Wednesday, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana

A new poll reveals the disturbing fact that most Americans do not read books. In fact, 25% of us read no books at all! Women and seniors read more books than men and the young. Their favorites include popular novels and books with religious themes. And even among those who did read, they were not exactly avid. On average we started five books each year but how many were finished fell short of even that humble number.

For several years book sales have been flat and there is no sign of the trend changing. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that the major contributor to the trend is the rise of electronic media, especially the Internet. Also not surprising it was older people who read more with younger Americans reporting more time reading on the Internet.

For two out of three readers religious books and the Bible were among the favorites. And serious works such as politics, poetry and literature were read by a paltry five percent of readers.

So what you say? Well, the convenience of using the Internet and television as our source of news and information is understandable. But clearly there is a distinction between the succinct, truncated summaries found online and the in depth analysis available in longer form. How do we calculate the impact on society with an electorate that is increasingly voting based on shallow opinions and views fed on a diet of sound byte cable news reporting and talk radio bombast? I confess that most of my own information about important social issues is often the result of brief news summaries. While literacy may be at an all time high, our choices of what to read are more fast food and snacks than the hearty fare that keeps us healthy. Clearly America has a reading disorder.