, MySpace, Friendster, all of those require reading. Does it contribute or detract from literacy? What about forums and chats?

Although I can blame the decline of spelling and complete sentences on chats and forums, I have to admit that people are reading them, and that's the point, right?

Ok, off to watch my Saturday morning cartoons.

Long time no blog

This has to be quick, since I have a ton of stuff to get done.

The new job is great, they like me alot and they're pretty cool people. I'm doing some interesting, some not-so interesting stuff. Variety is the spice of life, right?

Mom's got people in her house; crazy relatives along with Kathy- everyone in Kathy's entourage is making Mom nuts, and vice versa. The extended family are bastards, but I have to play nice.

I went to the Concord show, ran into Zak's family; Zak and I are on speaking terms again, which is good. That makes me 4 for 4 (I'm on good terms with all ex's + current). Today is Pacific Procession, I'm only going to warmups.

Elphie is getting closer to potty trained, which is good. We're getting an anti-bark system today (it seems they bark basically all day until we get home). Nothing mean, but positive re-inforcement doesn't seem to work in this case when we're not home.

The new bed is awesome, I've never slept so well in my life. Well, except for the couple of days after I got my wisdom teeth pulled. Ok, the best non-drug-induced sleep of my life.

Time to shower and get my day kick-started. I promise to blog more often, A. I do so hate to disappoint.

I have an upcoming blog on literacy. It should be cool. Maybe.