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A Reading Revolution
One (Cyber) Day at a Time By Tracy B. McGinnis
Cynthia Clayton, like most women, has a busy schedule – whether it's keeping up with her four kids, running her own traveling wedding makeup business or finding quality time to spend with her husband. She admits her hectic schedule and family obligations leave little time for hobbies, some of which include gardening, traveling and renovating her old Victorian farmhouse in Rockland, Maine.
But recently Clayton has found more time to enjoy a hobby that has become forgotten by many. Clayton has found ways to incorporate reading into her daily life with DearReader.com, a growing online book club.
"The e-mails are short and sweet and I can read them when I want," says Clayton. "If I were to join a book club that required structured commitment from me, I would never find the time."
Clayton is not alone when it comes to finding and making the time to read. Despite popular book clubs, a recent report from the National Education Association (NEA), the number of non-reading adults increased by more than 17 million between 1992 and 2002. According to the report, only 47 percent of American adults read literature in 2002 – a seven-point drop from a decade earlier.
Mark Bauerlin, director of research with the NEA, believes there are several reasons for the decline in literary reading. "The teaching of literature in schools has shifted," he says. "There is less focus on learning content than there is on developing reading and writing skills." He also points to a culture that is more present-oriented. "The pace of video images is much faster than the pace of films in the 1950s," says Bauerlin. "The urge is to be up-to-the-minute, but reading is a slow and deliberative process."
The most probable cause, however, can be attributed to the rise of digital technologies. "People go home and check e-mail, shop online and download music – books are becoming a forgotten option," says Bauerlin, who cites a study that shows household spending on electronics rose 400 percent in the 1990s and book spending dropped to about one-tenth of 1 percent.
