Information about books and reading

Chris O'Donnell had some interesting (or scary - depends on your point of view) statistics about reading from a huge collection of statistics about reading and publishing by Dan Poynter. (Hat tip: Atypical Homeschool.net)

These statistics reminded me of an account about Teddy Roosevelt that David McCullough gave at a commencement speech:

". . . Once upon a time in the dead of winter in Dakota territory, with the temperature well below zero, young Theodore Roosevelt took off in a makeshift boat, accompanied by two of his ranch hands, down-stream on the Little Missouri River in chase of a couple of thieves who had stolen his prized row boat. After days on the river, he caught up and got the draw on them with his trusty Winchester, at which point they surrendered. Then, after finding a man with a team and a wagon, Roosevelt set off again to haul the thieves cross-country to justice. He left the ranch hands behind to tend to the boat, and walked alone behind the wagon, his rifle at the ready. They were headed across the snow covered wastes of the Bad Lands to the rail head at Dickinson, and Roosevelt walked the whole way, 40 miles. It was an astonishing feat, what might be called a defining moment in that eventful life. But what makes it especially memorable is that during that time, he managed to read all of Anna Karenina."

Then David says:

"I often think of that when I hear people say they haven't time to read."


Here are some of the statistics from Dan Poynter's list that I found interesting:

4,986 was the average first press run; second printings averaged 4,776.
--Publishers weekly, April 7, 2003.

Amazon.com sells 5% of all books for $3 billion.
--Newsweek. April 9, 2001.

Most readers do not get past page 18 in a book they have purchased.
--Bookselling This Week, November 10, 1997.


Here are some of the scary statistics:

58% of the US adult population never reads another book after high school.
42% of college graduates never read another book.
80% of US families did not buy or read a book last year.
70% of US adults have not been in a bookstore in the last five years.

--Jerrold Jenkins.


Update I (10 July):

Chris O'Donnell found that some of the above statistics may be wrong, but that reading in general is declining in the United States. (Check out Reading At Risk by the National Edownment for the Arts)


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