Lots of people don't like reading. Whose fault is that? Theirs or the writers? It's tempting to say they are at fault. But perhaps it is the writer who really is to blame. Lets face it reading is a huge investment in time and energy. You have to make time to read and you have to be in the mood to sit quietly for an hour or two and concentrate on it. But there are lots of people (intelligent people) who simply aren't prepared to do that. I don't blame them; you start reading a book and after a hundred pages you decide you don't like it. Then what? Do you toss the book to one side angry that you've wasted 2 or 3 days of your life starting it or do you grit your teeth and persevere in the hope it will pick up and get better? A tough choice. And why should they have to make that choice? The answer is they don't see why they should and hence they will do something else with their free time. Reading a book is a risk they are not willing to take because they don't need to.
Another reason for not reading (fiction) at least is...that's it fiction. "What is the point of reading a book where everything is made up." they will ask. My answer to that one is that fiction merely creates a setting where truth (or the writers version of it) can get an airing. (Jack and Jill's are made up and their romance is fiction but how they think and feel is not).
And lastly reading is seen as being a bit antisocial. I've seen it (and experienced) myself that people (friends for example) resent it. To them it seems like a rejection; you are reading because you don't want to spend time in their company. And the next time plan a night out they don't ask you because "he's always reading." But what you read says more about you than fashion. Fashion is after all just a trend. People will stop wearing xy or z becauee it is no longer in fashion, but the books they like they like forever. You can't judge someone because they like to wear pink clothes but you can (more safely) judge what kind of person they are by examining their bookshelf.
It's tempting to say they are at fault. But perhaps it is the writer who really is to blame. Lets face it reading is a huge investment in time and energy. You have to make time to read and you have to be in the mood to sit quietly for an hour or two and concentrate on it. But there are lots of people (intelligent people) who simply aren't prepared to do that. I don't blame them; you start reading a book and after a hundred pages you decide you don't like it. Then what? Do you toss the book to one side angry that you've wasted 2 or 3 days of your life starting it or do you grit your teeth and persevere in the hope it will pick up and get better? A tough choice. And why should they have to make that choice? The answer is they don't see why they should and hence they will do something else with their free time. Reading a book is a risk they are not willing to take because they don't need to.
Another reason for not reading (fiction) at least is...that's it fiction. "What is the point of reading a book where everything is made up." they will ask. My answer to that one is that fiction merely creates a setting where truth (or the writers version of it) can get an airing. (Jack and Jill's are made up and their romance is fiction but how they think and feel is not).
And lastly reading is seen as being a bit antisocial. I've seen it (and experienced) myself that people (friends for example) resent it. To them it seems like a rejection; you are reading because you don't want to spend time in their company. And the next time plan a night out they don't ask you because "he's always reading." But what you read says more about you than fashion. Fashion is after all just a trend. People will stop wearing xy or z becauee it is no longer in fashion, but the books they like they like forever. You can't judge someone because they like to wear pink clothes but you can (more safely) judge what kind of person they are by examining their bookshelf.