Last man reading
I have a confession to make. I am nuts about science and how it works. I am telling you this because I just can’t seem to stop reading and thinking about all the information that science has given us. And for every book I read there seem to be at least a dozen that I want to read. And this time of month is a bonus for me because my all time favourite magazines, Scientific American and American Scientist arrive in my mailbox.
I am a factual reader. I read almost anything about science that I can lay my hands on. I like bios and history as well, but its science that turns my crank. But if I can’t find science or history, I will read anything and I have to admit that I do have a few novels in mind as soon as I exhaust the factual part of my wannabe library. The long and the short of it is that not only do I get almost all of my information from reading, reading is also a wonderful recreation for me. And the flip side of it is that I also love to write, ergo this blog, my weather books, scripts for my documentaries etc. So it came as a bit of shock to me when I read in the newspapers that people are reading less than ever. Here is Halifax we seem to have some very good anecdotal evidence to that. The Daily news has just shut down and the oldest bookstore in Canada, the Book Room, went out of business last month. It seems that people are playing on the internet more than ever before and don’t have the time or disposition to read.
ipods, on-line games, Facebook, Myspace, chat rooms are the way that young people seem to entertain themselves these days. When I wander into my local books stores, I don’t see the crowded isles or a whole lot of young people. Bookstores are coming to resemble malls. They now sell nic nacs, souvenirs, candles, have coffee shops attached to them, and even bring in musicians to value add for potential customers. Frankly, I don’t think this will get more people into buying books.
I worry that this marvelous tool that we have, one that took us out of the dark ages and set use on the path of civilization five thousand years ago, the alphabet, is becoming obsolete. I know that Socrates warned of the evils of reading and books because he feared that thinking would be diminished because people would rely on books to think for them. But I wonder whether we are playing with fire as we implement changes in technology so rapidly, basically because the businesses of the world think they can market more products.
So much of what we consume on the internet or on our cell phones, blackberries and ipods doesn’t require us to read in any depth or assimilate information. We are becoming a society of the increasingly entertained and we play with pictures, images and sounds, not words. As the toys we use become smarter and smarter there is less and less of a need for us to read or write, to use the alphabet, the technology upon which we have built our civilization. Books are increasingly seen as tedious, old and boring. And yet to me, the best investment I ever made was when I walked into my first library, plunked myself down in a gigantic, overstuffed chair with a dozen books I had plucked from the shelves and spent my time entering an amazing world of words, ideas and information. It would sad to be the last man reading, no matter how compelling sounds and images from the latest that the internet has to offer.
February 29th, 2008 at 6:15 am
Unfortunately true , it is a shame that were losing our connection with books,but to me it’s just the way the world has to advance.For hundreds of years we been reading books, and that era is slowly being lost, giving way for the next advancements in technology.
The world is too focused on making our lives easier. IE, How much weight could be lost collectively throughout canada,if we all had to walk into the coffee shop’s to purchase our items instead of driving through.Or have to get dressed ,go out and start the car on the cold mornings instead of pressing a button.I’m not sure what that number would be but i am sure that it isn’t a small number.
Pretty soon we’ll all be hooked up to some kind of computer that will do everything for us with just a thought, and we will continue to grow larger and weaker.
But todays technology is just the tip of the iceburg of whats just around the corner.We as a species are evolving at a staggering rate,i think were lucky to still be able to read books today.
March 25th, 2008 at 6:17 am
Hi Richard,
Oh what a world we live in! You are so right on this one! I too am big into technology, I better be my career depends on it. However I find comfort in a good book. I prefer science fiction\fantasy novels myself and in having such a vivid imagination as I do, I can really get lost in a good book.
After reading your article it didn’t take long to think about all those people I know that do not read, actually it was harder to find a group that still do. Has technology taken over the lives? I don’t know if it’s all that, I know some that don’t even own a computer, and still don’t read. Is it laziness? Are lives that busy that people just don’t have time? I have a friend that walks down town reading his book, still to this day. It’s a good thing he lives in a small town or it might not be so good for his health, that doesn’t get run over. He is looked at in many different ways, most as being eccentric. I look at him and smile; it’s nice to see someone still with a passion for a good book.