Books, books, and more books

As I mentioned a couple of posts back, it was a social networking site related to books, Shelfari, that recently brought me back into the blogosphere. I’ll write some more about that (and social networks in general) in a bit, but for now I just want to talk about books themselves. Or, at least, books in the news. It was a busy week last week in book news.

• First, I saw that NPR‘s On the Media was dedicating the entire show last weekend (One for the Books) to books:

This week, On the Media is dedicating the entire show to one of our favorite topics – books. From Oprah’s Book Club to the Google Library Project, the way we buy, search, read and even discuss books is changing. And so we begin with a look at some of the forces now tugging at the industry.

• Then, driving to a doctor appointment I listened to a part of NPR‘s Talk of the Nation : Study – Americans Reading Less Than They Used To (29 Nov 07). (I have to admit I’ve not yet had the chance to listen to the whole episode, though it is in my podcast list in iTunes.):

A new report from the National Endowment for the Arts reveals that Americans are reading less frequently and less proficiently. The report links the decline in voluntary reading among teens and young adults to poorer performance in school. It also raises questions about the role of reading in a world full of digital distractions.

• And then, while I’m in the waiting room at the doctor’s office, I see the 26 November issue of Newsweek, with a picture of Jeff Bezos and the headline The Future of Reading.

Amazon’s Jeff Bezos already built a better bookstore. Now he believes he can improve upon one of humankind’s most divine creations: the book itself. (If you’ve shopped Amazon.com recently, you know what Bezos is talking about: the Kindle.)

Like someone’s trying to send me a message: READ MORE BOOKS!!!

I’m the first to admit that I don’t read nearly as much as I used to. And the subjects of my reading has changed quite a bit too. I used to have a steady diet of fiction, then a bit of a mix of fiction / non-fiction, and now an almost exclusive diet of non-fiction.

Looking back, it seems that my taste in reading is somewhat tied to my life at the time. My interest in military / political fiction was undoubtedly sparked by my service as a military officer. Though fictional, the stories in these books provided great insight into leadership, conduct of operations, etc.

As I moved into the “corporate” world, where there is a bit less (a lot less, actually) fiction that can be helpful in learning and growing, I turned to non-fiction business books. The books that appealed to me most were the ones that have a bit of narrative feel to them. I have a few of the “checklist” type books, but never really got much out of them.

And as I’ve gotten older – and as my kids have gotten older – I’ve developed a bit more of an interest in the nature of the world and our place in it. My elder son’s autism has also inspired a deep interest in how the human mind works, and what it is that makes each of us unique (or not).

My wife, on the other hand, reads a lot. I mean a whole bunch, putting me to shame. This is consistent, though, with the findings of the study mentioned in the Talk of the Nation piece, so I don’t feel too bad. (Read “Why women read more than men” on the TOTN page for this story for more details.)

Still, that’s no excuse. I know it’s not quite New Year’s, but I’ll go in for a resolution anyway: I resolve to read at least as much fiction as non-fiction. Just watch me on Shelfari if you want to see how I do. (And let me know if you’d like to join my friends list, I’m curious what you are reading, too.)