That Reader Survey

I find this hard to believe. By the results, one has to wonder how the five bookstores in my small town remain open. In the past year I haven't read as many books as in the previous year, but crisis, both health and life, were the culprits. I have read two of the three books I assigned myself for the summer and I've almost finished the third. I'm reading this one slowly, savoring every page.

And I wonder what "religious" books they're talking about here...would they be the wingnut "Left Behind" series, or the serious theological thought from the likes of Carter Hayward or Matthew Fox? I'm just sayin'.

AP: One in four adults say they read no books at all in the past year, according to an Associated Press-Ipsos poll released Tuesday. Of those who did read, women and seniors were most avid, and religious works and popular fiction were the top choices.

The survey reveals a nation whose book readers, on the whole, can hardly be called ravenous. The typical person claimed to have read four books in the last year -- half read more and half read fewer. Excluding those who hadn't read any, the usual number read was seven.

Read the whole thing here.
More later.
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