By Shane Goodman shane@dmcityview.com

Long live the book

Reading trends change, but books are still the best entertainment around

Take your pick from any number of readership studies, and you will find that the percentage of Americans who read books is down about 10 percent from 20 years ago. That’s an alarming trend for those of us who rely on people who read to make our businesses work. Sure, reading a publication like Cityview is much different than reading a novel. Newspapers of all types have redesigned themselves in recent years in both look and content. The typical reader has a shorter attention span than in years past, and today’s news coverage reflects that. But aside from books on tape and the coffee-induced box stores, not much has changed in the book industry. With only 50 percent of Americans now claiming to have read any book in the past year, maybe it’s time.

Well, we are doing our part in this week’s cover story, where we have reviewed dozens of books from categories such as sex, religion, politics, music, non-fiction, humor, food, fiction and art. You will find a brief synopsis on each title, along with our staff reviewers’ opinions.

So join me in putting down the remote control, shutting down the Web browser, turning off the iPod, and picking up one of these books. Who knows? We all might learn something.

Thanks for reading.

Comment on this story | Return to top