Reading, Writing & Arithmetic
Rachel Donadio’s column in the New York Times Book Review highlights some interesting numbers. She cites the NEA’s recent report finding that more than half of Americans haven’t read a book in the past year. She mentions that 400,000 books were published or distributed in 2007 (up from 300,000 the year before). And she notes that the blog tracker Technorati estimates that 175,000 new blogs are created daily. All of which adds up to some interesting math: it seems that more people are writing than reading these days.
Donadio pokes fun at the many self-published books that arrive at the NYT Book Review each week — but despite the lack of interest from reviewers and most booksellers, self-publishing and print-on-demand companies such as iUniverse and Xlibris are growing. And these opportunities open up publishing for those who write as a hobby rather than a career (for lifestyle writers, money that might otherwise be spent on golf trips or country club dues can be spent on design and printing).
But when looking at the math, most significant here is the decline in American readers as the number of writers grows. While I’m the first to agree that everyone has a story to tell, I wonder how well any writer can tell a story if he or she is not also an avid reader.