[libro]

CNN.com had a lead article today in advance of this week's Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. Apparently, some industry analysts believe financial demands may keep more consumers at home with such high-tech devices such as Blu-Ray, video games, etc. as opposed to taking big family vacations. I didn't see any mention of e-readers or the Kindle, though! Is it just me or did the journalist miss one more high-tech device that saves us mucho money in the longrun and has a significantly lower initial purchase price than the other high-tech gadgets highlighted?

http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/01/07/ces.2009.preview/?iref=mpstoryview

 

[stevene9]

The basic problem for ereaders is that the demographics are a headwind for them for the rest of our lifetime, and beyond. By this I mean that the % of younger folks who read books for pleasure is significantly lower than past generations. I am 60 and I was brought up on books. The 30 year old generation was brought up on video games and constant cell phone usage as recreation. The younger kids today have even more distractions. These are demographics that effect many things. My wife works in musical theater and the audiences are definitely skewing older over time.

To put it in stock market terms (I used to work on Wall Street), the Kindle is in a short term bull market which will probably last for 5 to 10 years as it gets more acceptance by the general population. But over the very long term, the next generation is simply not going to read as much as past generations.

Steve

 

[Bonnie22]

I agree. I'm 23 and I only have one friend who reads as much as I do. When I read books while waiting for a class to start, a lot of times people will ask if I'm reading for English Lit. and they look very confused when I tell them, "No, I'm reading for fun! Now leave me alone and let me get back to my book." It's as though they can't grasp the concept of reading because you like to instead of reading because you have to. It's very sad. These people are really missing out.

 

[libro]

Say it ain't so, Steve! Seriously, I sadly believe it's true. Our teens are multi-tasking all the time. I have to tell them to stop texting while talking to us. One hour of TV and you can see why so many young children are hyperactive. We raised our children on books and they loved them until they hit high school....then it was "required reading." They're starting to get a little love of reading back, but only during summer breaks. I've been exposed to both worlds and I still love books...the only way to truly escape. If I had to give up one, no doubt I'd give up high tech.....except the Kindle!

 

[Gertie Kindle]

I think I have a little more faith in this generation that everyone else.  Yes, in high school there is "required reading" which doesn't appeal to teens and I don't blame them.  If we give them a choice of what to read, I think they'll read and enjoy. 

How many of us enjoyed the books we were required to read in high school and college?  Not many, according to what I've seen in other threads.  And yet today, we are all avid readers here.

 

[libro]

Good point, Gertie. I know there is so much competition out there for students now that they barely have any time to do what they want to do when it comes to reading. If they have some free hours, of course they want to socialize and didn't we? So we can't blame them. Everyone is taking IB or AP courses, college test prep courses/tutors, taking college courses before they head off for college...let the poor kids off the express train! I feel so sorry for them. I'm constantly reminding our teens to pursue what they love as a career....they get so "caught up" in the greed and fast pace of today's society.

 

[Gables Girl]

I think they don't read as much now, but I'm not sure they will still want to play video games etc. as much as they get older.  The carpel tunnel will set in and the vision and reflexes will start to go and their kids willwant the use the console all the time and reading will start to look good to them.  I work with a bunch of 20 and 30 somethings and the mid 30 crowd is already getting tired of some of it.  I have 2 that have bought Kindles and now say they are reading more.  So I think the pendulum will swing the other way.  Plus the cool factor of Kindle helps.  Now if we could just get schools to let them read cooler books that would help.

 

[AlwaysHopeful]

I have a 14 year old daughter, H.S. freshman.
She READS.
She read the entire Twilight series (yes, all 4 books) in a week over Christmas break.
It seems many of her friends don't like to read though. 
For 2 of her friends, she picked out a book that she thought each of them might like
and gave it to them.
About a month later, I was talking to one of the mom's and she THANKED me for my daughter.
HER daughter was reading like a crazy woman through the series.
If kids would encourage others, they could keep reading going!

 

[mom133d (aka Liz)]

I'm the exception to my generation. I'm 36 and read more than most folks my age and younger do. But my folks refused to buy us another console after Dad got us the Atari 2600 (We had that why did we need a Nintendo?). But I'm also the only avid reader in my immediate family. My Dad's oldest sister reads a bunch but we rarely saw her. My parents have often questioned where I got my love of reading. Apparently, I'd also try to bring a book to the dinner table. LOL. They had to start grounding me by making me watch Sunday night TV with them, because if I was in my room, it wasn't a punishment.

I loved working in a library so I could be exposed to so many books. When I started working circulation, I started taking an interest in the books I saw being checked out alot. And I picked up the HP series when I heard about the fights kids were getting in to read them. I just had to see what was getting kids interested in reading.

I was not interested in any of the "required reading" I had in school, with a few exceptions (Watership Down, Lord of the Flies). As I've gotten older, I realise that these are "classics" and am trying to read them now.

 

[Gertie Kindle]

The elementary schools here have the 100 book challenge.  That means in a school year they have to read 400-15 minute segments (steps).  The kids can pick their own chapter books.  They have crates of books in each classroom, plus what they can get in the library or at home. 

It took two years to get my grandson to enjoy reading, but it was just a matter of finding books he liked.  I just kept trying different things for him.  What finally got him going is the Jack Sparrow series.  He can't wait until the new ones come out.  Now he reads Star Wars, HP, Artemis Fowl and he frequently goes over the required time.  I even keep a book and book light in the car for him. 

He still plays his video games, of course, and has other interests, but he does read and talks to me about the books he likes.

 

[MamaProfCrash]

I am 37. As a kid my parents restricted TV to 30 minutes a day. We could watch a bit more on the weekend but that normally meant sports. When we got a video game system, that was similarly limited. If we were in the house we were either in the basement playing or in another room doing something that was not too loud. Normally reading.

During the summer we had 1 hour of reading time every day. We had to be in our rooms reading a book that we got at the library. Granted, this time coincided with my Mother's soap operas but it was 1 hour a day were we had to be in our rooms reading.

My Mother and Fathers insistence that we not watch TV and read as well as their example by reading too us and around us helped us become readers. Now we are passing that on to our kids. Well, my brothers are, I don't have kids yet.

All four of us are readers. My two brothers are raising readers. The five nieces/nephews (ages 5-11) are happy to sit down with a book. The younger ones bring books to me to read to them when they can see that I don't want to have another tickle fight. We play video games and watch TV together but we also read together.

 

[drenee]

Always Hopeful, what a great story about your daughter and her friend.  In junior high my girlfriend and I read the Little House series books together.  We read them again in high school.  I bought us both a set a few years later and we both read them to our kids.  35 years later we're still best friends and we still have our set of Little House books. 

My grandsons were visiting for the Thanksgiving holiday.  The 4-year old sleeps with me.  When we went to bed he seen my book on my nightstand (pre-kindle time) and promptly got back out of bed and went searching for a book he could read before going to sleep like Mimi (that's me).  He found a bible storybook with lots of pictures.  Climbed back in and bed and "read" for a few minutes with me.  I think he'll be a reader. 
debbie

 

[libro]

Yes, reading is contagious.  We had out-of-town family staying with us over the holidays and a younger niece was the first (and only) one to come up with New Year's resolutions on January 1.  One of her resolutions?  "Read an entire book."  She had shown an interest in what I was reading when she was here, heard me talking about the ending of a particular novel, and I would read her sections of the books if she asked.  I could tell she was intrigued by the idea of reading more and thought her resolution was sweet. 

We have a teen daughter who finished the entire Twilight series in a couple week's time after school each day.  I was concerned because she had an advanced course load at school, but she managed to fit in the Twilight series because she just eliminated wasted time like channel-surfing on TV. She would drift off to another room and leave the rest of us to our own pursuits....it was a nice change to see her truly interested in an author. When the series ended, she was actually upset that Stephenie Meyer didn't have another book out yet....and yes, she read The Host, too, snatching all she could from the author!  She had a similar experience....she and her friends were lending each other the Twilight series back and forth and her interest in it even turned a non-reading girlfriend on to the series, too.  The nice kind of peer pressure

 

[Annalog]

Yes, reading is contagious.

It has infected quite a few in my family. Both of my parents read. The house was filled with books and we went to the library nearly every week. My husband and I read. Our house is filled with books and my husband is a librarian. Our daughter reads. Her house is filled with books and her daughters, 7 and 11, read. (We always have to ask before buying them books as they have often read them already.) After hearing her older sister tell some of a story (Leon and the Spitting Image by Allen Kurzweil) her teacher had read to her fourth grade class, my youngest granddaughter, the seven year old, had to read the book herself. When I asked my daughter what the youngest might want for Christmas, she mentioned a video game and the sequel to the book. In addition to the video game, we gave her Leon and the Champion Chip and another book, Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh. Our granddaughter was overjoyed with the Leon sequel and started reading the book immediately. (The grandparents are very proud of both of them. )

Anna

 

[Knipfty]

I'm guessing my family is a bit different.  The other night, 4 out 5 of us were siting in the family room reading out books!  My wife & I along with my two daughters (ages 11 and 15).  The 15 year old just started getting into reading.  In the past two months she has ploughed her way thru  the twilight saga!

It was so pleasant not having the TV on.  If this keeps up, I might cancel cable!

 

[ak rain]

talk about setting limits. When I was a kid, my brothers and I argued about the T.V. one too many times. My mom's response - she sold the T.V.. now I have kids I don't find my self as strong but we have limits with my two (10 and 15) and always have. I read aloud to them starting the day they were born. First books were what ever I was reading - they want your voice and tone. We progressed to their stories. Now we are all readers. I also try my hardest to get them to read the book before movie comes out. it also helps that school population 43 we graduate 1-4 kids a year. no movie theaters, malls, fast food, or sadly book store.

book three of the Michael Scott's The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel is being advertised. the first thing my kids say is you better not get that on Kindle as that is not fair. (I don't let the kids use the kindle) they are starting the "who gets to read it first" discussion.

It is not out on kindle yet the first two are so I have hope. I will most likely get dtb and kindle copy
so spoiled I am getting
Sylvia

hey I got to Lewis Carrol even being a bit off topic as usuall

 

[Anju]

It was so pleasant not having the TV on. If this keeps up, I might cancel cable!

In this economy not a bad idea. Now if I could get my husband into reading! LOL LOL

Nice to have you here knipfty - why don't you wander over to Into/Welcome and tell us about yourself.

Congratulations on your first post!!

 

[Mikuto]

The 30 year old generation was brought up on video games and constant cell phone usage as recreation.

I would argue actually that the video game generation (which I'm part of) has a tendency to grow out of it somewhat. You can see this in the trend of "hardcore" massive multiplayer online games making their content easier, more able to complete for those of us with a small amount of time to devote to a video game.

Sure, 15-20 year olds on average aren't going to be terribly interested in an e-reader, but give them 5 years and they might not be as interested in video games and being "constantly connected" as they used to be.

To me reading has always been a passtime that hinges on maturity rather than age. It takes some people longer to grow up and realize the fun of a good book. Sadly some people never do, but I don't think my generation is any less likely to do so than the generation that grew up going to Sockhops, or the generation that grew up watching serialized stories in the movie theater

 

[libro]

Although I've seen a few really good movies during my life, none of them have stuck with me to the degree a "really good book" does. There isn't a good movie out there that has ever enlightened me on a subject or added to my vocabulary either. Sure, I still enjoy movies, keeping up with current events on TV, and have other pursuits, but reading has such depth to it!

The other night, I was at a really good part in a novel and my husband was listening to CNN. Now I love Anderson Cooper, but the show does repeat itself every hour or so. When I said I'd be reading in the other room, my DH said, "Why? You never did that before." (I have....he's just been asleep!) Anyway, I told him it was hard to listen to Anderson Cooper (talking mega-fast) and read a good novel at the same time. You would have thought I have having an affair Yes, DH gets plenty of attention, but just doesn't understand books.

 

[MamaProfCrash]

When I am not reading, I tend to be playing video games. I love my Wii and have grown to appreciate the XBox 360. My fiancee does not read and has been in a bit of a funk because the XBox is out being repaired. While I read the Kindle wait thread, I hear him reporting on the return of the XBox.

(shrugs)

There is room for both.