According to a new NEA study, we all are and it’s due to a rise in how much fiction we all read.
I know I’m reading a lot more fiction today than I was ten years ago and that this change is largely due to our favorite boy wizard and the Hogwarts adventures. Is this true of you, too? How has your reading changed, both in terms of what you are reading and how you read it?
My reading hasn’t changed that much. I’ve always read a lot of fiction, mostly Sci Fi & Fantasy. A lot of non-fiction, mainly politics & survival stories. Some religion, of course. Bit behind on magazines and journals. I’ve read a lot of Harry Potter analysis this past year for some reason. 🙂
Oh, I’m absolutely reading more, and I’ve always read a lot. (I used to drive my mom nuts when I always took a book along and read wherever we were.) But before I started reading Harry Potter I had gotten away from always having a book on hand, which is something that I did before our girls’ schedules got so complicated.
I now have two or three books that I’m reading or listening to at the same time – some fiction, some are books about fiction.
And then there are the blogs that I check on every day. Four of those are HP sites or by people I’ve found because of HP and some are political in nature.
It’s a good thing our girls are grown and out of the house. I am not sure I could do as much reading if they were still at home.
Pat
There has been a definite great change in the last 7 years or so as to the amount of fiction I’m reading as well as books about fantasy literature and its writers, particularly from those that are Christian in their backround.
As a teacher in the Christian church before the Harry Potter controversy struck around 2000- 2001 I was mainly a reader of theology/history and the sciences dealing with many of the apologetic issues facing the church from those areas within our culture.
Harry Potter certainly changed that focus in my reading and to a degree set me on a unique direction of teaching regarding the impact of fantasy literature and the church to those within its “hallowed walls” who have a difficult time understanding the history and/or the significance of its value to teach the elements of virtue and timeless truths in story form.
An avid, lifelong bibliophile, I read all kinds of fiction and non-fiction (although my tastes/interests have changed over the years). I have a very inquisitive mind. Currently, I’m reading Outliers by the ever-fascinating Malcolm Gladwell.
I’ve read thousands of books and hope to read thousands more. Reading has enlarged my elephantine vocabulary (no, I do not munch on dictionaries for breakfast!), my view of the world, and has taken this armchair traveller to many engrossing places, times and ideas. I’m fast, and can easily read up to four books a week; more, if I’m sick or having a long recovery. My head is stuffed with trivia and odd factoids.
When Reagan was President, his wife Nancy said that when he traveled, he always took about six books, not knowing what he’d be in the mood for. How I laughed–she described me to a T.
As a result of my HogPro years, I do think my antennae are up more, and I’m curious about some Great Literature I haven’t yet read; I read Dracula because John recommended it. I don’t doubt reading is increasing among the young because of HP.
One of the greatest compliments I’ve ever recieved was when a young friend recently said “I want to be just like you! You know so many things.”
The kitties like reading, too, because they get a warm lap…