According to the National Survey of Children's Health in 2005, when asked whether their children read for pleasure, over 76% of the parents of teenagers reported that they read for pleasure on an average school day. However, the Census Bureau did a survey of reading habits in 2002 that indicated that "fewer than half of Americans over 18 now read novels, short stories, plays or poetry" as reported by the NY Times at http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/08/books/08READ.html?ei=5090&en=0478807a5 80f2a85&ex=1247025600&partner=rssuserland&pagewanted=print&position=.
I went Googling for this because I thought I had read about a recent survey of reading habits in the paper recently, but I couldn't find what I thought I had read. So apparently I am imagining things. For the record - I read for pleasure frequently, usually by ending every day with about 20 minutes of some novel. It's escapist. (I can recommend Janet Fitch's new book, Paint It Black.) I find that when I refer to books in class or talk about reading, I connect with a few students, but it's a small minority. References to movies are far more likely to "hit." Nathalie Cote Belmont Abbey College -----Original Message----- From: Marc Carter [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Monday, November 19, 2007 5:44 PM To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) Subject: RE: [tips] faculty reading for pleasure? I do it consistently. Junk books. LeCarre, Carr, SciFi, fantasy, and like that (and btw, I just did re-read The Alienist). Sometimes they're non-fiction, but usually my bedtime reading is fiction. Otherwise, I would *die*.... m ------ "There is no power for change greater than a community discovering what it cares about." -- Margaret Wheatley -----Original Message----- From: Miguel Roig [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Monday, November 19, 2007 3:55 PM To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) Subject: [tips] faculty reading for pleasure? That's odd ... what happened to the rest of my message? Anyhow, I wanted to raise the question about the extent to which college professors engage in 'reading for pleasure' (e.g., fiction). I am sorry to have to admit that it has been years since I have read fiction book, period. Just trying to keep up with developments in my own research area is hard enough, let alone reading about developments in the field of psychology or in science in general. How do folks make time to read books for pleasure? Miguel -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Monday, November 19, 2007 2:18 PM To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) Subject: Re: [tips] Am I expecting too much? Your colleague's post raises an interesting question for -------------- Original message -------------- From: Ken Steele <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > I have a colleague who claimed that you only needed the answer to > one question to predict college success: > > How often do you read for pleasure? > > Ken > > Pollak, Edward wrote: > > > > > > > > A few weeks ago I gave an exam in animal behavior and asked a question > > about "Kamikaze sperm." One student asked what species a Kamikaze was. I > > then asked the next 4 students entering my office if they'd ever heard > > the word , "kamikaze." The first three had never heard the word. I'm > > convinced that the problem is that most students no longer read for > > pleasure. This has been problematic for years but is getting worse. Try &g t; > asking your student if, as children, they ever read books (not > > magazines) "just for fun." It's no wonder their general knowledge is > > so pathetic. And there's a BIG difference between looking up the > > definitive of a specific word on line and learning words incidentally > > while reading a book. Even looking words up in a dictionary is better > > because you naturally do a little browsing of other words when you look > > it up. That's not as easy/common when looking up a definition on line. > > > > The Kindly Old Curmudgeon > > > > > > / > > /Edward I. Pollak, Ph.D./ > > /Department of Psychology/ > > /West Chester University of Pennsylvania/ > > Office Hours: Mondays noon-2 and 3-4 p.m.; Tuesdays & Thursdays 8-9:00 > > a.m. & 12:30-1:30 p.m. > > /http://mywebpages.comcast.net/epollak/home.h tm/ > > /~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~/ > > /Husband, father, grandfather, biopsychologist, bluegrass fiddler and > > herpetoculturist...... in approximate order of importance./ > > --------------------------------------------------------------- > Kenneth M. Steele, Ph.D. [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Professor > Department of Psychology http://www.psych.appstate.edu > Appalachian State University > Boone, NC 28608 > USA > --------------------------------------------------------------- > > > --- --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) --- ---
