A few weeks ago, I purchased a few of books from the library. The price was right (oh, how right it was), and they were ripe for the picking. While the middle-aged librarian behind the desk took my five and went about getting my change for me, she glanced at the books I had bought. Her facial expression changed from one of disinterested neutrality (I am repetitive. And redundant!) to one of relief. I noticed the change nearly immediately, and I mentally went through a list of possible catalysts for her reaction: she saw the clock and realized she would soon be free; she saw a dear friend; the children she was previously yelling at to stop running finally, on the fourth insistence, obeyed; some disaster going on behind me that I was completely oblivious to was somehow diverted; she was thankful that those poor, lonely books were finally going to get a home; she realized–and that was when my mental postulates were interrupted by her voice as she held out a tattered dollar between her fingers to complement my mildly tattered books. “Here you go. It’s so nice to see someone your age reading something enriching for fun.”
It took me two or three seconds to quell my internal castigations and compose myself enough to smile in response to what I am sure was a good-intentioned compliment. I then gathered my books in my arms and turned around and walked away.
What I had wanted to do, though, was to ask her when was the last time she saw someone her age outside of Academia read something enriching for fun. If you ask me (which you did not, but which I am choosing to overlook), more chronologically advanced adults are no better than young adults when it comes to reading. The fact that my generation and those after mine are targeted as devouring what I call “dessert reads” that are not much better than your average television show is somewhat farcical. It is certainly well-deserved, but it is by no means an infection of youthful fancy. It is an infection, but it has transgressed age limitations. What was once perhaps a youthful indulgence has become the standard for men and women of all ages. It is a social pandemic. People no longer read to engage their mind; they read to escape it.
That is not to say that dessert reads do not have their place; they absolutely do. I just do not believe that they should be the bread and butter of an individual’s literary consumption.
I read an article, I believe through Jen, that said that an individual’s intellectual (or cognitive? I’m not sure, and there is somewhat of a difference) peak is at twenty-two years old. I think this is probably true for many people, but I think it is their own doing. Most people (Granted, there are exceptions, like me) graduate college at the age of twenty-two. Most people do not go onto grad school. This number seems to average out, given that not everybody goes to college and not everybody goes to grad school. So, for many people, they are in an environment which essentially forces them to exercise their cognitive abilities until the age of twenty-two, and thereafter are left to their own devices. The brain is just like any muscle of your body; you have to use it or else it will atrophy. Similarly, this is the only time when most people tend to read “enriching” literature. Then, when they have more freedom in the matter, they abandon it for something less cognitively straining.
Older generations pass off the blame, when the truth is, they are guilty of much the same. The interesting thing, though, is that older generations are not really trying to do anything about it. They do nothing to nurture good reading habits. This is not a plague of merely my generation. It is a plague of every generation, and it is damaging our society in a way that most people do not even notice.
Yeah, it’s about a 2:1 ratio of “serious” reading to “light” reading in terms of what comes across my register at the bookstore. But I do notice a number of people at the bookstore who are looking for books recently talked about on NPR. The others–from TV (like “Cook Yourself Thin”). Sometimes, though, I’m just happy to see people reading, whatever it is.
I’d be surprised to see someone your age in my library. I think it jumps from undergrad to late-20s (parents).
I could say a lot more about the situation–and get into alternative forms of reading matter–but I really need to get to bed!
As a young person who also spends much time at the library, and reading everything from poetry, to classic literature, to science textbooks, to the latest twilight books, I have to say that I very much enjoyed your post, and hope that you continue to use your brain in positive ways. Just the use of one’s brain can bring enlightenment to a nation.
There are so many different literacies that need to be taken into account, though, don’t you think? Like people who will never pick up a classic book, but religiously read the Wall Street Journal or people who hate non-fiction books but love National Geographic. There is some value in that even though the actual books that these people read are romance novels and not literature.
That said, I agree that everyone should read something outside of their comfort zone every now and then to keep challenging themselves. But I’m a book nerd, so I’m pretty biased. Right now I’m reading a “dessert” novel and an “enriching” book at the same time.
Liz makes an excellent point which I failed to mention in my post, that being that I was discussing literature rather than printed works as a whole. As such, I did not take into account news media or field-specific journals, because my scope was much smaller. I took it for granted that we could all agree that it is not unusual for someone to read a lot of field-specific works germane to their occupation–in fact, it is absolutely necessary in many fields. I didn’t really take nonfiction into account at all, even though I myself read quite a bit of it and happen to highly enjoy religion/theology or even philosophy (though I never have the time to read them for fun!). Perhaps that is a point which I should have taken time to briefly gloss over since I did use the term “for fun,” and for many people, such things would fall under that umbrella. I know that several do for me, and I find them incredibly enriching. But, alas! My apologies to any who misunderstood. My thanks to Liz for pointing this out.
I think the article was about brain chemistry and how it works to function at its peak at 22. But I can no longer remember properly, as A) I am past 22 now and B) it was years ago that I read it.
Reading is awesome. I cannot understand why more people do not do it.