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 Posted: Tue Jan 24, 2006 2:29 pm
In all honesty I've never had anyone actually say this, but I have had comments such as, "Why do you read so much?" or "Do you like reading that much?" And so on.
I just can't believe that as Americans (yes, I'm an American) move forward with technology and such, so few people are reading. Sure the internet has replaced books for the most part, but still that doesn't mean everyone is reading! It's sad how so few people are able to pick up on words anymore and their meanings even when they're the simplest of words!
It's also depressing when you actually do have a book in hand and get picked on because you read! Well excuse me if I'm looking to expand my vocabulary so I don't have to talk or write like so, "Me wont cookieZ!" Pfft.
In Florida by the time you enter Elementry school you're introduced to the FCAT, a test in which determines what you 'know.' Its gotten to the point though where in order to reach the 4th grade, 3rd graders HAVE to pass the test; and in order to graduate 12th graders have to pass it. A lot of people I know had no problem with the math portion, but I know of quite a few people who are STRUGGLING to pass the reading/writing portion of the test.
Therefore, discuss:
Illiteracy:
How much do you actually read?:
Having to pass a test to graduate:
The Internet replacing books:
Where we'll be in 10 years regarding books:
Anything else pertaining to this topic:
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Posted: Thu Jan 26, 2006 9:05 pm
The people I know that really don't read or write much at all are (or claim to be) dyslectic, so reading isn't even pleasant for them because they have a lot of trouble with it.
I'm not in or from America, I live in the Netherlands (Europe), illiteracy isn't a problem as far as I know (I mean, there aren't many illiterates). Though there's plenty of people that have trouble with some older Dutch words and always use slang, this causes then to have trouble with job interviews and writing job applications.
I don't really read much, myself. I tend to never finish what I start. The Doom novels were the first books in at least three years that I finished,(The last book before those was Harry Potter 4) I never finished the third chapter of Harry Potter 5.
I'm trying to use this little reading spur I got from those books to finally finish reading Chronicles of Narnia, which I've had lying around for a year or so. Some other books I never finished: Lord of the Rings, the Hobbit, We can Build you, a few Azimov books, Jack Vance short stories.. and more. I don't even remember them all.
The internet replacing books has been happening for a long time, some people just don't realise it. You an find anything online, though most boooks haven't been digitalised yet, a lot of large libraries are working on that, scanning each and every page of old books to preserve them.
I doubt books will dissapear, though. Paper and ink is important and if it were to dissapear you woulden't be able to imagine how much people would be out of a job. Becuase that would mean it will all be automated. Everything will be sent and recieved through cables. It'd be chaos.
No, humanity can't really survive without books.
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Posted: Sat Jan 28, 2006 8:40 am
Me ish the girl who reads 5 books in the same time. I'm currently finishing So Long And Thanks For All The Fish and my next goal is Narnia.
Mom hates this. I can't survive without books. Everytime I enter a bookstore, I HAVE to buy a book, I ALWAYS have a book that I want, even when I'm already reading something. My hairmaker argued with me once because everytime I went there I was with a different book and this was like every week.
I don't know what's happening to the world when every day we have less people reading books. Maybe it's the Internet or maybe not. Maybe humans can now survive without books. I can't and I know how it feels to be considered a freak because you have more than 10 books at home (I mean books you bought, not those school books required for exams and tests).
God bless writers. <3
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Posted: Thu Feb 02, 2006 4:48 am
I remember the beuatiful times of secondary school, when one of the guys used to ask me to stop learning, when I was reading for fun. Quite obviously too, because it was Science Fiction and we don't have sci-fi in the curriculum. And when I told him I wasn't learning he was all "why are you reading then??"
Most people I know, do read, but then I'm on university and study linguistic, so you have to be good at reading.
BTW, my brother has dyslexia, but if he gets and interesting book, he'll read it. But then he had a lot of practice, so it's not that hard for him anymore.
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Posted: Thu Feb 02, 2006 5:22 pm
I like to read a lot. I always have a book with me. Kids at school tease me all the time about it. I actually fell bad for them. Most of them cannot read a simple book. When the teacher calls on them to read outloud they have to sound out simple words or have the teacher tell them what the word is.
I do not think having to pass a test is fiar for people. Many people freak out on tests and know the answers but have a hard time putting them down on paper. A problem in my school two years ago was the tests were only offered in English. However, a lot of spanish students are in the school. That does not seem fair to me.
It is so sad that the internet is replacing books. With a book you know the informaition has gone through a long process and is somewhat accurate. With the internet anyone can put up what they want.
I have no clue how we will regard books in ten years. I hope that people will stop thinking of books as a punishment.
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Posted: Sun Feb 05, 2006 6:55 pm
Ahh... third grade, when my friend asked my mom why she forces me to read so much (Coincidentally, he went on to be accepted our district's liberal arts high school, and I go to theatre, but hey, whaddayagonnado?)
Books are good. Books get better. They make people write more complex sentences, because their phrasing is more advanced, coupled with an urge to avoid periods because that means there's a definite guarantee that there's left to read in a book, which isn't fun, in my opinion.
Some of my favorite books for "fun"/enlightenment/good old time passers include: Ender's Game (Orson Scott Card balls!), Farenheit 451, Clockwork Orange, Narnia, and every freakin' thing that Roald Dahl wrote for children.
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Posted: Wed Feb 08, 2006 9:09 pm
[There's a few of us that have at least one book in their arms while in school. We're considered partially 'nerds' because of the constant reading but at least by those who say it to me, I have the better grade. My mom's a reader and put me in the same enviornment when I was able to understand what someone was saying, everytime we went to the library, I would have a stack of around fifteen picture books waiting to be read in the two weeks. ]
[It's probably because of the Internet and video game popularity that people have taken themselves away from literature. I'm sorry, but the only highly important thing you'll need your super speedy reflex is when trying to avoid another car to not have an accident or if you're a famous sports star and that's the only way the bills will get paid.]
[Actually, I bet the Harry Potter franchise will have authors and readers trying to find the next best thing to happen once the series ends. The fans that were with Harry Potter will want more once it's over and the only way to get that is from more books. So, the popularity of books and reading will go up and down everytime a new major international best seller comes out or when the best online video game is able to be played for free.]
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Posted: Sun Feb 26, 2006 9:38 am
I love to read. The problem is, I often read too much. When I start a book, I am hardly ever able to focus on anything else until I am done with it. I have been actually known to read when stuck in rush-hour traffic while driving. (Though that is quite rare, and I am very careful about it!)
That is probably why I got into manga so much; they are short reads, yet stiff fulfilling enough to not drive me crazy. If I pick up a novel or something, there is really no dragging me away.
I have been like this since I was young. ^^;;
My little sister is dyslexic. She is in denial, but was tested for it and everything. She enjoys books, but often misses a lot more of them than she will admit. Because of my insane love of books, to this day, I will offer to read some of my favorites out-loud to her, so that she can fully know the story and really enjoy it. It is a bonding thing for the both of us.
Here in Michigan, things are based around the MEAP test. You have to have at least taken them by most high schools' senior year; scholarships are handed out based on results. I took it when I was a sophmore and scored in the top percentiles in order to be able to take college classes during junior and senior year.
People need to read more.
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Posted: Sun Mar 12, 2006 10:44 pm
Since the sixth grade I've been a bookworm. I sort of dropped off a bit in high school, but once I started university I started doing raids of the library. I need something to do between classes, after all. My biggest gripe is how heavy hardcovers can get. They're not fun to lug around all day in your already heavy backpack.
I also like to blame illiteracy on the school system here. You know how many teachers actually TAUGHT grammar in my high school? 1. I was fortunate enough to get him and spent a whole semester learning grammar. It was brilliant. All the other teachers wouldn't spend more than a week on it. In the end, teachers could always tell which students had gone through that one teacher in grade 9 'cause they had generally superior writing skills. I'm so thankful I was in his class.
I could still probably conjugate all 14 tenses of a verb in under 3 minutes if you let me at it. I got 8 bonus marks on an exam for doing that. heart
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Posted: Sat Apr 22, 2006 11:39 pm
[ Message temporarily off-line ]
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Posted: Sat May 13, 2006 7:39 am
I think the problem is cell phones and texting. People actually think that some of the words are spelt with numbers and crappy abbreviations that they've totally forgotten what it actually is. The past two english classes that i've been in didn't teach any grammer. We just read a couple of crappy books. However, Tale of Two Cities was pretty good but that's because it was partly gory and bloody and all but that's not the point!
When I was moving I ended up at my old house for a whole day without a stereo or N64 that i ended up reading encyclopedias because i was so bored.
Now I read a lot of books, manga, comic books, etc.
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