Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There has been a catastrophic collapse in reading for pleasure. Real reading, not tik tok reading or whatever that is. And it's across the board, young and old. Just look at the new books published today, they're much shorter than the books of the 1980s and 1990s when a 100k word count was normal for even first time authors.

It's a combination of factors. The major one is certainly technology. When you spend all day on computers and phones, it's hard to pick up a book. Attention spans are warped by social media so the ability to sit down and get engaged in a book for a hour and really read it, not just the words but the meaning of what is being said, is dying out.

And it's also changes in publishing itself. There really hasn't been great books published for a while. The quality of the literary output, commercial fiction in general, has collapsed. I have friends who spent decades in and adjacent to the publishing world and they're frank about it, publishers are dominated by specific progressive viewpoints and won't publish anything different or critical. That's why there's no modern Dickens, even if our times cries for one. Tom Wolfe would never be published today. Donna Tartt probably wouldn't be published if she was a first time writer. The biggest reading audience are progressive women, but when you don't publish for other groups, they don't bother reading. So I can't blame people for losing interest in reading. And as they stop reading, the harder it is to develop the habits.

Most people are uninterested in very long reads because most writers, even back then, don't have the chops to keep readers engaged for 600+ pages. Length alone isn't evidence of literary quality. And it's not true that long novels have disappeared: A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara(800+ pages), The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese(700+ pages), etc. Fantasy, historical fiction, and literary fiction continue to consistently produce plenty of 500- to 1,000-page books.

The claim that publishers only publish one political viewpoint also doesn't explain why genres with very different audiences—fantasy, romance, thriller, science fiction, literary fiction, manga, and nonfiction—continue to sell millions of copies. If there were a large, underserved audience for a modern Dickens or Tom Wolfe, publishers would have a strong financial incentive to find and promote one. Reading habits have certainly changed because people have more entertainment options competing for their attention. But that's different from saying good books no longer exist. There are probably more books being published today than at any point in history; the challenge is sorting through them, not finding them. If you're looking for a contemporary (Dick)ens, look at David Foster Wallace. The only reason the man isn't marveled as a current critic of the times is because he decided to off himself in Claremont.

Anonymous wrote:There has been a catastrophic collapse in reading for pleasure. Real reading, not tik tok reading or whatever that is. And it's across the board, young and old. Just look at the new books published today, they're much shorter than the books of the 1980s and 1990s when a 100k word count was normal for even first time authors.

It's a combination of factors. The major one is certainly technology. When you spend all day on computers and phones, it's hard to pick up a book. Attention spans are warped by social media so the ability to sit down and get engaged in a book for a hour and really read it, not just the words but the meaning of what is being said, is dying out.

And it's also changes in publishing itself. There really hasn't been great books published for a while. The quality of the literary output, commercial fiction in general, has collapsed. I have friends who spent decades in and adjacent to the publishing world and they're frank about it, publishers are dominated by specific progressive viewpoints and won't publish anything different or critical. That's why there's no modern Dickens, even if our times cries for one. Tom Wolfe would never be published today. Donna Tartt probably wouldn't be published if she was a first time writer. The biggest reading audience are progressive women, but when you don't publish for other groups, they don't bother reading. So I can't blame people for losing interest in reading. And as they stop reading, the harder it is to develop the habits.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There has been a catastrophic collapse in reading for pleasure. Real reading, not tik tok reading or whatever that is. And it's across the board, young and old. Just look at the new books published today, they're much shorter than the books of the 1980s and 1990s when a 100k word count was normal for even first time authors.

It's a combination of factors. The major one is certainly technology. When you spend all day on computers and phones, it's hard to pick up a book. Attention spans are warped by social media so the ability to sit down and get engaged in a book for a hour and really read it, not just the words but the meaning of what is being said, is dying out.

And it's also changes in publishing itself. There really hasn't been great books published for a while. The quality of the literary output, commercial fiction in general, has collapsed. I have friends who spent decades in and adjacent to the publishing world and they're frank about it, publishers are dominated by specific progressive viewpoints and won't publish anything different or critical. That's why there's no modern Dickens, even if our times cries for one. Tom Wolfe would never be published today. Donna Tartt probably wouldn't be published if she was a first time writer. The biggest reading audience are progressive women, but when you don't publish for other groups, they don't bother reading. So I can't blame people for losing interest in reading. And as they stop reading, the harder it is to develop the habits.

Most people are uninterested in very long reads because most writers, even back then, don't have the chops to keep readers engaged for 600+ pages. Length alone isn't evidence of literary quality. And it's not true that long novels have disappeared: A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara(800+ pages), The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese(700+ pages), etc. Fantasy, historical fiction, and literary fiction continue to consistently produce plenty of 500- to 1,000-page books.

The claim that publishers only publish one political viewpoint also doesn't explain why genres with very different audiences—fantasy, romance, thriller, science fiction, literary fiction, manga, and nonfiction—continue to sell millions of copies. If there were a large, underserved audience for a modern Dickens or Tom Wolfe, publishers would have a strong financial incentive to find and promote one. Reading habits have certainly changed because people have more entertainment options competing for their attention. But that's different from saying good books no longer exist. There are probably more books being published today than at any point in history; the challenge is sorting through them, not finding them. If you're looking for a contemporary (Dick)ens, look at David Foster Wallace. The only reason the man isn't marveled as a current critic of the times is because he decided to off himself in Claremont.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There has been a catastrophic collapse in reading for pleasure. Real reading, not tik tok reading or whatever that is. And it's across the board, young and old. Just look at the new books published today, they're much shorter than the books of the 1980s and 1990s when a 100k word count was normal for even first time authors.

It's a combination of factors. The major one is certainly technology. When you spend all day on computers and phones, it's hard to pick up a book. Attention spans are warped by social media so the ability to sit down and get engaged in a book for a hour and really read it, not just the words but the meaning of what is being said, is dying out.

And it's also changes in publishing itself. There really hasn't been great books published for a while. The quality of the literary output, commercial fiction in general, has collapsed. I have friends who spent decades in and adjacent to the publishing world and they're frank about it, publishers are dominated by specific progressive viewpoints and won't publish anything different or critical. That's why there's no modern Dickens, even if our times cries for one. Tom Wolfe would never be published today. Donna Tartt probably wouldn't be published if she was a first time writer. The biggest reading audience are progressive women, but when you don't publish for other groups, they don't bother reading. So I can't blame people for losing interest in reading. And as they stop reading, the harder it is to develop the habits.

The quality of children’s literature has decreased dramatically as well. I was very disappointed in the writing I saw in the books my dd was reading in elementary school.

If the books they read in their younger years aren’t engaging, they won’t develop the reading habit in their later years.

When I was young, we didn't have a reading curriculum. We just took books from the shelves of the library and read. Forcing a certain style of reading on young children seems extraordinarily unproductive.

Anonymous wrote:There has been a catastrophic collapse in reading for pleasure. Real reading, not tik tok reading or whatever that is. And it's across the board, young and old. Just look at the new books published today, they're much shorter than the books of the 1980s and 1990s when a 100k word count was normal for even first time authors.

It's a combination of factors. The major one is certainly technology. When you spend all day on computers and phones, it's hard to pick up a book. Attention spans are warped by social media so the ability to sit down and get engaged in a book for a hour and really read it, not just the words but the meaning of what is being said, is dying out.

And it's also changes in publishing itself. There really hasn't been great books published for a while. The quality of the literary output, commercial fiction in general, has collapsed. I have friends who spent decades in and adjacent to the publishing world and they're frank about it, publishers are dominated by specific progressive viewpoints and won't publish anything different or critical. That's why there's no modern Dickens, even if our times cries for one. Tom Wolfe would never be published today. Donna Tartt probably wouldn't be published if she was a first time writer. The biggest reading audience are progressive women, but when you don't publish for other groups, they don't bother reading. So I can't blame people for losing interest in reading. And as they stop reading, the harder it is to develop the habits.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There has been a catastrophic collapse in reading for pleasure. Real reading, not tik tok reading or whatever that is. And it's across the board, young and old. Just look at the new books published today, they're much shorter than the books of the 1980s and 1990s when a 100k word count was normal for even first time authors.

It's a combination of factors. The major one is certainly technology. When you spend all day on computers and phones, it's hard to pick up a book. Attention spans are warped by social media so the ability to sit down and get engaged in a book for a hour and really read it, not just the words but the meaning of what is being said, is dying out.

And it's also changes in publishing itself. There really hasn't been great books published for a while. The quality of the literary output, commercial fiction in general, has collapsed. I have friends who spent decades in and adjacent to the publishing world and they're frank about it, publishers are dominated by specific progressive viewpoints and won't publish anything different or critical. That's why there's no modern Dickens, even if our times cries for one. Tom Wolfe would never be published today. Donna Tartt probably wouldn't be published if she was a first time writer. The biggest reading audience are progressive women, but when you don't publish for other groups, they don't bother reading. So I can't blame people for losing interest in reading. And as they stop reading, the harder it is to develop the habits.

The quality of children’s literature has decreased dramatically as well. I was very disappointed in the writing I saw in the books my dd was reading in elementary school.

If the books they read in their younger years aren’t engaging, they won’t develop the reading habit in their later years.

Anonymous wrote:There has been a catastrophic collapse in reading for pleasure. Real reading, not tik tok reading or whatever that is. And it's across the board, young and old. Just look at the new books published today, they're much shorter than the books of the 1980s and 1990s when a 100k word count was normal for even first time authors.

It's a combination of factors. The major one is certainly technology. When you spend all day on computers and phones, it's hard to pick up a book. Attention spans are warped by social media so the ability to sit down and get engaged in a book for a hour and really read it, not just the words but the meaning of what is being said, is dying out.

And it's also changes in publishing itself. There really hasn't been great books published for a while. The quality of the literary output, commercial fiction in general, has collapsed. I have friends who spent decades in and adjacent to the publishing world and they're frank about it, publishers are dominated by specific progressive viewpoints and won't publish anything different or critical. That's why there's no modern Dickens, even if our times cries for one. Tom Wolfe would never be published today. Donna Tartt probably wouldn't be published if she was a first time writer. The biggest reading audience are progressive women, but when you don't publish for other groups, they don't bother reading. So I can't blame people for losing interest in reading. And as they stop reading, the harder it is to develop the habits.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Thank you Democrats for closing our schools for a year and a half, banning SAT in uni admissions, lowering academic standards everyone to "fight for social justice" and other "progressive" nonsense.

China is really thankful.

Hi MAGA, go back to your Fox "News"

Anonymous wrote:
Thank you Democrats for closing our schools for a year and a half, banning SAT in uni admissions, lowering academic standards everyone to "fight for social justice" and other "progressive" nonsense.

China is really thankful.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Starts at home, well before school. Parents either invest the time or they don't.

Agree with this. If your kid is not an independent and eager reader by 3rd grade it’s a parenting issue.

I mean this just isn’t true. Independent reader— sure, if no learning disabilities. But some people will never love reading. My parents heavily encouraged reading, but I definitely wasn’t “eager” to read until waaaay past third grade.

+1 I was never an eager reader as a kid, but no one seemed to care because I excelled academically and on standardized tests.

I have two teens who used to be voracious readers when younger, but they rarely read an entire book for pleasure anymore. It’s the phones. We waited until 8th grade to give them phones, monitored their screen time for the first few years, made them wait til 16 for social media… but their attention spans are short now. Mine is too.