Timothy Egan’s take on reading
Great piece online at nytimes.com by Timothy Egan where he riffs on reading and its apparent demise, if you believe Steve Jobs.
For the record, here’s what the CEO of Apple said in an interview, according to the Times’s John Markoff:
“It doesn’t matter how good or bad the product is, the fact is that people don’t read anymore,” he said. “Forty percent of the people in the U.S. read one book or less last year. The whole conception is flawed at the top because people don’t read anymore.”
Now, all of you know I’m a big fan of Apple products, as is, it appears, Mr. Egan. But the so-called reality distortion field sometimes surrounding Jobs and Apple is annoying, and we need more debunkers.
“For most of my lifetime, I’ve heard that reading is dead. In that time, disco has died, drive-in movies have nearly died, and something called The Clapper has come and gone through bedrooms across the nation.” So says Mr. Egan.
I think you’ll enjoy his editorial Book Lust.
I think Jobs is right. And not because people don’t want to read but that they don’t have time. More of my book purchases end up on the “I’ll get to it” shelf. I’m better off buying on the cheap at the used book store and building my inventory.
Posted by Dean Wagner on 02.22.08.According to Jobs’ statistic, then 60% HAVE read more than one book a year? Sounds like a decent potential market for the Kindle to this simple websperson.
Ironically, the idea of electronic books makes me more protective of its heavy, tactile kin. Plus, what about all those great covers?
Posted by Eric on 02.23.08.