I'm trying to understand people who don't read for pleasure.

No, I don't think so. We were a big sports on TV/radio household as well. She'd sometimes read while watching or we'd sometimes play cards -- every family gathering at our house included card games in which we all participated. I think that was a survival mechanism. The only thing that made holiday gatherings tolerable as a child was to learn to play cribbage and pinocle so you could be involved. Every daughter-in-law/son-in-law learned to play too. I do love to play cards but, again, that's a more analytical pursuit.

Back to reading... daughter M is also an avid reader and K hardly ever picks up a book. M has a thirst for knowledge that K doesn't have. K likes to escape through movies and television, M through books. M wants to be a writer in some fashion in the future and is planning on a minor in creative writing at school. Mr B is also what I'd call "wordy". He's got at least a dozen Words With Friends games going at a time.

I remember signing up for summer reading contests at the library - read N books by the end of summer, collect N balloon stickers on your chart, and get some sort of prize. I never got more than n stickers because I'd check books out of the library but I didn't read them. I really hated animal stories. Especially animal stories where the animals spoke the dialogue. Charlotte's Web was one example that the children's librarian said EVERY child would love. She was wrong.

I think it's probably just a left-brain, right-brain thing and the propensity to be one or the other is probably more influenced by genetics than environment.

David, I'm going to take you up on this, for fun. I can't find what I mentioned before, but it was probably one of the Soho Crime series (in general, my favorite publisher of the genre, though not every single one of their authors. The writing is usually at high level). http://www.sohocrime.com/
Trouble with that is I already have 40 or 5o of them, and would have to delve into figuring out what I haven't read already.

I'll list some authors, in case the specific book of the first one isn't available (only send one, eh?)

Giancarlo Carafiglio's latest, the english translation of Temporary Perfections. (I've read his other three books already):
http://italian-mysteries.com/GCAap.html
I prefer it Used, being philosophically for giving old books a chance, but new is ok.

or these guys (never read any of their books)
Carlo Lucarelli (anything by him)
Zoo Station, by David Downing ( Soho Crime)
Valerio Varese (anything by him)

So, there is your task, should you accept it. Beware, I think you will probably like Powell's Books, which is potentially dangerous for your wallet. If none of those authors are in their present inventory, grab me a book mark from Powell's and consider your task fulfilled.

Say hi to the Boomer Family (La Famiglia) for me..
(do you still have my address? I think Boomer does, or, if not, pm me)

Funny and true, me thinks. (Haven't played it in dogs' years)

I agree that watching tv is to some large extent a passive state, though one can actively argue with what is on the screen. At least for me, reading is a complex swirl of the meaning of the words, the sounds of the words as a kind of music system, imagery the words trigger in my mind, the progression of story or information content, the entrance of sidebar thinking of my own to what is going on in the story and what it might remind me of - and probably other stuff. And that's just for one page.

I'm sure I still have it, osso.

I actually have a random selection of books boxed and almost ready to ship.

David, if you're planning a trip to Powell's it's only 3 blocks from the place I've picked for lunch!

Well, that's my idea of a great combo, the restaurant and the bookstore.

Yesterday, Diane took me to the eye doctor, as I was having a six month check up and those usually involve dilating my eyes to sunspot levels and no way would I drive that way. Turned out they didn't dilate, and so we decided to hang out afterwards in downtown Albuquerque. We parked a block or so from the main library, which I'd only been to once before and liked, and went into what turned out to be a neat coffee/snack shop. It also turned out that there is a (only a tiny bit used) book store in the lower floor of the library. All in all a jolly scene - the library is cheery and apparently high functioning, the coffee shop was terrific in no small part due to the fellow who staffed it, and the book shop was a real find. Plus we didn't get a parking ticket.

I'm a bit behind the curve on this thread so maybe this comment has been made before, but I think it has to do with how much parent read to children when they were growing up. I had a friend who was the last of thirteen children and was never read a book in his life. He had absolutely no interest in recreational reading. All my children are voracious readers, but we read stories aloud all the time when they were younger. The local kindergarten would have a teacher read to students who arrived significantly before school was scheduled to start. All my children insisted on arriving 30 minutes early so they could hear the stories even though we live one block from the school and they could have arrived right at the bell if they wanted.

Is that a criterion ?
As I think back over my own youth,
tho I admired certain people (e.g., George Washington n Douglas MacArthur)
it NEVER occurred to me to copy anyone.
Have kids actually DONE that ??





David

I remember buying a used book
for one of my courses in college.
An earlier owner had been most competent
in underlining its operative language; superbly efficient.

I remember selling an acquaintance a book of mine in hi school.
(He was about to take the same course that I finished.)
I had underlined n marked its operative language.
He got a pre-marked book. I deemed that an ENHANCEMENT over its original value.
I evolved a hierarchy of values for marking literature
for future reference, including a straight vertical line, on the left I
which was less than a parenthesis (
which was less than a bracket [
which was less than a French brace {
and multiplicities thereof, rendered in inks of differing colors
to indicate rank and value or anti-value.
I also added hand drawn STARS of different sizes n colors
to enhance ranking n evaluating.
This was helpful not only for future reference,
but for assistance in memorization; it worked well.

I shoud remember to offer the concept to Mo.





A note of mild humor:
I remember mentioning to my dead friend & tennant, Neil, about 3O years ago,
that over the years, several of my attache cases had broken
after leaving Weiser's Book Store in Greenwich Village (well known to him).
Quoth he: " . . . now, lessee: thay did not break on the way TO Weiser's . . . . "





OK, Osso. I 'll be happy to do it.





David

That 's wonderful, boomer. I 'm looking forward to it.





David

Coming late to this thread, and so this might be redundant, but...

It's pretty simple.

People who don't read for pleasure find no pleasure in reading.

I'm sure you are not suggesting that people who find pleasure in reading, for some reason, insist upon not enjoying such pleasure.

You might as well ask:

Why don't people hunt and kill animals for pleasure?

Book marks by dimwits annoy the hell out of me, as when I've described my trying to wend my way through a certain History of Rome book through pink ink.

What a push, I was very interested in the book and defeated by the imbecillic markings.

But yes, I've found some markings useful/interesting.
I tend to like books with patina, the passage of human use.

JPB makes me think on all that. We all approach what reading we do from our own place.

I go on about the music of words once every few years (really, it is probably about that timing) - at the same time if I saw some pedantic stuff about the music of words my synapses would just slam shut. I quit english lit since I couldn't bear Wordsworth. No tolerance.

Not to natter on about my music thing, but to explain a bit - it's not orchestrated poetics. I'm just talking about sounds for me. This might explain why I once liked the yellow books of crime thrillers, '40's books, that I've no memory of how to identify, terse writing, that I paid a quarter for. Yellow because that was the color of the books. The rhythm of the books.


No, I haven't rated authors re all this. Something I've noticed, across many types of books.

As an avid gamer, I disagree. In fact, it sounds like typical prejudice to me. Games require you to actually digest the information that was given to you and make the apropiate decision. I would even say it involves more thinking than reading books.

Off course, its game-dependant. Some games are more about making quick decisions and memorizing patterns. Others throw dexterity out of the window and focus on providing you with mental challenges. And off course, there are those who do both, at different times.

But its ultimately all mental exercise. Even the most action-oriented games are fundamentally about thinking... which way do you run? who do you shot first? Even if they are almost invisible, there are tactical, logical decisions to be made right there.

Comics are the first thing that ever piked my interest for reading books =)

My mother would give them for me to read even before I could, but somehow I settled for guessing what the characters were doing based on the pictures (Cant imagine myself doing that nowadays). Got better after I learnt to read =)

I dont think crimes with children happen more nowadays... they are discovered and announced more oftenly than in the past, partly because technology advanced, partly because news agencies found out that drama makes stuff sell better =) ... and theres more people too, hence greater daily chances of anything happening, that everyone will learn about.

Beautifully put, sir!

You should read the game's name again =)

I feel exactly the same way. I live in a country where almost everyone (or every man, at least) has a football team they cheer for, for some reason. And some take it to ridiculous extends, like organizing groups to beat up fans of other teams. I could understand finding the game interesting to watch, but I dont get why people are so interested into seeing their team win if they, themselves, stand to gain nothing from it, other than maybe being able to brag that they cheered for the right team.

I also cant read aloud. I suspect the sound of me reading distracts me from my reading =)

I cant read, and find it difficult to concentrate, then I am hearing something else inteligible. If its a murmur, I dont care much, but if I can understand what is being said, then its like my attention is being robbed away by that.



Im a person who reads for fun sometimes, mostly fiction, preferably humorous. I reached the "peak" of my reading sometime on childhood and how much/oftenly I read has been going down since then. I simply tend to prefer games, anime and manga over books. I rarely read books anymore unless im out of options... I keep some "stockpiled" on my laptop and read then ocasionally, usually then I dont have access to the internet or an energy source (a open word document eats a lot less battery than videos or games). I dont bother keeping physical books at the ready, because the books I am interested into reading are never avaible where I live, and im fine reading on the computer.

To be honest, I think society over-values the reading of books. To me, books are just a source of information/entertainment, just like music, videos, games, whatever...

Books only give you objective information, knowledge, without anything for the senses.

Music and audio files add sound input to that. Sound can transmit emotion, and this potentially enriches the experience.

Movies and videos add moving images to this. Again, more sensorial input, more emotion and art being transmitted in the same time.

Games make all that change according to the player's decisions, adding yet another layer to the experience.

But just because they are stacked on top of one another, that doesnt means one is necessarly better than the other. It all depend of how each individual work is made and combines these elements. To me, they are all art. Society shouldnt encourage people to indulge in books, but to indulge in art, specially that which makes you think, be it books, musics, videos or games.

I remembered a little game I found once, a game that took pieces of books and literature in general and turned then into a plataform game, made entirely with words, where the color, position, formation and nature of the words depend of what they convey. I think any fan of reading should check it out =)

http://armorgames.com/play/4287/silent-conversation

Maybe im weird, but the way they put things together in this game strikes me as artistic and beautiful.

Do u prefer that I get a used book with or without markings ?





David

I tend to feel that way about ancient gold n silver coins
and about historical guns that show hand wear.





David

If u tell me the name of the place, I can Google the menu, boomer.





David

Most folks who don't enjoy reading, don't read. They watch TV or listen to the radio for their news.

I love to read. I buy and read books and newspapers. I don't read books that are electronic. I read for information and enjoyment.

I've read since I was a young child. I love libraries, but haven't gone to many since I left Chicago.

I don't deny that I'm just trying to understand people who don't.

I understand people not liking or very much liking hunting/cooking/hang gliding/whatever but to not enjoy reading is something I have a hard time understanding.